P’isqu has its focus on Nikkei cuisine which is the fusion of Japanese and Peruvian culinary traditions. If you are wondering where this interesting mix is coming from, apparently Peru has a ‘large’ ethnic Japanese population which arrived at the end of the 19th century. These two cultures go well together and the fusion food style is delectable.
The restaurant just opened recently in the second district (not in an easy area to find parking, I heard) and has outdoor seating available. This tipped the scale in favor of making our reservation at P’isqu.
outdoor seating @P’isqu
The menu at P’isque is short and straightforward. What they have in common is that they are all small and invite you to share. A concept I love, because there is nothing better than to taste your way around a menu. So we went for the Edamame, tomato and hearts of palm salad, Ceviche con Leche de Tigre, and Lomo Saltado. It all sounded amazing and it was hard to choose. In the end we ordered what was best for sharing. We figured the available tacos were meant as an eat-by-yourself dish.
The edamame came with with radish and super hot sauce called Aji Amarillo, which is a popular yellow chili sauce in Peru. The radish had a nice cooling effect when you got to one of the sprinkles of the hot sauce, overall a great starter to share. And tasty!
Edamame with Aji Amarillo @P’isqu
Lomo Saltado turned out to be a delicious rib-eye with onions and pepper, and some papas fritas on the side. It looked very enticing and the beef was super tender and so tasty. The sauce it came in made me cut the meat to dip it in. Since we shared, taking a bite and dipping it back in was not possible. The roasted potatoes on the other hand looked didn’t have the expected crunch. Actually there was no crunch at all. That was honestly a bit disappointing.
Lomo Saltado @P’isqu
The tomato and hearts of palm salad really showed up with two different kinds of tomatoes but will taste probably even better in summer. I found that P’isqu was a bit stingy with the hearts of palm. It was also missing a bit of salt. But a nice a idea, especially since hearts of palms are practically unknown in Austria.
tomato and hearts of palm salad @P’isqu
The signature dish of P’isqu must be their Ceviche con Leche de Tigre. The menu explains that the leche is made from lime juice, salt, chili, red onion, and different herbs, while the sea bass come from a organic aqua farm in Croatia. The dish looks appetizing with three small dishes surrounding it containing more Leche de Tigre in a shot glass, lime and coriander in another, and a sweet potato mash. It also tasted lovely, maybe a bit on the cold side.
I understand that it needs to be cool, but the ice underneath was not necessary. Also the sweet potatoes did nothing for the dish. The extra leche was great on the other hand, I poured some more over my portion of the ceviche. The dish itself is super small. While it is tasty, there is not a lot to taste.
Ceviche con Leche de Tigre @P’isqu
P’isqu is a lovely addition to the Viennese restaurant scene. I love that their is quite different and one can see that there is a lot of love behind it. Overall it was quite tasty and it’s definitely a place that will see me again. Yours, Pollybert
P’isqu
1020 Wien, Große Pfarrgasse 5
Tel: +43 01 2129605
Email: office@pisqu.at
Tue-Thu: 11:30-14:30,18:00-23:00; Fri-Sat: 11:30-14:30, 18:00-02:00
https://www.pisqu.at/
