Pucquio

Food was More Than Delicious and the service was Great !! The food quality is excellent and everything is made to order. 5 stars for the chef Carlos.

I guess it depends what you are looking for. I knew that this place is EXPENSIVE (especially for the tiny portions) but I expected a fancy atmosphere to go with the price… fancy is definitely NOT the word to describe this place. It feels more like a cheap taco place. The music was too loud and the service was pretty bad – we had to flag down the CHEF every time we wanted a refill because our server was just hanging out in the kitchen chatting. We love Peruvian food and have been to a lot of Peruvian restaurants all over the Bay, and I wouldn’t recommend this one because I just don’t feel the value was there. We had a 3 ceviche sampler ($ 38, very small portions, but super delicious flavors), quinoa salad (good but I expected lettuce or greens and there were none) and the octopus with olive tapenade (I LOVE octopus and I LOVE tapenade, but the sauce was way too overpowering and the octopus was too fishy). So I’d say avoid this place and try somewhere else.

Totally unassuming little restaurant with half a dozen tables and ceviche to die for. The open kitchen gives you a view into all the action, each dish is lovingly and carefully crafted. Great attention to presentation and the flavor of each dish comes through with uniqueness and a serious punch. Fresh, mainly locally sourced fish seals the deal for me. Support this local gem!

We love this place! From the very first corn dish to the last bite and every sip of wine in between we’re always impressed. We’ve been here many times starting way back when it was a pop up restaurant. The cebiches are always delicious, but the fish entrees are my favorite! I particularly love the deep fried variation that isn’t always on the menu but worth asking about. Boyfriend loves the pork shoulder and the short rib. Our friend had the chicken tonight and was quite happy. I even love their rice, and I might be the only Asian on earth who doesn’t like rice. Service is also always super courteous. Like I said, we love this place!

Great Peruvian food that reminded me of the food we had in Peru a few weeks earlier. Ceviche was great; had it with the beloved dark beer from Cusco. Others had the lomo saltano and enjoyed it. Portions were a bit on the small side, but the food quality offset that well. A bit pricier than I would have expected.

Nice cozy little place with open kitchen. Staff and check were friendly. Nice S. American wine offerings. Overall, the food was very good. Had the lomo with egg which was tasty; meat couldve been a tad more tender though. This was seasoned well, but the 16 hr short rib a bit too salty. Cebiche combos were very tasty… but quite expensive for the portion. A good experience overall and worth trying for the fresh and unique twist on Peruvian food, but not a value option.

A bit too sophisticated for me. Though it can get pretty cramp I liked the intimate atmosphere and the service was great. It was the food I had some issue with.
I ordered octopus, ceviche and two main dishes and the beignets.
I really like the ceviche. We had a variety of fishes that night and it was one of the best ceviche i’ve ever had.
The octopus for the price wasn’t worth it to me. It was decorated very nicely and had nice garnish and sauce but it was little tiny bites which I feel was way too little for the amount we’ve paid for.
The two main dish:
I had a deep fried whole fish at market price with some rice. It was good. The freshly fried and crispy fish was really good. They even help you split it and take off the meat for you. My problem with the fish was that after awhile it got really heavy and fishy tasting. Maybe it was just too much fish for me but after a while I had no will to take another bite.
the next dish was a beef and veggies dish with a gravy and potato and rice. That dish was Really good also. The sauce and the beef was flavorful and delicate tasting. I actually liked this a lot better than my fish. But once again, it got kind of heavy and the flavors just diminishes eventually.
The beignets were heavy, big and dense. Im used to the french beignets which is light, fluffy with powdered sugar on top. This was a fuse and recipe that they concocted and it was a nice try. It just didn’t taste well good as I hope.
Over all I liked the service and the lighting. The food is meh.

The staff is extremely nice, and the food is SUPER delicious!!!
My only complaint (hence 1 star off) is that the chefs appear to need more help in the kitchen. It felt like every course (even the ceviche) took eons to prepare and come out. By the time our food did arrive, we were starving and inhaled it! (We even had a reservation and arrived at 6:30.)
If you have time to spare, this place is lovely and delicious. If you’re in a rush, you might want to try another place.
PS — All of the ceviche is DELISH! The steamed octopus appetizer and the lomo saltado with sunny side up egg entrée are also really good.

We eat out a lot, and Peruvian cuisine is one of my favorites! To start the review on a good note I will say that the location is great the ambiance Incredible. Perfectly clean the kitchen is well kept. And the staff is very kind. It was just 2 of us for dinner w/​reservations we arrived at 5:20 we ordered ceviche mixto (1 large shrimp, 4 pieces of 1×1 inch fish and some calimari pieces). The portions for an 18.00 dish was a little skimpy.
We ordered 2 glasses of Sangria 11 each and 3 IPA’s.
2 small sides of fried
For dinner we thought we’d share the sea bearing (whole small fish maybe ½ lb) served with ½ cup rice 40.00
Nothing else ordered…120.00 plus tip and I was starving!!! I am not obese maybe not skinny but damn their portion sizes are small as hell for the prices.
We also arrived @ 5:20 and were not served dinner until 7 pm
The food taste… Not bad but definitely not my fave.
So sorry but not worth my hard earned $ not with the tiny servings

Always excellent food, prepared completely fresh, even all the vegetables and fruit are cut during preparation of each individual dish. Yes, as in other reviews, this means sometimes your food will take some time to arrive. So come here when you want a freshly prepared, always delicious casual dinner. Enjoy the carefully selected wine list with South American focus.
Better yet, sit at the bar and just watch how much work and attention to detail goes into each and every dish. And enjoy some casual banter with Carlos (owner chef) and Miguel. Good people preparing excellent food.

Pucquio is the Chez Panisse of Peruvian restaurants. Everything is fresh, made by hand, and beautifully executed by the chefs. This is a gem of a restaurant with outstanding food and wines. The ceviche dishes are all excellent with distinct flavors of the fish shining through in each of the various choices. The lomo saltado sets the standard as one of the very best and most flavorful in the entire bay area as does the lamb dish (forgot the name) and the poussin. There isn’t a weak offering on the menu and the dessert, the bombitas (fried sweet potato stuffed beignets), are simply fantastic. This is a real Peruvian restaurant with a California twist – and because the dishes are made to order sometimes service can be slow or there can be a break between courses. This is easily forgotten because the restaurant is turning out some of the best food in Oakland and the entire east bay. We love this place.

If I were just reviewing this restaurant on it’s food, I would give it 5 stars. The food is fantastic, flavorful and fresh. But unfortunately, the horrible service ruined our experience.
We have 4 adults and 1 kid in our dinner party on a recent Saturday night. After ordering, it took another 30 mins to get our water and another 40 mins after that to get our appetizer. The restaurant was full but we noticed three tables who came in after us were all eating their entrees by the time our appetizers arrived.
The waitress was snotty and non-​apologetic. Said everything was made fresh so it takes time.
We waited a total of 2 hours to get our entrees, by which time the three tables that came after us were long gone.
Yes, the food here is very good. We had the ceviche special, Lomo Saltado, Pulpo al Olivo, a garlic shrimp dish and the fish special. But I will not be back due to the snotty waitress and the two hour wait for food.

This place is fantastic, I almost feel to give a bad review so I can keep it for myself.
The way they treat the fish, and those bold flavors are amazing.
Try the tiraditos and the pulpo

Food elevated to an art form! Pucquio is Peruvian comfort food. It was our first time and Joseph our waiter was wonderful. His descriptions of the food as he took us through the menu had our mouths watering. Carlos the chef and owner created each dish to order. You could tell he loves to cook and takes a lot of pride in every dish. We watched him prepare a beautiful fish, which he quick fried in a circle, it was stunningly presented, and he fileted it tableside with a practiced hand and charming smile.
The Summer ceviche we had was amazing with octopus, peaches, peppers and halibut. Sweet heat like an explosion of flavors that shouldn’t go together but do, perfectly. I had the prawns with purple potatoes, my husband had the marinated beef. Both were wonderful. A bit pricey, but every bite was beautiful, different and delicious!
One more thing, the place is tiny, so make reservations on Open Table. If you can, sit at the bar and enjoy Carlos preparing the food, fresh, fresh, fresh!

This place is my new top 3 fave restaurants in Berkeley!!! Everything is so delicious. If you like tart /​sour flavor… Definitely get the cebiche (ie ceviche) sampler! They even put the juices in a shot glass to drink afterwards… The traditional Peruvian way to enjoy all the seafood juices! Lol
If you are not a fan of seafood, the beef stir fly is incredible. It tastes so smoky and unique. The WHITE RICE is not your avg plain rice… It’s soooo flavorful!!! I swear they put crack in it…
Oh, and of course, the service was impeccable!
Overall, highhhhlyyyy recommended!!!

My best friend and I had been meaning to try Pucqio for over a year. We finally made it happen a couple months ago, and were blown away. We sat at the bar and were treated like old friends. Carlos (the chef/​owner) clearly loved what he does and is VERY talented.
We were walked through the menu and tried a few different dishes. Everything was fabulous.
We have been back many times over the last few months and have now had almost everything on the menu. Each visit is outstanding and we are always so warmly received.
Pucqio is a neighborhood gem not to be missed!

Strolling in Rockridge, babie says she is hungry, stop at 4 places and she like nope not here. Came across this place step inside and immediate felt an awesome vibe (could’ve been the bob Marley playing) she asked the chef for gluten free options (babie has an awful allergy) dude says yes entire menu minus a few dishes. She turned around and was like sit down we eating here. The chef (Carlos) goes over the menu with us and we went with his recommendations
***** great wine selection babie was so happy!
***** food was so great we shared the dishes but sorry babie you gotta get your own order next time?? and yes there will be plenty of next times
***** music was on point! Could here Carlos singing lol
***** awesome place (small but cozy like chilling at your friends mom house as she cooks this amazing meal)
Peaceful during lunch, so make sure you make reservations for evening outings!
We have a small list of places that are gluten free and still provides the most amazing eating experiences and this place is happily added to our list.
Thanks Carlos and staff for an amazing lunch.

What a fantastic experience! Carlos and Miguel are both amazing chefs. You can tell that everything is made with care, love and a true passion for food. Lissette and the rest of the wait staff were also incredibly friendly and hospitable.
Everything I ate was delicious, but the cebiches definitely stood out. Every piece of seafood was fresh and seasoned to perfection. I highly recommend them!
I also recommend sitting at the bar so you can watch the magic happen. It’s the best seat in the house!
Thank you so much for a wonderful meal and we will certainly be back soon!

Cute place for a hot date! Small cozy venue and although I came on a calm night on the weekday, I suggest making a reservation.
Service: Excellent! Everyone was very nice and friendly.
Just for taste:
What ever the little snacks are that they provide in the beginning taste so good. They make it themselves and are baked to a crisp. I love the saltiness and crunchiness of it, definitely could not stop eating it and had to ask for more.
1.Tuna ceviche: absolutely loved this dish! It’s not like your typical ceviche were it’s chopped up into pieces mixed in different veggies and sauce. This came in 8 slices of raw tuna, kind of like sashimi, and it had a great honey glazed taste. SOOOO GOOD!
2. Papa rellena de mar– seafood stuff
Great flavor and delicious. I wish there was more!
3. Lomo saltado — traditional beef stir fry with egg
Delicious! the beef was juicy and tender, a little on the salty side, but still great. You can’t go wrong with this traditional dish.
4. Aji de gallina — chicken stew
It was cheesy and thick. It had a sweet curry like taste. The chicken was pretty good, not the most tender, but I am glad it wasn’t too dry (I am not a fan of chicken to begin with, so it wasn’t too bad).
Chicharron al Plato de invierno — 10 hour pork belly
— out of stock but will try next!
Tip: If you plan on bringing in an outside drink, they will ask you to pour it in one of their cups. Also, parking may be difficult in this area and you may have to circle a couple times.
Overall: great experience

Location: Oakland, College Ave.
Pucquio is a small unique restaurant that probably fits 20 people. Lucky for a party of 8 we were lucky they accommodated us. Yes Sweet November is full of birthdays galore. I don’t want to bore you with how great it is to bond with 8 of your bffs but I will tell you what did we order:
De Pescado-​Daily fish, Aji Limo, line juice-​$ 17 — Fishy fishy
Ensalada de Quinoa de Estacion– A salad of Quinoa, roasted beets, avocado greens and Juniper. -$ 15-​Distinctive flavors
Tiradito atun de Huando-​Slices of tuna serve with chopped scallion, mandarins, honey and rocoto sauce -$ 17 baby I like it raw!
Lomo Saltado-​Traditional feef stif fry with onions, tomatoes, served with fries and rice. -$ 23 Kind of bland to me & salty.
Sudado Contemporaneo-​A whole fish cook in papilotte, sweet onion, tomato $$$ Seasonal –Good
Chicarron al Plato-​16hr Roasted Pork belly-​$ 15-​Yummmmmmm no questions asked.
Pupo al Olivo-​Steamed Octopus, Botija olive emulsion, Peruvian style! -$ 15-​Amazing dish
Dessert:
Bombitas– Fried Sweet potato stuffed beignets-​$ 8 Very interesting, never had one of these before
Ranfanote-​Reviving a classic, hand genoise, pisco y pasas, spiced molasses, grana padano. $ 8 I didn’t like this dessert IMO
Service was slow, but staff was friendly. Will I come back? Why not?
Thanks again Pucquio!