Chef Paz Restaurant

Wow! Been driving past this place and reading awesome reviews all over the place. So glad they were on point. We started with the seafood civiche. Don’t think I could make it my entire meal, but it was a perfect starter. Crisp, clean, and bursting with flavor. I have never had anything like it and I am sure I will crave it from now on. I ordered the paella for my main dish and my boyfriend had the Mar y Tierra. Both were exceptional and unlike anything we had ever eaten. I do agree with a previous Unilocaler who wished the paella came with some crunchy edges from the pan. Service was fast and friendly. A little pricey, but I am willing to pay for quality. Will definitely be back, and next time we are bringing friends!

The service was not good. Good thing we were not in a hurry because it took forever. Had to ask for water three times. The place was cold so sitting there waiting for our food was uncomfortable. The wine was stale so we sent it back. Both chicken dishes were dry and tough. The beef dishes were much better. The house sauce was very good. There are so many better places to dine in West Allis I will not be back.

Can I get a sixth star? This place is out of sight delish! If you are adventurous with your tongue and palete, this is the place to go.

Chef Paz is one of my favorite places in west allis. I’m most deff a regular! Good food and service always ! Lomo is my fave !!

I haven’t been in for almost a year until last night. The dining counter has been removed and four tables of four have been installed in it’s place. The menu has also increased in size by at least 50% with more items to choose from.
Last night we shared:
— a Peruvian empanada with chicken. Flour based fried pastry filled with an incredibly delicious marinated pulled chicken. This was our favorite item last night.
— a Columbian empanada with beef, corn masa based fried pastry filled with seasoned ground beef. Also delicious with a very crispy shell.
— Papa Rellena — Fritter made of potato and stuffed with ground beef. Good flavor and crisp outer texture.
— Papa a la Huancaina. Potatoes topped with an Andean cream milk cheese and half of a hard-​boiled egg. Typically served chilled, this was at room temp or just above. It was the least flavorful dish we ordered but that is how the dish is typically served. I’ve had it at three Peruvian places. Not a dish I would order again.
–Seco de Res. Slow cooked chunks of beef in a beef roux and served with white rice and pinto beans. Rice and beans were solid. The flavor of the beef and roux were great, but the beef was a little bit tough and drier than I expected for being slow cooked.
— Smoked Pork Cecina — Smoked pork loin. Didn’t have smoked flavor. Look and tasted like it was grilled on a flat top. The flavor was great, however! It’s served with fried yucca and tostones (slices of fried un-​ripened plantain), which were also great!
I’m still a big fan of this place, and I want to go back and try more of the new seafood dishes I saw on the menu.

I’ve driven past a dozen times, and was intrigued each and every time. The stellar reviews and the unique food offering always kept it in the back of my mind, until a friend mentioned he was open for dinner, and we met up there around 5:30.
There was only one other table in there, but it was early. I asked for a glass of sangria ($ 6) and a water. Sangria came out right away, had to ask at least two more times for the water to come.
For appetizers we ordered the chicken Peruvian empanada, the beef Colombian empanada, ther papa rellena and Papa a la Huancaina, which is potato and cheese sauce. The Peruvian empanada was by far the stand-​out best part of the entire meal. The outside was more like a potatoey pastry, and the chicken inside was chock full of spices and flavors; I said I’d order three of those for my entire meal! The beef was less memorable, with more of the traditional corn outside. I did not care for the Papa a la Huancaina at all, the ‘cheese’ sauce had virtually no flavor at all, and we know that potatoes need something to kick em up a bit, which was severely lacking. This is how this dish is traditionally prepared, so no fault to the restaurant, I just didn’t care for it. I really liked the papa rellena, the outside of the potato ball was nice and crispy and it left a nice mashed potato inside. The center was filled with beef.
For entrees we ordered the Seco de Res, and the Smoked Pork Cecina. I was unfortunately disappointed with both of these entrees. The smoked pork was pounded very thin and tasted virtually zero of smoke. It looked and tasted as if it were cooked on a flat top grill. This was served with fried yuca, tostones, a mound of lettuce and two tomato pieces? The Seco was touted as slow cooked, and the meat was extremely chewy and dry for that to be true. This was served with rice and pinto beans, the rice was nice and creamy.
They make one sauce, a green cilantro aioli, and they serve it was every. single. dish. They also pickle red onions in vinegar and serve a mound of them with every meal. The meat and sides were flavored up with the redundant aioli and the overpowering onions, but I’d rather have had the food stand up on its own rather than needing the repetitive boosts.
All in all it was an enjoyable experience — perhaps most for the delicious appetizers. I will be back to get that chicken empanada again, that’s for sure.

I loved this place.
It’s small and not over decorated. It has a great personal vibe to it.
The food was truly great. I tried the Lomo Saltado, and while the meat was a little over cooked it was still wayyyy juicy. My brother has the pesto pasta with rib-​eye, which was also ridiculously good.
It was also very affordable. I can’t wait to go back.

Server was outstanding and the food was so delicious, definitely recommend this restaurant!

I was pleased with the customer service. Food was great as well. My only dig is that the white rice on the side was not fresh– possibly from the day before. We plan to come back for more, though!

Very clean restaurant food was fantastic
Took the family for our anniversary!
Service was very good

This is the first time I was ever here and the first time I ever tried Peruvian food. It was really good. I am now a fan. The place is located on a corner of a main street and it looks like it was an old gas station many years ago. There is an ourdoor area to eat in as well. The décor was very bright and nothing fancy. For me this does not matter as I go to a place for the food and not pay for someone’s artwork collection. The service here was very good. The waiter knew that it was the first time all 6 of us had ever eaten Peruvina so he went out of his way to expalain things and show us dishes as he went by to deliver them.
One thing that is very obvious is that nearly every dish has both rice and french fries as part of it. I did not mind as I am not of a rice person anyway. All of the dises we tried were really very good. The Sauted Lomo Steak was very tasty. The sauté of seafood was off the hook as was the fried fish and seafood. The Inka Paella was also a hit. We also tried the Papa Rellena and the empanada appetizers. Everything was very good. I would come back here anytime now that I know what it is I am a fan of Peruvian food.

I was thrilled when I saw that there’s a highly rated Peruvian restaurant in Milwaukee, and made a bee-​line for it on my way into the city. There was plenty of street parking, a nice outdoor area, and a fairly spacious dining area with various sized tables and booths. I was greeted by the host/​server/​only employee in the dining area and asked to pick a seat. I grabbed a comfy two person table by the window, with a view of the street, and began to people watch. The waiter came back to bring me a menu, and took my drink order. Due to the multiple groups present, and the waiter having to bus tables, even with high near lightning speed, the service was rather slow. I’ve had some amazing Peruvian seafood soups in the past, and I love crab meat, so I ordered the Parihuela. When they finally brough it to me, I started to eat it, and realized that there was no crab meat inside of it. By that point I decided that it was edible, not great, but not bad either, sort of a three star soup, and finished it. Once I finished, the server stopped by to see how it was, and I told him how I felt about it, and asked about the lack of crab. The server went to the kitchen, and came back with the explanation that they ran out of crab meat, so they substitued it with a large shrimp instead. It’s what they normally do. To me this is not an acceptable substitution, as I like crab meat, and am not a huge fan of shrimp, although I will eat them. Overall, for the $ 20+ bowl of soup counting the tax/​tip, it was a fairly average experience. Not a restaurant that I would go back to.

This place is a gem! I can’t believe I didn’t try it sooner!
Atmosphere/​service: Really nice. It was a chilly day, so we sat as far from the door as we could as a little draft was coming through.
Food:
Sauteed Loma Steak — Best dish on their menu! This Peruvian dish is one of the best I’ve ever had. They do right!
Inka Paella — Very vibrant flavors. It was a little too sea-​foody a taste for me, but my husband loved it.
Drinks:
Chicha Morada– I like it. It was like a sweet mulled berry juice with a hint of spice.
Check out this amazing hidden gem of a restaurant!

I’m never disappointed by Chef Paz Restaurant. I got the Bistec Saltado with Rice and a Chicha Morada — a Purple Corn Juice Drink with pineapple, lime, sugar and cinnamon. Or as I like to call it «Crack Juice» that stuff is maaaaaad addictive. *I’ve never done crack or any drugs BTW. Back to the review, my wife had a Chicken with yellow sauce, it was sooo freakin good. She washed that down with an Inca Cola, a Peruvian crème soda. And the customer service is the best.
This place is awesome. Please go here and enjoy this great food and service.

Quint little place. Great service and tasty food. I highly recommend the Mixto — a mixed seafood ceviche with mussels, fish, calamari, red onion and sweet potatoes. When eating the mixto be sure to get some of the sweet potato with each bite otherwise it comes off as overly salty and acidic. With the sweet potato and red onions it balances out perfectly.
For entrees my wife had the Beef Stew with Cilantro Sauce /​Seco de Res which she really enjoyed it and I had the Mar y Tierra which was also quite good. Our entrees came with the house sauce — be sure to use it adds quite the flavor.
We had the tres leche cake for desert.

Onions, onions, everywhere!
If you don’t like onions, definitely skip this place. I’m not a fan of raw onions so I was scraping a lot to the side. Pretty much every dish came with onion, raw or cooked. We got 3 entrees and 1 appetizer, and really only one dish would be worth going back for. Luckily everything came with a side of the delicious cilantro sauce which helped jazz up the less flavorful dishes.
Green Tamal (Appetizer): good flavor, cheesy, but nothing that blew my mind
Arroz con Pollo: basic grilled chicken, the piece I had was fine but other pieces had a rubbery texture, overall just a plain dish
Tacu Tacu: now this was was good! the pieces of meat were so tender and the sauce was super flavorful, this dish is a must– I even really liked the the cooked onions because the sauce was so good
Jalea: a mix of fish, shrimp, mussels, and calamari that were all over breaded and fried
Also to note, they have a surcharge of $ 1 for paying with a credit card.

I was excited. I dont know if it was my mind or it was actually more items online then it was at the actual restaurant? There was way to much seafood for me. I was looking for some more chicken.
Its a small place, very intimate. Its nestled on the corner of National. The waitstaff are very pleasant. The menu is mostly in Spanish. I dont speak or read it so it was very difficult. Luckily I had my phone so I was able to see the English version along with pictures.
We thought we would start with some apps then move on from there. We never moved on from the apps. Although they were good! We had all 3 Empanadas cheese, beef and chicken. We also order 2 orders of fries. I thought they would be regular sized. They were a couple fries in a small bowl. Lastly, we had the stuff potatoes (Beef) It was more potatoes then anything, but tasty.
I dont dislike this place. I just think that it doesnt suit my needs or tastes. I would love to go back and possibly try something new. My family wasnt feeling it was so ever. This played a part in us not staying past apps as well. I would say that its important to research this place prior to going so that you are ready or be a fan or Peruvian food already, Im sure you would love it then.

There is a serious lack of Central and South American restaurants in Milwaukee. I often crave the food I ate while studying in Costa Rica. When I looked online at the Chef Paz menu, my heart skipped a beat… While I had never had Peruvian food, it sounded very similar to what I longed for.
So we drove into the heart of the dirty. Dirty Stallis, that is. If you are not familiar with the area it may seem a little rough but it’s just the Stallis charm.
We started with appetizers: all the empanadas ($ 2 each) — cheese, chicken, and beef — and Yuquitas Cuzco ($ 8). The empanadas were fantastic!!! I loved all of them, and one could easily make a meal of empanadas and a side dish. The Yuquitas Cuzco was very interesting: it was 3 fried stuffed yucca balls and each one had something different inside — cheese, beef, and a mushroom sauce.
For entrees I ordered the Tacu Tacu «Chef Paz» ($ 15). Holy smokes is this delicious!!! The presentation was amazing! The rice and bean side was in a pyramid shape, which was really cool. The tenderloin was to die for, and there was an egg! An egg seriously makes everything even better.
I also had to get a side of the plantains because it is a fairly uncommon side item to find and I love love LOVE plantains! These were sweet and cooked well — they were firm and chewy, just how they should be.
My fiancée ordered the Fried Rice with Seafood/​Arroz Chaufa de Mariscos ($ 16). It was exactly as described… fried rice with seafood. The portion was huge. For us, who had never had Peruvian food, this dish was reminiscent of an Asian dish. It was good, but held nothing to my Tacu Tacu dish.
Our friend ordered the Triology ($ 38) which is ceviche, paella, and jalea. The ceviche is acid cooked white fish, which was delightful. The other two were a rice dish and then a mountain of fried items including fish, yucca, and various seafood. It was an certainly an experience. It is a lot of food — enough to share for 2 – 3 people for dinner.
I also had to try the Chica Morada, a fantastic non-​alcoholic drink that is absolutely splendid. I need more Chica Morada in my life!
The service was very friendly and attentive. The interior is small and colorful painting adorn the walls.
Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience and the food was fantastic. I highly recommend and will definitely be returning!

Very good food. Try also the Inca Cola.
We had Arroz Marinera y Chicken Antiquchero. Delicious and awesome.

Chef Paz Restaurant definitely deserves a nod and a recommendation.
I have to caveat by saying while living in Chicago one of my favorite restaurants was Aye Aye Picante. So, I have some Peruvian experience and one of the best at that.
With the bar set high, I appreciate Chef Paz dwelling in the sweet, yet dirty West Allis. It’s not an easy location to put a restaurant such as this.
My night consisted of the fish ceviche, yucca fries and chupa de camarones.
All were tasty.
The fish ceviche was different from previous experience, yet still quite tasty (they will ask how spicy you would like it).
Yucca is a must try! We had an appetizer. It is usually served steamed or fried (I’ve had them both ways at other places) but opted for the fried version as I was with someone new to this style of food and this was the better choice for that situation. (because it’s more like French fries and who doesn’t like French fries!!!)
The Chupa de Camarones soup was also very good. Peruvians always add a little cream to their broth — this I like! And it also had cheese chunks and an egg! Diggin’ it!
Go ahead and give them a try! I’d bet $ you will not be disappointed for trying Chef Paz out! :)