Warike is the vibrant Peruvian restaurant surprising and delighting diners in Surry Hills.
It’s not often we dine somewhere that is incomparable in the Sydney landscape. Somewhere that goes beyond the comforts of tartare, crudo and burrata, taking our palates to a new continent. We have Warike to thank for this refreshing experience and here’s why it should be on your bucket list, whether it be for date night, group hangs or family shindigs.
Find Warike in the Surry Hills neighbourhood, sitting unpretentiously on Devonshire Street. The 46-seater dining room is spacious and modern with wooden furnishing, floating pendant lighting and an open-style kitchen. There are pops of colour from traditional textile art and paintings, as well as cheerful music which fabricate the Peruvian culture.
The word Warike combines two Quencha words, “wa” meaning hidden or secret and “rike” meaning a place that serves stew. The experience lived up to the name for us, as it felt we had found a hidden gem amongst the thriving Surry Hills dining scene and the staff welcomed you like old friends do for a catch-up over hearty, delicious food.
The menu featured many unfamiliar words but the waiter assured us by saying, “Tonight you will experience new flavours that you will love, I’m sure of it”. And boy was she right! We suggest dining on the set menu which allows the chefs to bring out their best dishes. Each is a riot of colour and flavour which have been beautifully presented with fine dining esque. Executive Chef Hector Chunga takes your palate on an unforgettable journey through Peruvian cuisine with some Mediterranean influences. It’s a thrilling experience where you’ll try new ingredients and flavours with each dish.
Dish highlights for us were the Torta Choclo & Salmon which is a soft Peruvian corn cake stacked with salsa criolla, Aji Amarillo and smoked salmon. The Ceviche Clásico was incredibly delicious, and surprisingly creamy compared to the usual ceviche, with fresh fish which rotates daily, tiger’s milk, sweet potato puree and Peruvian corn which we are now obsessed with. We also loved the Calamari A Lo Macho with tacu tacu, macho sauce, Aji Panca, Aji Amarillo and white wine, and Pulpo Anticuchero which featured a generous serving of charcoal octopus, Anticuchera sauce, cauliflower puree, Peruvian corn, chimichurri and dry olives.
It wouldn’t be a Peruvian restaurant without a stellar Pisco list. The Pisco Sour Clásico is extremely sippable but we also loved the more innovative concoctions including the Passionfruit Pisco Sour and the Pisco Colada
Pisco. Moving onto wines, you’ll find a lovely handpicked selection boasting Latin America’s best, taking you to Chile with a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc and then to Argentina with a bold Malbec.
Warike has an incredibly comfortable atmosphere that beckons you back time and time again. We’d bump this one to the top of your must-visit list.
Open Tuesday – Wednesday from 5pm – 10pm, Thursday from 4:30pm – 11pm, Friday from 12pm – 2:30pm and 4:30pm – 11pm, and Saturday from 12pm – 2:30pm and 5pm – 11pm. Book your table here.