Natalie Peruvian Seafood Restaurant: Top Your Lomo Saltado with an Egg, Good Seafood Options

My friends and I wanted a seafood-oriented joint that wouldn't break the bank so we ventured to Natalie Peruvian Seafood located in a small, nondescript mini-mall in Hollywood. Let's just say this is our new go-to place and Mario's Peruvian's got nothin' on Natalie. The seafood was fresh, the meat was tender and the spicy green aji sauce enhanced all the dishes nicely. My personal fave is always the lomo saltado, except I had it with two over-easy eggs on top (called lomo montado especial). Seriously, what's not to like? Look at that beauty up top. The meat wasn't tough as in some cheaper spots (actually, even some fine dining restos like Mochica served tough meat -- what's their excuse?) and the generous portions of fries, tomatoes and onions were well mixed together and not too oily. 

We shared a bunch of plates including a mixed seafood in a cream lobster sauce with a giant potato on the side; fried whole fish with stir fried onions, tomatoes and shrimp fried rice (chaufa - Peruvian-Chinese food). The mixed seafood dish that included squid, mussels and shrimp was fresh and the sauce was not too heavy with just a hint of spice -- just wish it could have been a bit spicier as advertised (as well as the missing octopus from the mix). All in all, nothing that the aji sauce couldn't fix. The potato on the side would have been a good counterpoint to the spice but it ended up being just a garden-variety carb accompaniment to the protein. 

The fried whole fish was good in some parts but other parts of the fish tasted a bit like lead, much like Tilapia does sometimes. Not sure if it's a freshness issue but there were definitely parts that didn't have that taste. This dish came with steamed rice although we had a heaping plate of shrimp fried rice so barely touched the white rice.

The shrimp in the fried rice wasn't as fresh as the other seafood we had there and there were many but the rice itself was good -- not too oily or salty as in most fried rice dishes and well incorporated.

We got full from the get-go from muching on bread doused in that aji sauce before our meal came out.

I'd definitely return to try other Peruvian classics like ceviche featuring giant Peruvian corn kernels, papa a la Huancaina with all sorts of funky sauces over potatoes, and of course, the alfajor, aka crack. The description on the menu, "Peruvian shortbread cookie," doesn't even begin to do it justice. It's true that I'm mostly a fan of Chilean or Argentine alfajor but hey, as long as it's dulce de leche (or manjar, as it's called in Chile) sandwiched in a cookie, I'm going to guess I'll take to the Peruvian version just fine.

Check out my reviews of other Peruvian restos in Cali and of this fancier one in Marina del Rey. What about the venerable Pollo a La Brasa, you ask? Lovely people but not my cup of tea...