Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco Continues Serving Up Authentic Peruvian Cuisine at New Location

Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco, a favorite for Peruvian cuisine since 2017, has opened its second location at 1433 St. Charles Avenue in a building that was once home to 24-hour dive restaurant St. Charles Tavern. Unfortunately, St. Charles Tavern closed during the pandemic.

Peruvian cuisine is influenced by a combination of Spanish, Italian, Asian, and African cultures. The menu at Tito’s reflects those influences with dishes ranging from seafood and duck to lamb and veal hearts.

The owners of Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco, Chef Juan and Tatiana Lock are from Peru and Nicaragua, respectively. They gutted and renovated the St. Charles Avenue building from top to bottom. The upstairs is a dining room and private event area and the downstairs has been expanded into a light-filled dining room complete with an exquisite bar.

A striking mural by artist Roman López occupies the back wall, portraying an image that is a nod to New Orleans and Peruvian culture.

-ADVERTISEMENT-

“Everything in here is new from plumbing to air conditioning,” Tatiana Lock said. “We completely demolished the kitchen and expanded it. We renovated the space, but we maintained the building as a historic building; that’s what people love about it.”

Although the original location of Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco is just a few blocks away on Magazine St., Juan Lock explained that he had been looking for a place that was more accessible from downtown and elsewhere in the city. He was hunting for a possible spot for his second location when he saw a “for sale” sign on the front of 1433 St. Charles Ave. He purchased the space in February 2021.

“Many of our guests come from other parts of the city besides uptown,” Lock explained. “We get a lot of guests from downtown, the CBD, Mid City, the Westbank, and even across the lake. We think that this new location is in a perfect spot for those people and anyone staying at the hotels downtown or visiting the convention center.”

During the pandemic, Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco location on Magazine St. adapted, like many other restaurants, by offering take-out ordering and delivery. Thanks to customer and neighborhood support, the couple was able to keep their business and open a second location.

Tatiana Lock said, “We were doing to-go orders and we even did some deliveries ourselves. The neighborhood surprised us with their support. We had neighbors who were ordering from us multiple times a week and they kept us going. We had to figure it all out, especially how to package food to-go. We feel stronger just because we were able to survive it.”

Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco prides itself on an extensive drink menu packed with Peruvian wine and cocktails made with pisco, the national spirit of Peru. Pisco is a fermented colorless brandy, similar to wine, made from eight varieties of grapes. If you’ve never had it before, Tito’s pisco cocktail menu is a great place to start.

Juan recommends the Classic Pisco Sour made with pisco, fresh lime juice, house simple syrup, egg white, and bitters. Cocktails range from $14 to $17 and can be ordered minus the Pisco for a tasty $8 zero-proof cocktail.

In addition to Peruvian wine, the extensive wine list includes selections from Chile, Argentina, Spain, California, and Oregon.

Of course, with “ceviche” in the restaurant’s name, there has to be an excellent selection of the seafood favorite, and the menu here doesn’t disappoint. Highlights include Ceviche Criollo with Gulf fish, leche de tigre, aji limo, sweet potato, and choclo; Ceviche shrimp with Louisiana shrimp, leche de tigre, aji amarillo, sweet potato, and choclo; and Tiradito Nikkei with sashimi grade tuna, lime, avocado, soy, and sesame.

Chef Juan also recommends Anticuchos De Res, hanger steak, golden potatoes, choclo, and chimichurri; Lomo Saltado, tenderloin tips, pisco, soy, tomatoes, onions, rice, crispy potatoes; Arroz con Mariscos, mixed fresh seafood, aji amarillo rice with cream sauce, salsa criolla; and Jalea Real de Mariscos, crispy fresh seafood, yuca fries, rocoto aioli, salsa criolla.

Add Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco to your brunch list because on Sunday this restaurant turns into brunch heaven with a selection of ceviche as well as brunch classics like Shrimp and Grits, Louisiana shrimp, aji panca sauce, Peruvian corn and grits with queso fresco; Crab cakes and eggs, two jumbo crab cakes pan fried on top of an aji panca cream sauce with poached eggs, huancaina sauce and garlic wilted spinach; and Pollo a la Arequipa, grilled chicken topped with sautéed spinach, pepper jack cheese, huancaina sauce, fried egg, potato hash.

The restaurant also has bottomless mimosas for brunch for $20.

Finally, I just have to mention that Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco has a parking lot. We know how rare off-street parking is in this area; all the more reason to visit this tasty spot.

Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco is open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and for Sunday brunch, 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.