Barranco’s Menu of Peruvian Seafood Brings Lima to the East Bay

Chef Carlos Altamirano, who garnered a Michelin star for his Half Moon Bay restaurant La Costanera and whose Sanguchon food trucks are everyday ambassadors of Peruvian cuisine, is expanding his empire to Lafayette with Barranco, his latest full-service restaurant. Named for a seaside district in Lima, Peru, Barranco will open in a renovated 3,300-square-foot space at 3596 Mt. Diablo Boulevard on September 15.

Meanwhile, the chef has shared a sample of his menu, whose focus is seafood: Scallops, octopus, traditional escabeche fish, and even a made-to-order cebiche bar. More classic Peruvian dishes, like those served at Altamarino’s other restaurants, are on the menu, such as empanadas, anticuchos (skewers), chicharronnes, and pollo a la brasa.

In San Francisco, Altimarino owns Potrero Hill’s Mochica, which relocated from SoMa, and Piqueos in Bernal Heights. In 2009, he opened La Costanera in Half Moon Bay, earning a Michelin star in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He later opened Parada in Walnut Creek, and most recently, went fast-casual with the Emeryville counter-service eatery Paradita.

To serve his restaurants, the chef also established a one-acre farm in Half Moon Bay dedicated to growing a single ingredient: The spicy rocoto pepper crucial to Peruvian cooking. Take a look at the menu below, where that’s featured in everything from the leche de tigre citrus marinade for cebiche to the Pescado a la macho, a fish stew pictured above as served at Parada.