Los Incas Peruvian Restaurant is now open in O’Fallon, Missouri

A quick search for the “top 10 Peruvian restaurants in St. Louis” will leave you with a list well under the number 10. When co-owners and friends Luis Moreno and Rafael De la Cruz decided to open a restaurant together, they knew that the St. Louis food scene had a serious hole: the cuisine of their home, Peru. As Peru is sweeping the global food scene, with Lima restaurant Central named No. 1 restaurant in the world last month, the pair knew that it was time to properly highlight the diverse dishes putting Peru on the map. 

In partnership with chefs Julia Hilario and Rossi Alva, the pair opened Los Incas Peruvian Restaurant at 4279 Keaton Crossing Boulevard in O’Fallon, Missouri. The restaurant had a soft opening in late May and will fully open in a few weeks once they have secured their liquor license.

The team at Los Incas has enjoyed introducing their food to the St. Louis area. “One thing that we tell the customers is the food that we have has a lot of influences. We have Japanese, we have Italian influences, we have Spanish influence, we have even African influence,” Moreno said.

The succinct menu contains a fleet of the most popular Peruvian dishes that the Los Incas team are able to source. “We're doing our best to present the full, authentic, just like if you were in Peru, you go to a restaurant, that's the kind of food we're trying to present,” Moreno said. 

Lomo saltado, a favorite of Moreno and De la Cruz, is an Asian-influenced stir-fry of steak, peppers, tomatoes and onions, served with rice and french fries. “I can eat that every day," Moreno said.

The national dish of Peru, ceviche, is featured at Los Incas with fish marinated in lime juice, hot peppers and salt, served with sweet potatoes and a combination of boiled and fried corn. Seco de carne is another favorite of De la Cruz. The dish originated in northern Peru, where De la Cruz is from, and consists of beef stewed with chiles, cilantro, spices and served over rice and beans. 

Once the liquor license comes through, they’ll offer some Peruvian beers, a few wines and some hard liquor, including pisco, which is the most traditional and well-known spirit from Peru. For a traditional Peruvian NA drink option, order chicha morada, a sweet-yet-light beverage made from purple corn, fruit and spices.

The dessert menu features ice cream from Curichis ice cream, the product of Luis Felipe, a Peruvian native and local small-batch producer. The two flavors available are chocolate and lucuma (a fruit native to Peru). They also offer crema volteada, which is similar to Mexican flan but with Peruvian flair.

“We want to present our culture to as many people as possible in the area,” De la Cruz said.  

The space seats 55 including the bar and features décor inspired by the Peruvian flag with lots of reds and whites with black accents, along with a massive picture of Machu Picchu on the wall. There is traditional Peruvian live music offered on weekends, including by the owners, who are also musicians. On July 28, Peru’s Independence Day, there will be a special celebration with live music.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.