From an opening salvo of pisco sours and competent ceviche to “drunken currants”, Uma makes the case for the meeting of Peruvian cuisine and Western Australian produce.
Alejandro Saravia may be known for his Melbourne restaurants Pastuso and Farmer’s Daughters, but he now calls Perth home. If anything, Uma shows that he’s taken to the state in a relatively short time.
Pulpo a la piedra, which presents as a grilled Fremantle octopus tentacle with piquant capsicum salsa, demonstrates Saravia’s strong handle on his home cuisine and WA’s ocean harvest. As does a dish of Abrolhos Islands prawns in ceviche de camarones, the curing marinade bringing desert limes into the mix for a fine rendition of a cornerstone of Peruvian cooking balancing both acidity and heat.
Pulpo a la piedra, which presents as a grilled Fremantle octopus tentacle with piquant capsicum salsa, demonstrates Saravia’s strong handle on his home cuisine and WA’s ocean harvest.
It’s just one of several ceviches on a section dedicated to them, but impressive rump-cap skewers and a boozy Peruvian bread pudding starring Turkey PX-soaked currants for dessert show Saravia isn’t all about seafood. Sharp floor staff know their way around a drinks list that adds South American wines – particularly from Argentina and Chile – to a strong local showing.
The low lighting, an on-theme fit-out and a suitably South American soundtrack disguise the fact that the Pan Pacific lies just beyond the entrance, but with the strength of Perth’s hotel-dining scene, though, it should be nothing to hide from. Add Uma to the fold, and that scene has only become stronger.
