Brasa & Pisco, 8347 Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota, 941-360-0300

Brasa & Pisco offers Peruvian flair and flavor in a beautiful space. The new restaurant, located on Lockwood Ridge Road off University Parkway, has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it exterior but the inside is spacious and inviting with wooden furniture and twinkly accent lights. The service is impeccable—we had a table of six including two gluten free and one paleo and all of our questions were met with friendly and helpful answers. My friend, Claudia Chuquizuta, is Peruvian and a foodie, so when she invited us to try out a new Peruvian Fusion restaurant that she loves we knew it had to be the real deal. Every dish we tried offered a unique, intense, aromatic flavor thanks to Chef Diego Salazar’s deft hand. We enjoyed the octopus ceviche flavored with aji amarillo (a fruity chile pepper) and devoured the potato fritters filled with beef and raisin picadillo, eggs, and olives. The rotisserie chicken is tender, juicy and seasoned to perfection and the Bisteck a lo Pobre is the ultimate Peruvian take on steak and eggs that I didn’t even realize I’ve been longing for. The craft cocktails and sangria are all tasty, but try the Lucama Martini for a taste of a subtropical indigenous Peruvian fruit that defies characterization. 

Brasa & Pisco, 8347 Lockwood Ridge Rd., Sarasota, 941-360-0300