The Team Behind Suyo Peruvian Opens Uchu Cevicheria in Vancouver’s Chinatown
The new restaurant from chef Ricardo Valverde shines a spotlight on seafood.
Competition makes for good stories, but there will be no heated rivalry between Ricardo Valverde’s two restaurants. The Peruvian chef, who opened Suyo Modern Peruvian on Main Street in summer 2022, just launched his latest endeavour: Uchu Cevicheria. While both restaurants are influenced by Valverde’s Peruvian roots, he’s passionate about not comparing the two. “I want to try to stay away from the Peruvian label on Uchu, because I don’t want it to compete with Suyo,” he says. As any little sibling of a wildly successful and popular older sibling might tell you, that’s for the best—because Suyo has, without a doubt, set the bar high.
In its short history, Suyo has been recognized by Vancouver Magazine (Best New Restaurant in 2023), 50 Best Discovery, and even the Michelin Guide. The restaurant is celebrated for highlighting three regions of Peru: the coast, highlands, and jungle. There aren’t many menus in Vancouver that spotlight Peru’s cuisine and cooking, so although the restaurant is small (it seats fewer than 50), it has had a strong impact and is often seen as representing Peru in the city’s dining scene.
Uchu, which opened officially on February 6 at 158 East Pender Street, is “a seafood restaurant with Peruvian soul,” according to Valverde. The cevicheria’s menu is all about Peru’s coastline, with a primary focus on—you guessed it—ceviche. There are four on the menu: scallop and prawn, albacore tuna, classico (ling cod), and mixto (squid, octopus, prawns, ling cod, mussels, and clams). Diners can see the vibrant seafood chilling on ice at the back of the bar, adding a fresh ambiance that the chef is proud of.
Some might classify fish as the main component of ceviche, but to Valverde and his team, it’s all about the heat. In fact, uchu means hot pepper in Quechua. The restaurant imports ajís (chili peppers) once every two weeks straight from Peru.
Also on the menu are tiraditos (raw fish dishes similar to sashimi) and sushi, both nods to Japan’s influence on Peru. The scallop batayaki, a bite made with sushi rice, garlic, parmesan, and yuzu, is a bit of Japanese Italian fusion. Uchu serves housemade pasta, too. It’s a blend of cuisine that will fit right in in Vancouver’s Chinatown, where nearly every restaurant embraces the flavours, techniques, and ingredients from multiple regions and cultures.
The Torre del Mar seafood tower is the showstopping dish, with oysters, mussels escabeche, ceviche, tiradito, causa, batayaki, and poached prawns. “Uchu is basically a journey from northern to southern Peru,” Valverde says.
The interior leans modest, with all-brick walls, ceiling greenery, and a few pops of blue in the booth seating. The chef says the aim is for guests to walk in and feel like “they’re about to have the ultimate seafood experience.” Suyo’s reputation may get people in the door, but Valverde’s plan is for Uchu to be a hot spot all on its own.
