Mancora Restaurant 99 1st Ave. (Lower East Side) New York, NY

Mancora Restaurant is a Peruvian restuarant located in the lower east side. The decor is a bit dark and homey,  but I love the hand painted ocean theme (the octopus on the ceiling is my favorite). This is a great place to have a group gathering or just an intimate dinner w/ a friend or significant other.

I love that they have such a variety of ceviche (ceviche is popular in Central and South America, it is typically made from fresh raw fish or seafood marinated in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with chili peppers) I recently tried the Ceviche de Coco, the Ceviche de Mariscos, and the Ceviche de Camarones. If you like seafood salad you will definitely enjoy this part of the menu.

I took my mom here and she loved it. We ordered a bottle of wine (the wine list is great) and a carafe of sangria, the food was excellent. I had the Pescado A Lo Macho (which is a red snapper fillet steamed in a red pepper sauce and topped w/ seafood in a creamy sauce) and for dessert I ordered the Flan ( a custard like pastry). At my most recent visit I had the Entrana Marinera (which is a skirt steak that was beautifully cooked topped with a seafood mixture in a creamy sauce) served with rice.

Everytime that I have been here the service was excellent and I will continue to recommend people to go here. Check it out.