Reviews for Almazónica Cervecería & Peruvian Eatery in Sarasota, FL

5-star food. Authentic with modern presentation. Occasional live music. Cute interior. Don?t be confused by the names, the... food is excellent. The restaurant is owned by ?Chef Darwin? and Darwin is the name on the building, but it seems they haverecently renamed it to Almazonica to give it more of a Peruvian sounding name. I think this is a wise change as I have seen the?Darwin? brewery/restaurant while shopping at Trader Joe?s and was not enticed into checking it out. But when searching forPeruvian food near me, it popped up with great reviews so we went. We have been searching for great Peruvian ceviche ever sincewe saw the Anthony Bourdain show where he is wandering around the market place eating various types of Peruvian ceviche. Well,this place satisfied our cravings. The first sign of quality and authenticity was the availability of a Pisco Sour cocktail. They had two types and we both got the standard this time. I give it a 4.5 stars, only because the one at Kojo has a littlemore egg-white foam and a fancy design with the bitters in the egg-white foam. My wife also had the standard margarita and wasnot excited by their twist on the recipe, though the Revolution version sounds interesting. 5-Star food: For dinner, we had the?mixto ceviche? ($23) and the ceviche sampler ($30), all were made with high quality fresh ingredients. The mixto was ourfavorite, made with tiger?s milk and a variety of seafood. The sampler had 3 varieties: ?classico?, Cameron (shrimp) and Chifa. The classico was corvina fish with thin-sliced red onion, finely chopped cilantro and a few tiny red diced items that might havebeen chilis (though not spicey). The marinade was ?tiger?s milk? which I will need to learn to make at home so I can recreatethis wonderful dish at home. I believe it was the Cameron that was in a cocktail glass with avocado, OJ, lime juice, avocado,corn and some other veggies. The marinade was so good that I had to drink it once the protein was Read more

A new find for us! We wanted to try something new and local and I'm so glad we did! Great flavors and even gluten free options!... Give this place a try! Read more

Just finished a fabulous meal at Almazonica Cerveceria and Peruvian Eatery, formerly Darwin. My wife and I have dined here... before Covid, and done takeout during, so an in person visit was a fulfilling experience for us. Darwin and Lleyes combined toprovide us with an amazing gastro experience suiting our wishes: Pisco sours; an interestingly complex palate in a simplecombination of ingredients House made Guacamole; served with the best lengthwise cut plantain slices, I can?t call themchips!! Choros a la Chalaca; a 4 mussel plate of delicious shellfish with bits of onion, tomato and Peruvian corn (2 BIG kernelseach!) Camaron Ceviche; delicious shrimp and fixins Truffle Parmesan Papas; wedges of creamy fried skin-on potato, dressed withtruffle oil, parmesan? crazy good Oven Roasted Pork Taco; delicious tender pork cubes, onion, guac with a delicious aioli (seethe menu for the ingredients) Almazonica Fried Chicken (AFC); delicious boneless thighs perfectly prepped/ battered/cooked andtossed Buffalo style in a terrific sauce, with great jasmine fried rice. Two good sized thigh quarters, I had to get anotherorder of fried rice to go home with one of them!! Chicha Marada; delicious Peruvian purple corn beverage scented withcinnamon. NO ROOM FOR DESSERT THIS TIME!! Darwin prepares and serves Peruvian cuisine sometimes modified for the palates ofothers, sometimes fused/accentuated with other elements, but always, in my several visits, high quality offerings with greatingredients, great preparation and easy to eat!! If you have a desire to find an uncommon dining experience with variety, flavorand excellent preparation, get to Almazonica. I believe you?ll become a fan as well. Read more

The location is nice and the staff were friendly. I went here to try out a Peruvian restaurant in Sarasota and in spite of the... positive atmosphere, I could barely find anything that was flexible to my dietary restrictions and the chef was not flexible toalter the dish to my needs. I?ve been to so many Peruvian restaurants in Florida and I know they substitute chicken for beef inLomo Saltado, but this wasn?t possible here. There?s only one Entree per meat listed on the menu which made it SUPER hard tochoose due to the limited options. I would also mention, as others did, that the portions were small but the food was quitepricy. I went here craving for a huge portion (as most Peruvian restaurants offer) of Peruvian food but ended up coming backhome to eat because I wasn?t full yet while I paid a lot. Overall, I think it?s a nice fancy restaurant to go to if you have nodietary restrictions and want to get only a sample taste of Peruvian-style food. I think it?s a great place for a cute datenight too!! (I ended up ordering the entree with Cod. The meat and the ingredients were fresh and the plate was very nicelydecorated. The taste was nothing extraordinary, or nothing to remember as a Peruvian dish. I could easily imagine this dish tobe from multiple European countries. I wouldn?t recommend.) Read more

What can I say?! I'm sorry I didn't dine here sooner. The meals were amazing, the ambiance was a delightful change, the owners... were there as a whole family, the service was on point and everyone cared and was so attentive and genuinely cared about ourexperience, the murals were so colorful, the tastes of each dish were intentional and authentic! I would highly recommendDarwin's! Thank you for the best overall experience and meal I've had in a long time! Read more

This is my first time in Sarasota I was looking for Peruvian food and I found this place. Since the moment I read the menu and... saw the photos online I knew it was gonna be good. We sat at the bar the service was really good,friendly people they were telling us about how the restaurant start and everything. The food was one of the best meals I had in a long time so definitelyrecommended! I tried before some others Peruvian restaurants in USA but sometimes you feel like something is missing maybebecause it?s hard to get all the spices and ingredients but last night I felt like I was in Peru the decorations are alsobeautiful, elegant and nice jungle paints on the wall. Read more

Absolutely 5 Stars!!! Some of the most delicious dishes I have ever had. The severing staff was amazing. We were treated with... the utmost respect. The food came out of the kitchen with no wait at all. Every dish had amazing flavors and left the tastebuds wanting more. Thank you to all of the staff for such a wonderful dining experience. Will definitely return for more. Read more

Fantastic food and service. The watermelon and tuna appetizer was refreshing and delicious. The octopus was one of the best I've... had in the US, but not quite as good as in Portugal. Slightly less tender, but extremely flavorful and delicious. The pork bellywas crisp and wonderful, and the poke bowl was fantastic. Not there cheapest meal I've had, but one of the best for fairlycontemporary fusion cuisine, and one of my favorites in Sarasota. Also, next to Trader Joe's, so you can cross that off yourlist after the meal! The restaurant's ambiance is on the darker side, but perfect for date night. It wasn't crowded when I wasthere, so it also wasn't very loud. Read more