Los Andes is a small casual Peruvian Restaurant located in a strip mall that’s between north and central Phoenix Arizona. It’s not a fancy place but it seems clean.

Things started out great! We were greeted with interesting tasty samples of Peruvian Juices, crispy salted kernels and two tasty dipping sauces. Our server was younger but seemed so sweet and cheerful too!

One juice was passionfruit and the other was a more complex combination of several things that included purple rice and cloves. I enjoyed both of the juice samples but didn’t order juice today. I thought our server seemed disappointed that I didn’t order one of the juices so I explained that I was trying to save room for dessert. (juice has a lot of sugar…so I usually don’t drink juice but prefer my sugar in dessert)

The fried kernels are tasty…..They are even more tasty with the cilantro based sauce and the spicier red sauce but are difficult to dip because the kernels are small.

There were many appetizers that did sound delicious…..Many were made with potatoes and they also offered several ceviches that were interesting to me. Today I thought I’d just get my main because it seemed like a substantial plate and I was hoping to save room for a Peruvian Dessert.

I have to tell THE FORKING TRUTH so here it goes!

I ordered the Pescado Los Andes (fish in picante sauce with yucca, Peruvian corn and asparagus ($19.95 on menu).

But my heart sank when I saw the meal they made me. It wasn’t what I ordered. Actually I would never order this dish for a bunch of reasons. Looking at this dish was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees. I had a bad experience someplace else with ahi Amarillo sauce and I have weird hang ups from my childhood with shrimp and scallops……..They me Picante Los Andes (fish in ahi Amarillo (yellow pepper) shrimp, scallops, yucca, Peruvian corn and rice (on menu $17.95).

I told the server that I didn’t order this. She didn’t say anything. She just had that deer in the headlights kind of look.

I didn’t send it back for multiple reasons. I’m thinking is it possible that I ordered the wrong thing? Another reason I didn’t send it back is because I’ve worked in restaurants and I saw what not all but what some cooks do to people’s food that gets re-made…..Sending back food is maybe the worst thing that you can do to a cook in a restaurant. I also didn’t want my husband to wait to eat because his food would get old and cold if he had to wait.

I removed the shrimp and scallops and saved them for my dogs. I was slightly fearful about the sauce because from a different Peruvian Restaurant I didn’t like aji amarillo but this sauce was edible to me. It tasted almost like a pepper soup with a peppery kick but ran slightly salty. I hate to say this but I must if I tell The Forking Truth….This fish was cooked nicely but came with too much blood line on it (the dark earthy part of the fish). On salmon the blood line isn’t so strong tasting like it is on tilapia. I don’t eat tilapia often and didn’t expect that taste in my mouth and my stomach went a little wonky. The rice was fresh and fluffy. The yucca sticks were crisp and seemed free of oil.

My husband got their other signature dish the Lomo Saltado ($15.95).

The beef was tender and tasted like it was marinated in soy sauce. This plate included onions, tomatoes, fries, rice and cilantro mignonette………We are not certain if the cilantro mignonette made an appearance here.

Anywho-

I was hoping to try a Peruvian dessert……I really thought it would make me feel better from the fish. I saw Peruvian Ice Cream and Peruvian Donuts on the menu….I saw some different and interesting desserts in the local paper from here.

Our server didn’t ask us if we wanted dessert and slapped the check down on the table. I don’t know why but I didn’t feel like having dessert after that.

Andes candies come with the check.

I didn’t study the check till I got home.

I did order the right entree and was over charged too!

I did order the Pescado Los Andes but they gave me the Picante Los Andres ($17.95 on menu) When I look at the bill I know what went wrong. The waitress ordered what I asked for but the owner- cook made the wrong entree. The server could have fixed the situation if she looked at the food that she was serving me.

They over charged me by $3.00 🙁 I don’t know why I was over-charged.

That was my trip to Los Andes in Phoenix AZ

www.LosAndesPHX.com

Every FORKING Thing is subject to change and YOUR FORKING experience may or may not differ.