Travelling across London can sometimes be more tedious than travelling across the entire country. If it takes three trains, a bus ride and two hours, I better be somewhere as far and sun-filled as Margate or Whitstable. Alas, I’m only in Greenwich. I have nothing against this far-east borough, but jeez, is it a bitch to get to from west London. But when I arrive and see the park’s hills and lively ambience, I’m reminded that it was absolutely worth the trek – especially when there’s food involved.
The food is at El Alquimista, a new high-end Peruvian restaurant by chef Walter Pineda, who previously worked at Le Pont de la Tour, Maze by Gordon Ramsay and The British Museum, and whose menu stood out among the many ‘elevated’ Peruvian spots in London. Most posh Peruvian joints focus on Nikkei, a Peruvian-Japanese cuisine style that was invented when an influx of Japanese immigrants moved to Peru for work. It involves expensive raw fish, leche de tigre (a popular sauce used to marinate seafood for ‘ceviches’ and ‘tiraditos’) and menu prices that sting.
At El Alquimista, Nikkei is found, but it’s not the main idea. Pineda focuses on Peruvian food as a whole, from its fancy fish to its more humble finds, using traditional Peruvian ingredients and cooked in a classic French style. As for the wine list, it’s kissed by the Inca gods, mostly Intipalka, with a few international bottles sprinkled throughout.
El Alquimista is unconventional and undeniably unique
However it’s peak summer, and it’s too hot for wine, so I go for a Pisco Sour. It’s frothy and tart with just enough sweetness – and elegantly presented with the cocktail’s iconic, floral-patterned bitters.
I sip and gaze around the dining room. The walls are painted guava with gold accents from the frames that hold Incan and Amazon-inspired artwork. There are touches of teal in the furniture, wine shelves, columns and hallways, and lush plants placed all about the place. The only thing missing? People.
Where was everyone? I mean, it was noon on a Saturday and the sun’s out. Of course, everyone’s outside. But this felt quieter. Maybe the scaffolding up front is deterring visitors, or perhaps there’s a major event in Greenwich Park. I start to worry. Maybe there’s a reason no one’s in here.
But as a steamy broth lands at the table, a couple enters the room and sits by the window. And with a whiff of the broth, those worries wither away. It’s a seabream fish broth made with ginger, carrots and tomato, and on the side, there’s cancha, roasted Peruvian corn kernels, parsley and slivers of carrot crisps for texture. This was supposed to be a palate cleanser but all I wanted to do was keep savouring it.
Ceviche
Venison a la pobre
“Paddington Toast”
Then I’m served the pigeon anticucho. Normally, anticuchos are beef or chicken hearts, grilled and marinated and on a stick. Here, they’re slices of pigeon breast, grilled to perfection and placed on top of sliced avocado that’s on top of a golden fondant potato. It’s then drenched with an aji panco cream with garlic, oregano. lemon juice and a hint of black truffle. I’ve never had pigeon before, and I felt bad starting. And while it was, at first, a bit earthy, I’m sorry to say in the end it was delicious.
As a couple more guests enter the dining room, my server drops off the ceviche. Unlike classic ceviche, where the sea bream is marinated for around 20 minutes before serving, this one is served almost immediately, like Mexico’s aguachile. In the bowl, there’s pureed camote (Spanish for sweet potato) and parsnip, pickled red onions, celery, baby coriander, baby corn, more cancha and lemon balm. It tastes just like the sea, maybe a little too much. However, when you get a spoonful with pickled red onion and cancha, the dish levels up entirely.
Just before the main, there’s a little carb intermission. Pineda drops off pan casero, little Peruvian bread rolls, before he greets a family that goes to sit in the round, cushioned booths. There were two rolls: the yellow roll had turmeric, curry and cumin seeds; the white roll had green and black olives, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. I’m not a big fan of cumin, so it’s hard to judge this one. However, I gobbled up the olive roll before it even got a chance to see the light of day. Both had a lovely crispiness on the outside, and steaming, smoking fluffiness within, perfect to melt the hand-whipped butter that comes with them.
Finally, the main arrives, Venison a la pobre, or ‘poor man’s venison’. The name has nothing to do with the quality, but with the story. You’re getting home from work. You’re cold. You’re tired. You’re broke. You’re starving. So what do you do? You grab everything in the kitchen and whip up a hearty, satisfying meal. The traditional style is with beef, fried onions, potatoes, eggs and white rice. Throw in some plantains for good measure. But things are rarely done traditionally at El Alquimista. Here, Pineda serves English venison in medallions alongside a rich, heritage potato and truffle mash with garlic and confit egg yolk on top. Between the meat and potatoes is a lovely row of wild mushrooms, from chanterelles to oyster, and there’s a stroganoff sauce that’s poured on top. For the finish, slivers of black truffle are shaved at the table.
For a hot summer day in the middle of the climate crisis, this was certainly a heavy choice. It was rich, earthy and filling, and after feasting on starters and ceviches, I struggled to finish (I physically couldn’t). Personally, the venison could have been more tender, but the accompanying mash was marvellous; if you’re into wild mushrooms, this dish would certainly be a win. Sadly, I am not this person. I struggle with mushrooms that don’t come with psilocybin benefits. I need to stress that this wasn’t a bad dish, it was just a bad decision for my personal palate. Next time, I’ll try the rice dish that I knew I wanted deep down.
The dessert, named Paddington Toast, was a charming, nostalgic ode to the Peruvian bear who crossed the pond and fell in love with jam sandwiches. Served beautifully as a round steamed sponge topped with chantilly cream, strawberries and aguaymanto (you might know these as goldenberries). Surrounding the sponge is a passionfruit and aguaymanto custard, Peruvian dulce de leche and strawberry juice reduction to place cute polka dots around the sponge. It’s a perfect portion to end the meal – really good and not overly sweet. My only qualm is that the only ‘toast’ was the sponge’s thin crust on top. I expected a bit more toastiness and less sponge. If it had been named Paddington Shortcake, it would be more accurate. However, I shut up when that custard hit my lips. I could drink this whole.
By the time I finished, the dining room was almost full – from curious tourists who peeked through the window before coming in to Latin locals, thrilled that Latin food was finally making its way across the city.
I left El Alquimista feeling satisfied, enlightened and so so full. Was this the meal of a lifetime? No, but it was a damn good meal.
I think the magic about El Alquimista is that this restaurant gives you a chance to be as daring as its cooking style. I’ve never had Latin food the way Pineda prepares it, but I had so much fun exploring his world. It’s unconventional and undeniably unique.
2 Stockwell Street
London
SE10 9JN
August 2026
