If you’re looking for a great meal or just a good time in the Theatre District, look no further than La Pulperia! A Latin-American fusion restaurant with a vibrant heartbeat, La Pulperia offers hard-to-find dishes and unique cocktail experiences. From their ceviche and steak to their incredible churros, a trip to La Pulperia will be a meal to remember.
Before I get into the details of my dining experience, here’s a little bit about the restaurant: La Pulperia opened its doors on the precipice of NYC’s COVID reopening, in March of 2021. It’s interior was inspired by pulperias (general stores in South America). With reclaimed wood and beautiful tiles, strings of romantic lights adorning the ceiling, and a generously stocked bar, designer Andres Gomez captured what feels as intimate as a memory. Well, an imagined memory, since I’ve never stepped foot in a pulperia.
Now, moving on to the food. Executive Chef Miguel Molina, who comes to New York from Guerrero, Mexico, is an expert on Latin and South American cuisines. His vision with La Pulperia is to reimagine classic Peruvian, Brazilian, Argentinian, and Mexican dishes to “create and plate dishes that are totally unique.” His experience with food stems from the most celebrated source: by his mother’s side. He helped his parents run their restaurant before arriving in New York in 1996 and working in restaurants throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.
We started our meal with two cocktails courtesy of Mixologist Daniel Villanueva: the Parcero Old Fashioned and the Del Callao. Both arrived served in gorgeous, dry-ice smoke filled containers and were poured into our cups artfully. The old fashioned was mellowed out with simple syrup and chocolate bitters, and the Del Callao was refreshingly fruity but not overly sweet, thanks to the hibiscus.
For our meal, we ordered the Lobster Taquitos, Tuna Tartare, Hamachi Tostada, Skirt Steak, a side of Coconut Rice, and topped it off with Churros for dessert. Each dish was flavorful and succulent – the seafood items perfectly balanced with the other flavors of the dishes, from the lemon’s acidity to the avocado’s creaminess and the tostada’s crunch. The steak was perfectly cooked with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and paired deliciously with the chimichurri sauce and salad. The coconut rice was creamy, sweet, and nutty – the perfect complement to a bite of steak or a mouthful of lobster. For me, this side brought the whole meal to another level. Finally, the churros – wow. The dulce de leche sauce had notes of chocolate and caramel, and the churros stayed fresh and crisp even after a few hours, when we had to finish the rest at home since we filled ourselves up too much on the rest of the scrumptious meal.
My experience at La Pulperia was nothing short of amazing, from the food to the service and the exuberant attitude of the staff. I can’t wait to return, and highly recommend it from a venture away from New York’s classic Italian, Japanese, and Thai restaurants. Good Latin food can be hard to find in this city, but La Pulperia is definitely it.
