Inka Grill

 

Located at 214 South Elm Street in Downtown Greensboro, Inka Grill offers Peruvian cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11-9 Monday-Thursday, 11-10 Friday and Saturday, and 11-8 on Sunday. Alcohol is available, and tables can be reserved online.

 

Inka Grill had been on my to-try list for some time, but my wife and I ended up here almost accidentally when the last food truck festival proved to be too chaotic. I’m glad that we did as it made for a good though not outstanding meal.

 

Inka Grill’s menu boasts traditional Peruvian steak, seafood, and chicken dishes, chaufas (fried rices), and ceviches as well as a few Italian-inspired items. There’s a lot to choose from if you’ve an omnivore, but vegetarians may be at a loss here. A complementary offering of toasted corn for the table was a nice touch.

 

My wife and I went with a yucca starter, a frijol con seco, and a lomo saltado. The yucca came in rolls that were nicely browned and crispy on the outside. The accompanying huancaina sauce was creamy and added a welcome bit of spice (which was disappointingly missing from an aji verde sauce). The steak in the lomo saltado was perfectly cooked and flavorful, and its accompanying vegetables were vibrant and nicely grilled. The tacu tacu (a Peruvian take on refried beans) in the frijol con seco was a first for us, and we enjoyed it. However, the meat in that dish was more akin to pot roast than steak, which we were not expecting. Both dishes were also quite salty.

 

Our visit occurred at an off-peak hour (before 5 on a Sunday), and Ismael provided excellent service at the start of the meal. Once 5 p.m. arrived and the restaurant began to fill, however, staff began to seem a bit overwhelmed.

 

All told, Inka Grill, while solid, wasn’t quite the “wow” I was expecting. However, the steak at least did reach that level for me, and the breadth of the menu suggests that there are other dishes that can as well.