One of the Essex Market’s most popular stalls is about to acquire its first-ever full brick-and-mortar retail space.
Don Ceviche is a popular new Peruvian restaurant from founder Lenin Costas. Born in Lima, Lenin grew up with a family deeply entrenched in Peru’s culinary world. To support her family, Lenin’s grandmother began selling ceviche out of a pushcart, and quickly earned a reputation as one of the neighborhood’s favorite food purveyors. In 1970, she founded a restaurant of her own in Lima’s Surquillo neighborhood and ran it successfully for the next thirty three years.
Growing up, Lenin learned all of the trade secrets in preparing the perfect ceviche when he lived with his grandmother between the ages of eleven and sixteen. His grandmother’s routines soon became second-nature to him, and when he moved to New York at the age of 16, he quickly discovered his love for the hospitality industry. Beginning as a dishwasher, he quickly worked his way to the top and began managing some of the finest French and Latin restaurants in the city.
All the while, he never let his passion for his Peruvian heritage and continued to refine his skills as a chef. In 2017, he began Don Ceviche as a weekend project at the LIC Food & Flea Market and Queens Night Market. Word of mouth about the quality of Lenin’s ceviche soon spread, and enabled him to open up a permanent stall in the Essex Market in 2019, where he still operates today.
Now, it appears that Lenin is gearing up to open up Don Ceviche’s first-ever full brick-and-mortar retail space. The new Don Ceviche will be opening up at 57 First Avenue, between East Third and East Fourth Street moving into a vacant building that previously housed Al Horno Lean Mexican Restaurant. The space is relatively intimate, and offers enough space to seat about 18 guests at one time, with an additional 3 seat bar.
For the menu, guests can expect to enjoy traditional Peruvian fare like lomo saltado and chaufa, with a special emphasis on Ceviche. Lenin makes sure to visit Peru every year to catch up on the latest innovations on ceviche, so his ceviche is one of the most popular items on the menu. Don Ceviche also serves hot seafood dishes like jalea and fried shrimp served with traditional sides like yuca fries.
Additionally, Lenin is in the process of acquiring Don Ceviche’s first-ever restaurant wine license, enabling guests to relax and pair their favorite wines with Lenin’s flavorful dishes. At the moment, he is proposing operating hours of 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM, seven days a week. While you wait for further announcements regarding the new space, you can follow Don Ceviche on Instagram for information on all of their latest plans.
