Fresca is a Peruvian restaurant offering a ceviche bar. At this restaurant, you will find a nouveau Peruvian cuisine, a modernized style of Peruvian food crafted by Chef Jose Calvo-Perez. Fresca keeps the Peruvian cuisine alive by keeping all traditional Peruvian ingredients and incorporating them into all their creations.
The Scene This restaurant's ultra-popular third outpost on 24th and Sanchez is a large, comfortable haven, with two dining areas divided by a gleaming ceviche bar. Natural light streams through front-of-house windows onto warm wood detailing, buttery leather banquettes, a beautiful mosaic tiled floor, and a curved cocktail bar. The lovely back dining room offers high ceilings and colorful, high-backed booths outfitted in Peruvian textiles. The Food Peru's rich, rustic flavors are revitalized with California touches. Eight refreshing ceviche options (raw seafood "cooked" in citrus) include a yellowfin tuna with peppers and avocado mash in butter lettuce cups. The main menu is divided into traditional (such as lomo saltado -- a sautee of tenderloin strips, french fries, onions and tomatoes) and more stylized meat and seafood dishes -- grilled, roasted or fried with lots of seasoned vegetables such as yams, plantains and corn. Presentation is sophisticated; service is friendly and unobtrusive.
I love this place. The food is excellent and the setting is great. I usually get the pollo and I love the portions, it is big and comes with fries. This is a great place to bring out of town guests. If you love ceviche, then you will really love the ceviche bar.
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Latest reviews by Citysearch:
(read all 27 reviews
on Citysearch)
Best muscles in town
By smithy11
If you like spicy, delicious chiorizo sauce and an out of this world "Cohito" you must go to Fresca! I love the lively atmosphere and the special lobster risotto was excellent. Fun, friendly place to have a great, flavorful meal!
Pros: Very good food and awesome drinks!
Posted 01/25/09
Great, but Screwed Up too
By JaneRW
Fresca is a really fun and lively place to go, with noise and crowds and a great atmosphere. The ceviche is wonderful and you have got to have a pisco sour (or 2). BUT as another reviewer noted, their service is kind of lacking in that it can be slow and they can indeed be forgetful. I've been there several times and have to say I still recommend it in spite of one time when they forgot to put our dessert order in and it took 30min to get it. Great fun to go with a group but dont expect to be able to hear each other over the noise. By the way, desserts are mediocre but the rest of the menu is tasty stuff, especially the appetizers. I like the ceviche mixto, but the 4, 5 or 6 ceviche sampler is a great way to go. There is one with black squid/octopus ink that is extremely good.
My boyfriend adds: "It's true that the food is great, especially the ceviche, but the real draw is the crowded, noisy, fun ambiance. However, it's fairly expensive (easy to spend $100+ for a couple incl drinks) and you should know that high quality, Peruvian food of almost the same quality can be had for a fraction of the price at dive Peruvian restaurants throughout the Mission. WARNING: the pisco sours have a delayed reaction...WALK home."
Pros: Pisco sours, Ceviche, Raucous Atmosphere Cons: Price, Forgetful Service
Posted 08/12/08
unbelieveable cheviche
By oneofakind864
Fresca is one of my favorite places to eat. I adore cheviche and they have the largest selection of choices I have ever seen. It is FABULOUS. They also do a great peruvian specialty of fish with tomatoes that;s the national specialty. I'm from a seafood town and it's HARD to impress me and my freinds with seafood. fresca managed to do so in SPADES. The only drawback is the parking which can be a little sticky to find and it IS expensive. But for a special treat it is well worth the price.
Pros: fabulous food, nice place, neat & different drinks and food to try Cons: parking, price
Posted 05/15/08
Terrible service
By isathea
We had a first great experience with fresca and their ceviche. But the second time we went there, it was horrible. I ordered a ceviche and my husband ordered something else so that he could share a bit with our 2 years old daughter. They had at that time a take out order for 10 people and they forgot about us (I would say did not care). I had my ceviche but my husband and daughter nothing. We had to ask several times, asking them for bread for our daughter. The food of my husband and daughter arrived more than an hour after my ceviche!! The weird thing is that some people arrived after us and they had their food before us. We were really angry. With the bill, they gave us a card to give our opinion... They never contacted us though.
Posted 01/04/08
Don't get the hype
By lyss61
I'm not sure what all the rave is about here. we went there for a weekend brunch and had really poor service (and a waitress whose cleavage was so inappropriate i could barely concentrate) and average food. we didn't try the ceviche, but i would be willing to go back to give that a shot. nothing special. next time i'm in pac heights i'm going to la med down the street. much better food there.
Pros: beautiful interior, good date spot Cons: average food
