Raymi

I'm a fan of Richard Sandoval's Latin/Asian fusion restaurant Zengo (stay tuned for a review) so when I heard he opened a Peruvian restaurant a few blocks from my apartment, I added it to my list.  Raymi is located in the old Nuela location on 24th street in the Flat Iron district.  Restaurant after restaurant has failed in this large, lofty space.  By the end of the meal, however, I was convinced that the landlord finally found a survivor.

Raymi's high ceilings give the dining room a spacious feel even though there are only a few dozen tables in the front dining room.  The back dining room area was occupied by a private party (this would be a fun office holiday party spot) so we were unable to see the remainder of the restaurant.  My mother-in-law was quite impressed with the bathrooms downstairs, which created a zen like atmosphere and offered individual unisex stalls (direct quote "I feel like I'm at the spa!").

Raymi's menu is large, offering dozens of small plate options and then a handful of entrees.  Your temptation might be to stick to the small plates but you will be rewarded with impressive dishes if you order the entrees as well. 

The wine list features mostly South American wines but I did spot one Italian gem, Avignonesi.  We visited Avignonesi's vineyard in Tuscany for a breathtaking and decadent four course meal and wine pairing a few years ago so I have a hard time passing it up when I spot it at a NYC restaurant.  Avignonesi's full body red was a perfect compliment to Raymi's fried appetizers and duck entree.

After we ordered, a (literally) overflowing bowl of lightly salted plantain chips and a buttery dipping sauce arrived on our table.  The plantain chips were perfectly prepared and virtually grease free.  While we did not order any of the ceviche appetizers, we did receive a complimentary ceviche amuse bouche with mixed seafood, delicious!

What to Eat:

Every once in awhile, my camera phone decides not to cooperate.  On this night, it failed to capture my favorite dish, the Peruvian Corn Cake.  So readers, you will just have to take my word for it: you cannot leave Raymi without eating this dish.  Our table shared appetizers and if I could have, I would have kept this one to myself.  This sweet corn dish makes me yearn to take a South American cooking class (or to adopt a South American grandmother).  

Raymi's Corn Empanadas was another outstanding appetizer.  These warm, hearty, fried dough pockets are filled with mozzarella cheese, cilantro and a touch of chile pepper (there is a garlicky chimichurri dipping sauce on the side).  The appetizer comes with three empanadas but the server astutely noticed we were a party of four and asked if we would prefer four servings. 




Which leads me to a side note on the service.  The staff was engaging without being overbearing and all the dishes arrived correctly and at the appropriate time (I know, something that should be a given but fails to happen quite often).

For an Entree, go with Raymi's two rice dishes.  The sauces and preparation are vastly different.  The Arroz con Pato is a large bowl of rice, mixed with scallions, carrots and small chunks of duck.  Crispy duck slices lay on top of the mound of creamy rice.  The Arroz con Pato is a savory twist on the traditional (and sometimes boring) South American staple Arroz con Pollo.





The Arroz Con Mariscos is the sexy, slightly spicy rice dish on Raymi's menu.  The Peruvian red pepper based rice dish was practically overflowing with seafood.  Your fork could not enter the rice bowl without hitting a shrimp, scallop, mussel or octopus.   Don't choose between the the two rice dishes readers, go with enough people so you can try them both!





There are desserts of every genre at Raymi (creamy desserts, chocolately desserts, fried desserts, etc...) so we decided to try the donuts, rice pudding and the Lucuma.  The Lucuma, a deconstructed banana split, was by far my favorite but to be fair, the rice pudding was also a big hit at our table.  Back to the Lucuma, I enjoyed piecing together the different flavors on the plate to emphasis each ingredient, like the caramelized banana and the rich chips of chocolate.  Sometimes a deconstructed dessert feels chinsy but after sharing several small plates and entrees, Raymi's deconstructed banana split was the right amount of dessert to finish off the night.

Need a trendy looking restaurant without the trendy attitude?  Snag a table at Raymi,

Your foodie friend

Insider tip: Make a reservation through savored.com and save 30%.  Savored recently dropped the $10 reservation requirement so it's even more of a steal!