Longstanding U Street hookah bar Chi-Cha Lounge has been reborn as flashy Peruvian restaurant El Secreto de Rosita. The kitchen is under the guidance of 28-year-old first-time executive chef Eugene Perret, a Peru native who cooked at several high-profile restaurants, including the now-closed Siren, Komi, and Kinship. A few years ago, he returned home for five months to learn how to cook his native cuisine.
“I wanted to explore my roots,” he says.
He wasn’t sure when he might be able to put that knowledge to use here in the States. Then, early this year, Perret was contacted by Latin Concepts. Owned by Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld, the restaurant group opened Chi-Cha Lounge in 1997 and also owns Susheria on the Georgetown waterfront. They were going to open a Peruvian restaurant, and they wanted him to cook a test meal. His food was a hit. “Then everything happened very quickly,” says Perret.
By mid-March, the new concept (Rosita is a nod to Fraga-Rosenfeld’s grandmother) took over the space as a pop-up. A little over month later, it was a permanent replacement. The once-trademark hookahs are now gone, though some of Chi-Cha Lounge’s provocative nude artwork remains on the walls. The space is filled with a mixture of two-tops and four-top tables, as well as one for six guests, and a small private dining room in the back. The bar got a makeover. Plants hang down over the marble-topped counter, reminiscent of the jungle. Outside, there’s a walled-in street patio.
Perret’s menu is a mixture of classic Peruvian fare and dishes infused with Japanese and Chinese elements, common practice in Peru thanks to substantial immigrant communities from both countries. Appetizers ($8-14) have even more wide ranging influences. There are Japanese options, like steamed gyoza dumplings plump with chicken marinated in ginger and garlic, and yakitori skewers spearing ribeye glossy with soy sauce. Spanish style gambas al ajillo stars garlicky shrimp brushed with pisco, served with a side of grilled bread. A Russian salad comes packed with beets, potatoes, carrots, and a speckling of gem-like salmon roe. As a nod to the space’s former iteration, there are Chi-Cha fries, which come with a sauce made from a pair of Peruvian specialty ingredients: aji amarillo (yellow chili pepper) and huacatay, aromatic black mint.
A whole section of the menu is devoted to ceviches ($14-16). The mercado has a spicy kick thanks to the rocoto peppers in the citrusy leche de tigre marinade coating its mahi mahi and fried calamari. The tiradito features passion fruit sauce, elevating the seared tuna in with tangy sweet tones. Ceviche Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) seamlessly blends the two cultures in a tumble of tuna, avocado, and ponzu.
The criollo dishes ($16-$26) – traditional Peruvian classics – are where Perret gets to show off the culinary roots he rediscovered on his working trip home a few years back. Lomo saltado, the country’s national dish, is a comforting mix of wok sautéed beef, a smattering of onions and tomatoes, and a handful of fries. Perret calls arroz con mariscos “Peruvian seafood paella,” a rice-rich dish fired up with amarillo and panca chilies, and featuring a mixture of whatever is freshest from the fishmonger. This spring, soft shelled crabs have appeared alongside a variety of fish, shrimp, and mussels.
There are several Peruvian-Asian fusion options ($16-18) focusing on Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) cuisine. Lamlu wantan stars sweet and sour tamarind sauce tossed with fried rice, snow peas, red peppers, pineapple, and a choice of chicken, tofu, or shrimp. By-the-book Chinese fried rice arrives with chicken, steak, seafood or tofu. And tempura fried teriyaki chicken tangles with asparagus and red peppers.
Perret is hoping to expand and change up the menu in the coming months. “I’d like to add even more types of food into the mix,” he says. “Maybe Mexican and Colombian. Maybe arepas. Who knows?”
Sweet tooths can choose between two desserts, vanilla flan in a puddle of strawberry sauce with some toasted quinoa sprinkled on for a little crunch, and cinnamon-sugared doughnut holes served chocolate-hazelnut sauce.
The Peruvian cuisine is complemented by a bar program highlighting the country’s flavors and its pisco. Beverage director Alan Cabrera, a veteran of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurant group and Fabio Trabocchi’s restaurants, infuses the spirit with aji amarillo and huacatay, and incorporates tropical fruits like guanábana and lúcuma into the cocktails.
Connected to the restaurant is Café Americano, open for breakfast and lunch. It offers coffee and small bites, including lomo saltado stuffed empanadas from Perret, who hopes to create more food for its menu as the overall operation finds its paces.
El Secreto de Rosita is located at 1624 U Street NW. Open Tuesday-Thursday 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m.-12 a.m. (kitchen closes at 10 p.m.), Sunday 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
