Tonight we were getting a sneak peek of UCHU, a day early before they officially opened on Friday, February 6th, 2026. This is a new Cevicheria & Raw Bar taking up the old home of Sai Woo, in the heart of Chinatown.
They are owned and operated by the same folks who have made Suyo the wildly popular Peruvian restaurant that it is. What sets the two properties apart is whereas Suyo focuses on all of Peru, the focus for UCHU is on the coastlands of Peru with a predominantly seafood menu at 80-90% of it being seafood. This speaks to their ceviche concept, with their fresh catch coming in every 2-3 days, and being displayed behind the bar in their ice trough.
In Peru, “uchu” means chilli, a fundamental and ancient ingredient used in this cuisine. So our owner host jokingly said he did not want to hear the word “chilli” uttered. Their uchu is imported from Peru and is the soul of their ceviche, and is even featured in their restaurant’s logo with a fish made out of hot peppers.
During today’s mingler we would get a taste of the Peruvian Coastland from North to South, promising “Bold flavours, good times, and good drinks.” Whereas other restaurants may focus on food and service, here at UCHU they want to round out the experience with a strong drink program, and that they did achieve.
Tonight they were showcasing pisco sours three ways, including an alcoholic-free option. Pisco Sour traditionally is pisco, citrus, simple syrup, and eggwhite. This classic version was available as an easy drinking cocktail, sweetened by the egg whites. It was also available with a hint of fruit in the “maracuya” version, which is yellow passion fruit, for a tangy and tropical number.
I liked the “chicha morada”, which is at its base a non-alcoholic Peruvian sweet beverage made by boiling purple corn with pineapple, quince, cinnamon, and cloves, then sweetened and mixed with lime juice. This is made into a pisco sour with the above mentioned ingredients to create this smooth and delicious purple glass.
For something a lot stiffer with a savoury and umami finish, look to their Ceviche martini. It is like liquid seafood in a glass with the telltale notes of citrus and black pepper of a ceviche. I would recommend this to any savoury cocktail lovers, like me.
Guests were treated to a show behind the bar as much of their tapas and small plates were torched and assembled therein.
The Oyster Cevichero was a daily selection topped generously with mignonette and leche de tigre espuma. This was essentially a raw oyster with foam for a textural experience, as much as it was a tasty one with zesty spices.
The Scallop Batayaki was like a sushi bomb with a ball of sushi rice rounded and surrounded by slices of torched scallop flavoured with garlic, parmesan, and yuzu & aji amarillo aioli.
The flavour of the Trout Nigiri was bold enough to cover the flavour of trout, as a fish you don’t normally see served raw over rice. Here the anticuchero glaze, yuzu aioli, and skin chicharron together reminded me of Korean goujujang paste.
Sadly, I missed out on the Bluefin Tuna & Crab Causa, but it sounded interesting on paper described as “nori cannoli, caviar, and panca aoili”.
I liked the char of the grilled octopus in the Pulpo Anticuchero al Pastor with chicha morada tortillas, olivo sauce, and sweetened by grilled pineapple. At $16 per piece on the menu, I don’t think we got the full sized version to sample.
The Pan Con Pejerrey was a slider that featured smelt tempura, tartara, and criolla. That sounded unique and like nothing else I have had.
And for dessert they passed out one-bite versions of their Picarones, which is a roasted sweet potato ice cream with candied pepita and spiced syrup.
Plus their Arroz Con Leche with cardamom cremeux, white rabbit ice cream, mandarin, and almond.
Overall, this was a lovely way to give us an introduction to UCHU and to peak our interest in returning for a full seated service in the near future. Especially to try their ceviches, that we actually didn’t get any of on this night.
UCHU Cevicheria & Raw Bar
158 E Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1T3
(778) 826-1158
uchurestaurant.ca
