Peruvian food can be very very good, and D'Candela was fantastic. The Lomo Saltado was very good. We've had it a few places and D'Candela's is as good or better. The Aji de Gallina (from the menu: "Chicken in walnut sauce. Served with potato, boiled egg and white rice") was incredibly good, although it didn't taste like walnuts to me. Doesn't matter, I'd get it again. Service was great, our server was very nice and attentive. We went at a random time so we were the only people there. Music was not loud or non-existent (thank you). Hoping to go back again soon! read more

This is where I will be going whenever I get a craving for Peruvian. Papa à la huancaina - one of my fav Peruvian dishes. Creamy yellow pepper sauce smothering a freshly boiled potato. Excellent. The pollo saltado - chicken stir fried with onions and tomatoes. The sauce poured over French fries, so they soak in all the juices. A side of white rice makes for the perfect side. Rotisserie chicken - this was the reason we came, and damn did it deliver. Incredibly moist and full of flavor. The green pepper sauce it comes with pairs perfectly. It's got a little subtle kick to it. The staff was great and super friendly. Food came out quick and was so fresh. Prices are super reasonable, and portions are large. The dining room is large and comfortable but no frills - the focus is on the food, as it should be. read more

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The chicken was very juicy and tender. Great sized chicken as well. The yucca fries were super criapy as well. The waiters service was very nice and prompt. Restaurant was clean and comfortable. read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My family and I go to D'candela all the time yesterday we had a bad experience with the waitress and the to go order. The waitress took our order and someone else brought it us. We waited about 20 minutes for the waitress to come. We actually had to call the waitress to order. We did not get not even water. We also ordered 2 pollos a la brasa and 2 lomo saltados to go and the to go portions were very small on one order I counted 4 fries and on the other Lomo we didnt even get fries on it. We live an hour away and opened the food when we got home. The waitress came twice. 1 to take our order and the other to bring the bill. Not even came to see if we were ok or needed anything. Bad service and I got charged 31.00 dollars gratuity. Not fair at all read more

D'Candela 3449 W. Irving Park, Chicago, IL (3.5/5) I've been craving this place for a while! Sometimes all it takes is a great review or video to make you want to try a restaurant for yourself. After seeing a TikTok review of D'Candela, I knew I had to check it out. With a free afternoon, I finally made my way over. The restaurant is a nice size, with a warm, family-friendly vibe. D'Candela specializes in Peruvian cuisine, and the interior exudes cozy, homey charm with lots of wood tones and a touch of elegance. It felt like dining at a relative's house, especially with their style of tables. My waitress was kind and had a positive attitude, although a little forgetful at times. Still, she made up for it with her friendliness. I started with a coffee and was pleasantly surprised that they offer honey as a sweetener. For an appetizer, I ordered the chicken and steak empanadas. While I was accidentally served a cheese empanada at first, they quickly corrected the mistake. The empanadas were crispy, flaky, and delicious. For my main course, I went with the half rotisserie chicken, accompanied by plantains and white rice. The plantains were a standout--sweet, perfectly crispy, and absolutely delicious. The rice paired well with the chicken. However, the rotisserie chicken itself was just okay. While it was juicy, I felt it could have used more seasoning to make it exceptional. The sauces on the table helped elevate the flavors; I preferred the mild one over the spicy option. The portions were generous, and I was able to take some food home, which was a plus. Overall, my experience at D'Candela was pleasant. I'd love to return to try other dishes on the menu. However, I do think the rotisserie chicken could benefit from a bit more seasoning or creative sauce pairings to take it to the next level. For my first visit, I'd give D'Candela a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. read more

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I have no issues. Unlike the other reviews we had no service issues. Also they have Pisco Sour the Peruvian national drink, think of it as a light margarita. I don't mean to imply it's light on alcohol as a matter fact this particular one packs a punch. Pisco sour it's not easy to make. I'm glad they have it. In Peru no Ceviche after lunch, tonight we had one and no issues with the fish - it was excellent! Next we had chaufa mariscos, basically seafood fried rice(lots of Chinese migrated to Peru) no complaints. Last was the lomo soltado, beef steak in Peruvian sauce. The one in Peru is better but this is not bad. For something other than the usual Hispanic Food I highly recommend you try this place and definitely get the pisco sour. read more

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The chicken is very tasty and juicy. The green sauce goes well on it. The other sauce they provide goes great on the salad. read more

D'Candela Restaurant - 1/4 rotisserie chicken, dark. The sides are the salad and pinto beans. - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

OOOoooOo weee. Talk about tender chicken. Fall of the bone. We ordered a large Aquadito soup. Heads up it's only served Friday - Sunday. Not going to lie, I was nervous. I'm not a big cilantro fan at all. But this was delicious and very flavorful. The best way I can describe it is herbed chicken and rice. Second we ordered a whole rotisserie chicken. FALL OFF THE BONE TENDER. And very well seasoned. So good. Two sides come with the meal. We selected beans and sweet plantains. Both were great! read more

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Excellent food. Rotisserie chicken is the way to go; amazing side dishes. Staff seemed nice. A little empty inside the restaurant ( been there twice) ; thus the reason I wanted to post this; it would be a shame to loose this gem of a restaurant. read more

Does anyone know what's in the green sauceplsss it's so good , I literally put in on everything, great service by the way!

My partner was craving Peruvian food and we found this gem right by our place. We've gone here twice already and I still ended up ordering the same thing. I always get the Tallarin Verde con Bistec which is their steak with spaghetti in pesto sauce. The spaghetti pesto is so creamy and delicious. The bistec is probably my favorite though. It is always cooked to the perfect tenderness and the flavor of it just melts in my mouth. My partner gets the lomo saltado which always comes in a hefty portion, especially with rice and fries. The second time we went we finally tried the chicken that they're known for. The chicken was so flavorful and seasoned to perfection. The portions here for the prices are great and I highly recommend this spot if you've never had Peruvian food yet! read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great casual dinner the chicken was so juicy and flavorful! The sauces they give you were also super good! Great speedy service as well definitely on my favorite list read more

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Very authentic, high quality Peruvian cuisine here! I visited with this place with my Peruvian friend. She is very picky when it comes to Peruvian dishes, and I have been to Peru and I know what is real... and we both enjoyed our meal here. We had causa and papa de rellena as starters- and they were both great. Papa de rellena is time consuming to make, so I just like getting them at restaurant-highly recommended if you haven't tried. Causa rellena is a layered appetizer that looks like a desert- and almost too beautiful to eat! My main dish was chaufa with fish, which was a huge dish and it ended up being both my lunch and dinner. It was a Monday and this is one of the very few Peruvian places open that day, and I am thankful we got to try it. Service was friendly and we had such a great time! read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Arroz Chaufa de Pescado - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Service was quick. Food was good. Not very busy when we were there so it was quiet and comfortable.

For those that have never tried Peruvian, it's worth a try. My sister's BFF is Peruvian and her family visits anytime they are passing through da Chi. The other day we ordered carryout for a group of six. Ordered several entrees and a whole rotisserie chicken with sides. Desserts too. All members were full and best, we had lots of tasty leftovers. I don't think we had anything spicy if that should matter. They offered different options for sauce with our purchase. Cost for food was moderate, didn't break the bank and ate to hearts content. The restaurant is an exposed brick, casual type of place. Akin interior to any "new build" type restaurant /strip mall style. read more

Amazing chicken and the rice is even better. Food service is always good and on time. Great ambiance as well.

5 stars. Best restaurant in the neighborhood. Great service, great food - everything.

For a $17.50 plate I was shocked by small amount of rice. The least expensive part of the meal.

Ordered delivery during peak COVID era. Overall, I liked it! ATMOSPHERE/ARCHITECTURE: N/A/10 SERVICE: 9/10 Service was fast, utensils and napkins were included. Win for me! FOOD: 8/10 Jalea Mixta - 9/10 - Mix of deep fried seafood delights, I found almost everything in here well cooked and seasoned. Picante de Camarones - 8/10 - Rice dish with good flavored sauce and shrimp which I found enjoyable as well. Combinado - 6/10 - Rice pudding desert type dish that was only "okay" to me. VALUE: 6/10 Probably slightly below average value with the Jalea Mixta being on the expensive side, but that was the best dish. PROBABILITY OF RETURN: 8/10 Would definitely think to return here again. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT: Worth a shot. OVERALL: 8/10 read more

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The food here is AMAZINGGGGG! So flavorful and huge portions. I got the steak and rice with a side of mixed veggies. The steak was favor seasoned and a huge portion for a decent price. Some of the best Peruvian in the city! read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Rock solid, reasonably priced food. Clean, comfortable, casual atmosphere. Friendly, fast service. Usually order the 1/2 rotisserie chicken... it's $15 and comes with a choice of 2 sides. It's always cooked and seasoned perfectly. This is a great spot for a quick midweek meal... read more

D'Candela Restaurant - 1/2 chicken with 2 side orders - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food is not what it used to be. Service was good but the food proportions were pretty small and price was high. Food was mediocre.

Came by for dinner. Ambiance was pleasant, service was great and food was above expectations. The green sauce was note worthy. Attention to detail was the theme, the sweet plantain were caramelized to perfection the red onions that came with the cilantro rice were pickled. The chicken was delicious and cooked thoroughly. Definitely a repeat type of establishment, serious bang for the buck. read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Cilantro rice - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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When it comes to Pollo Ala brasa nobody has D'Candela beat. Whenever family comes from out of state the first thing they want is pollo so our first stop is always here. Embarrassingly enough this was the first time I had something other than chicken and I have to say Ive definitely been missing out. My tallarín verde was honesty so delicious and perfect to soak up all the alcohol and sorrows from Peru's devastating loss earlier that day If youre new to Peruvian food definitely get ceviche and lomo saltado to start then branch out from there. Trust me it will take a while before you'll be able to try everything we have to offer read more

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First off, the staff is wonderful. Very nice and courteous. They do not have alcoholic beverages so it is BYOB, sangria was a good choice for us. The food is great. We always get the pesto pasta with steak. Their oysters are very good as well. Their empanadas are ok, I feel like I have had better at other restaurants. The entrées do take quite a while to be served but other than that, it is worth the wait. This is my go to spot for Peruvian cuisine. read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

First time having Peruvian food and it's amazing. The sauces and spices were so good. All of my friends loved their dishes. The Tamal was one my favorites along with my pain dish of pollo saltado. Loved the French fries mixed in and they soaked up the sauce, so good. The staff was so helpful and friendly, helping us figure out what to order and eat, we wanted really authentic and they helped pick just the right food for us as well giving us a Peruvian drink to try! read more

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We were passing through Chicago on our way back home to Detroit (which has very few Peruvian places) and our favorite spot had closed early. It was really upsetting because we were driving back the same night. We hit Yelp and looked at the reviews of the few places that were open and we came across D'Candela. We were not disappointed. The lomo saltado was excellent, as was the chicken. Their aji dipping sauces were also delicious. If you're looking for Peruvian food and are in the area, definitely stop by and check them out. Also, the manager (I think) who came to check on me while I was waiting for the hostess to fill up our extra sauce containers was dressed pretty fly in a full suit. All around, good experience. read more

Overall the food was excellent! It was so good I wanted to get it delivered while I was at work. However, I was told by the receptionist that they only deliver up to 3 miles away but she told me to call back in about 5 minutes while she goes to ask if it can be delivered outside of that 3-mile radius with an up charge. I was appreciative of that offer and shared with her I wouldn't mind paying extra for delivery. When I called the receptionist answer about her offer, I was hung up on unnecessarily. Afterwards, I immediately called back and someone else answered the phone. I expressed that I understood the situation about the radius but just wanted the update that I was offered. I told the other receptionist that i was hung up on and he said he did not know who it was but I hadn't asked who it was, nor did I care. I did believe it was rude because I only asked for an update. However, I'm pretty sure he was aware of who it was or could have an idea because he answered the call when I called immediately afterwards (which is what solidified me knowing the previous didn't hang up by mistake, she purposely hung up on me and for what reason, I'm not sure.) I didn't mind the answer being "no, we still can't get delivered it to you" because now I would just have the understanding that I would need to in person next time I'm in the area since I live a couple of miles outside their delivery radius. Although the food is good, I am hesitant to return due to the poor customer service and lack of accountability from the worker who decided it was best to hang up on me instead of providing me with the answer she offered in the first place. read more

Good Peruvian food! We had the chicken, sides, dessert (alfajores) Service, we had a great waiter and ambience was like a regular family restaurant. read more

Great Peruvian food good portions Never disappointed when I order here. Been coming here since it was at previous location. If you aren't sure about ordering, don't be ! It's worth it! Lomo Saltado a favorite for me. Buen provecho! read more

Great authentic Peruvian food. Ordered online and always ready by time estimated. Online pickup area.

This place is really good and was fairly quiet on a Friday evening. The food was very tasty, but a little salty. The staff could've been a little more attentive as well. I enjoyed my lomo saltado as it was full of flavor and the ambience of the restaurant was nice and quaint. read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Lomo saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food is definitely mediocre. over the years the food has become less tasteful, further away from the original Peruvian cuisine, even Basic pollo a la brasa was served to us burned. The server told us the It was just the skin that was burned, the chicken meat was fine to eat, when i looked underneath the skin, the chicken meat was also dry and burned. We ask to get a different chicken they told us they were all like that and they couldn't change it . The staff is incredibly rude and obnoxious but they will automatically add gratituty to the bill at 20% for their awfull and disgusting service. I will not be going back there. I'm exploring other Peruvian restaurants for sure. read more

Great food we had the Aji de Gallina and Suddo de Mariscos. Both very flavorful with generous portions. And a Maduros side for dessert. Sufficiently attentive service with good guidance. Pleasant atmosphere with plenty of patrons to give it a bustling energy. Already looking forward to a return visit. read more

Best Peruvian food in Chicago area . The pollo a la brasa was so authentic same like we had in Peru long time ago . The service also was amazing . read more

Peruvian food in Chicago doesn't get better than this! Being Peruvian and always looking for great authentic food is tough to find on the south side, so I always have to head north for my fix! D'Candela is my go to anytime I'm in the area. The food is always extremely good no matter what I've tried. The dishes here do not disappoint. I was also happy to find them being open on Memorial Day. Please don't ever change a thing unless it's adding more dishes! Great food, great service and perfect location! read more

D'Candela Restaurant - Bread and Ahi for an appetizer - Peruvian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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excellent food great selection of food to choice from the staff very friendly in explaining the menu items read more

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Horrible experience with this restaurant. I made an order in the restaurant for take out on 9/23/23 for a family's birthday dinner. It was a big order, 7 dinner plates, an appetizer and a side order. I was told 15-20min, I paid and left. I came back 20min later. Food wasn't ready. Gave them 10 more min, still nothing. I came back a third time which at this point was 40min after they said 10-20min and 1 bag of orders was done. Then the second bag came out a few min later. I didn't complain then because I was not in a rush. I would still be on time for the bday dinner. But I am including it now as part of my complaint because of their incompetent business practices. The appetizer I ordered was a Palta Rellena. The guy taking the order, who claimed to also be the manager later on, repeated the order back to me, he said "Una palta". I agreed because palta rellena can also be referred to as "una palta" just like a lomo saltado Can be shortened to "un lomo". I drive to where we were having the bday dinner and find out they had included an avocado with a piece of lettuce, not a palta rellena. I immediately call the restaurant, speak to the same guy who took my order. Instead of assuming responsibility or fixing the issue, the guy said it was my fault and I could pick up the palta rellena. I asked if there was a way to deliver since this was not my mistake and I had already driven 20min away. He said they could but would charge a delivery fee and still charge me for BOTH the avocado which was ~$6 AND the palta rellena ~$10. I said I can give him back the avocado which is not what we ordered and pay the difference for the palta rellena and he refused. I asked to speak with the manager and that's when he said that was him. I asked to speak with the owner who he claims he was consulting throughout the convo and he said he couldn't allow me to speak with him. Finally , he said he'd refund the ~$6 for the avocado and leave it at that. No palta rellena. I was appalled at how they would not take responsibility for their mistake, blame the customer, and refuse to make it right especially after a customer spent over $130 in food orders a few minutes ago. To make things worse, I found the styrofoam to the lomo de vegetales disintegrating right under the food. (See pics) The sauce spilled in the bag and I noticed a slit in the styrofoam. It was possibly the heat of the food but maybe they should invest in better styrofoam. Melted styrofoam in the food is not what a dinner should have. Avoid this place as much as you can. There are more Peruvian restaurants in Chicago with much better customer service and real delicious food. read more

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From Years ago This restaurant passed for different phases, the service always was mediocre, very poor management, but the food was good and sometimes very good, this is why we always prepared our minds when we decided to eat there. After they moved to the Irving Park location, they continued offering bad services until a few Months ago, they decided to change from waiters to waitresses and it was much better. Today, my husband and I decided to go there for our dinner, just one customer, the rest of the place empty. We both ordered "Jalea Mixta". The waitress brought the bread, but it tasted very old, no fresh we didn't eat it. Then she brought our Jaleas, and immediately I recognized that the dish was overcooked because the color of the fried dish, it was to much brown. Only the fish was eatable, the rest of the the dish was over cooked, dried, and hard to eat, the corn tasted very old as well. The waitress came to our table asking how's everything? Without wearing her mask, she was an unattended waitress, we immediately answered ok, and she came a couple more time asking the same question without wearing her mask. At the end my husband and I do not eat more than 50% of the dish. And the can of Inca Kola was $2.77 each, so expensive, this is not an expensive place and the category of this restaurant is not for pay that amount. So at the end, today was the last time that we are going to give more opportunities to this mediocre restaurant. $64 for overcooked dishes and unattended service, is not fair! read more

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They serve two sauces but no more bread, last month one of the waitresses told me where the bakery was around there so I could buy bread and bring it. Today I went there for my birthday brought my own bread and waitress tells me I have to pay 3 dollars for eating my own bread because there's a sign on the door that saays no food or drinks from outside. I asked the waiter to see the manayand the waitress comes back and says she's acting manager and that I have to pay 3.00 dollars, needless to say it ruined my lunch but I paid it anyway because I did not want to make a scene, will never go back again. We ordered from there at least twice a month. My bill was 89 today so it's not like we were not ordering food. read more