A very cozy/white linen table cloth place. I really liked the food. Service was good at the beginning but towards the end , it got really hectic in the restaurant, when a wedding party showed up randomly and they asked us to move tables , so they could sit the 40 people that showed up at once! I'm not even kidding, it was 40 people with no reservations prior, they showed up with a wedding cake too lol. The staff was running around like chickens with their head cut off. The wedding party kept bumping into our table and other patrons table, needless to say we were all super annoyed, . I mean I get restaurants need business but to take 40 people without reservations on whim like that was definitely bad judgment on management. We couldn't even hear ourselves talk, it got so loud. Would I come back , I honestly don't know, but I can say the food was good, especially the leche the tigre read more

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Delicious Peruvian food! The flavor & portions here never miss. Favorites are the causa rellena de pollo, lomo saltado & the aji de gallina. They also have Peruvian breakfast on the weekends which is hard to find. Doesn't get better than their w/ pan con chicharron with the salsa criolla. The servers are always sweet & quick to help my needy self - explaining the specials, giving me refills, extra sauce, napkins lol. Doesn't get any more authentic than here (& my Peruvian husband agrees!) read more

El Estribo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

If you want good, authentic Peruvian food this is the place to go. I am Peruvian myself and I always recommend this place. I've gone here for years and they never disappoint. Jalea, Tallerines Verdes, Lomo Saltado, Anticuchos, etc. Everything is delicious here. Also the Chicha Morada and Maracuya are great. Definitely recommend! read more

El Estribo - Jalea De Mariscos - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

First time here and might be the last. Only fish is Tilapia for all their fish dishes, wish they had other options. I ordered the ceviche which was so undercooked! Had to let it marinate in the juices a bit longer before I could eat it. Still, left half of it. Super expensive for the quality of the dish. Not worth $20. The Papa a la Huancaina was decent, and flavorful. read more

Food was good. Seafood soup was good. A little different to what I've had before. Great service. Definitely will try again read more

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Poor Customer Service and Lying to the customer abuot the food they are Serving. and over charge it. read more

Terrible terrible terrible. We were left without nothing to drink the entire time. Our server said she would bring us water but instead She sat and had lunch a few tables down from where we were sitting and didn't even bother to pick up our dirty plates first or provide us a refill. The place Plays no music is quiet and awkward, you can hear everything people say. I requested music and the server said that the owner had an issue with the internet and she was "fixing it" I've been here before and they never play music is it must be an ongoing issue, be better with that.. They finally played some music and blasted the volume soooo high that my 14 month old baby got so scared and started crying. They did this 2 times. Never again. read more

El Estribo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

Great Peruvian food in Sterling Virginia. Great staff and the restaurant is very clean. My family loves going to El Bristo read more

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My favorite place for Peruvian food! The lomo saltado is not an easy dish to perfect - but they do every time. I took my Mom here and she raved about the papa rellena and ceviche. Came here a different time to see how their arroz chaufa de pollo is - was so impressed with it - not greasy like other places & the right flavor. Portions are generous too, thank you!! read more

El Estribo - Lomo saltado / Arroz chaufa de pollo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

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Food is not taste, there is a big difference between Peruvian food taste and Estribo restaurant taste

Just had breakfast/lunch at El Estribo and had an awful experience. The service was horrible- I also ordered an orange juice and the brought it in a kids cup with a straw. When my son drank out of the kids cup, he said the oj was bad! I tried it and they ACCIDENTALLY put Mimosa in a kids cup! When we told them- they didn't even apologize and no manager came to talk to us. We will never go there again! I would have given zero stars but you have to select at least one! read more

Great little Peruvian place for sopa and ceviche. The restaurant is in a very hidden location near the grain silo where Los Toltecos used to be and you really have to be looking for the diner to find it. Typically, there are very few patrons although the food is fantastic. My daughter, who is pretty picky about her food even insisted we eat there twice this week. What I like about Peruvian cuisine is all of the seafood dishes and this place is no exception. They also have Peruvian chicken but I'm not a fan of chicken so I haven't sampled it. Last night I had the Escabeche de Pescado and it was really tasty. The fish was fried very well and the onion, egg and olive topping was delicious. Along with the garlic/oil rice, it made for a very pleasant. My daughter had the Sopa Criolla and she absolutely devoured it. The interior is a bit odd due to a small stage in the middle of the place and lots of pictures of the Virgin and the Christ child. If you are in the area and looking for something other than the typical fast food or franchise, check out this little place. read more

El Estribo - Bistec la limena, steak and eggs. - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

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This is the best Peruvian place we've gone to! If you scroll through my almost 200 reviews, probably around half are from Peruvian places. I can never find a good Peruvian restaurant anywhere in the DMV area, there's always a fault. Either bad service, limited/pricy menu, or bad food. None of that was the case with this place! I will admit I was kind of unsure due to the 3.5 stars this place has. And it's just a small restaurante in a strip mall. The decor inside is nice and dim with Peruvian music playing. As we overlooked the menu, I noticed a lot of options. They had almost everything and it was all for a good price! I settled on leche de Tigre, causa rellena de pollo and Bistec a la Limena. When we got the food, everything was super delicious! Perfect amount of flavor. I literally have no complaints! The green and yellow sauce were great, so was the salad dressing. They all had a strong oregano taste which is different than other local Peruvian restaurants, but tasted great. I can't wait to go back and try other items! Highly recommend this place ! read more

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Horrible place the food is not good and very expensive. Customer service horrible, anti customers. Never go to this place again read more

Ahh.. After finding this place behind the "silo" we entered and noticed that the place was semi-full on Sunday at about 4PM. Next thing we noticed was that it was freezing inside, the heat either was broken, or they didn't want to turn it up. In fact, just about everyone was sitting in their winter jackets! Following thing we noticed was that there was basically only one person working in the front, as a result, the service was lackluster. After sitting down we were provided some roasted/dried(?) corn to start with. This was quite interesting as it didnt taste quite like corn on the cob nor popcorn. We ordered a dish with fried chicken and yucca and another dish with basically... everything but the kitchen sink, as it had french fries, steak, sunny side eggs, rice, plantains and salad. The fried chicken and Yucca dish was good, especially with some of those limey onions and some Peruvian mustard (?). Everything but the kitchen sink dish was good too, but I guess we were expecting something more from the steak. It was kind of boring. For dessert we had some donuts with an unsual sauce, as they only had this and a tres leches cake. The donuts had carevay and the sauce was like a mild caramel and malta mix with what seemed like olives(?) Anyways, we finally got the check for about $33, paid it and left. It was an okay meal, expensive for what it was and lacking that Oomph! I had hoped for. read more

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On a Saturday night, my boyfriend and i were craving some good peruvian chicken. Though we're on this search for the best peruvian chicken, this place was surely not it. We had yelped for "Peruvian Chicken" in Sterling and this place had shown up. Don't get me wrong the reviews seemed very promising and i'm all in for a down home, family run, authentic restaurant but this place ended up disappointing us. Hidden in a strip mall and advertising on their sign "Peruvian Style Rotisserie Chicken", we were excited. When entering there was only one lady working the whole entire restaurant. A couple of people here and there spread amongst the restaurant, she then told us to sit wherever. When seated she served us this small bowl of baked salted corn kernels which reminded me of corn nuts you can find at a gas station. Which were really delicious, crunchy and neat. We ordered a whole peruvian chicken with fried yucca, fries, arroz and fried plantains. Sadly, it all went down hill from here. The peruvian chicken was alright. For a whole chicken it didn't look like much for some reason. Seasonings were alright and the chicken was a a little dry. The skin definitely could have been crunchier as well. The fried yucca was a disgrace. On the plate was some scrawny pieces of yucca. Also some parts of the yucca was still uncooked. Or just old and hard. The fries were not crunchy whatsoever. But rather soggy. The arroz was seasoned well but could have been a little warmer. And the fried plantains were hard and not sweet at all. It was too a little cold. Not to mention the sauces that you get were very bland. There's also a 25 cent charge for more creamed dipping sauce. In the end we just drank our Inca Colas and left after waiting for that poor lady to get back to us. She did do the best she could have done. But it still took us asking for the check 3 times before we actually got it. Prices are alright for a whole dinner. But surely my boyfriend and i will not be returning anytime soon. read more

El Estribo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

3.5 Stars Well unique is a good way to describe this place. Where else can you dine to a big screen TV of Euro Techno videos? All we needed were some guidos and this place could double as a club. AWESOME. HA on a more serious note, El Estribo has decent home cookin'! I tried to Peruvian Rotisserie and while it wasn't along the lines of Super Chicken quality I thought it was still good. There are a lot of other items on the menu, I tried another chicken dish with potatoes, olives and eggs. I forget the name (see pic) but I thought it was very tasty. They also give you some sort of spicy orange sauce which was wayyyyy too spicy for my poor lil' taste buds but would satisfy anyone with a HIGH tolerance of spicy foods. I'll be back for round two! read more

El Estribo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

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First time eating at this place and I can't complain. The servers were EXCELLENT, bathrooms clean, restaurant clean, kitchen clean! The food was also Excellent! Stopped by on a Friday evening and it was not too busy so was seated quickly. The ceviche was fresh, meals prepped on the spot. The taste and freshness of the food was Marvelous! Something most Peruvian restaurants lack. Will definitely be returning to this place and highly recommend. FYI- There is a different weekend menu. read more

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Well, it's a good thing I like chicken, because a lot of the dishes were chicken-based. If bird flu hit South America, the people would probably starve to death :( I never had Peruvian before, so I was looking forward to this culinary adventure. I wondered what Peruvian restaurants stick on your table while you wait for your meal. Tortillas? Bread? Nope. They put out a bowl of roasted Peruvian corn. It was actually pretty good, and I would equate to a fresh version of "Corn nuts." For the main course I had this chicken/potato dish that came with three small cups of different sauces. The food was good, but the sauces made it that much better. The green sauce was really good and slightly spicy, but the orange one was very spicy. I immediately fell in love and lived happily ever after. The end. read more

El Estribo - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

Great Peruvian Restaurant. The food is prepared to your liking. Although the wait staff has some difficulty with English, they are attentive and friendly. I have been to this place twice and both times have been a great experience, friendly atmosphere, good place for small gathering/dinner with friends (groups of 2-6), and I love the beef dishes (specifically the lomo saltado). If you are looking for a good Peruvian restaurant in Loudoun County - this is your place. I highly recommend. read more

The food is pretty good (not the best Peruvian food I've had by FAR)... when you can get it. They close early EVERY DAY. They don't have a set schedule. They even took the schedule down off of their window because they NEVER follow it. When they are open, service is slow and they never have what you order. Why not have a chalk board menu and write what you DO have for that day instead of passing around menus?? The staff is friendly enough, but never go the extra mile and never EVER seem to care about running the place with any sort of efficiency. Prices are wayyyy to high for the quality of food and service. For $15 a plate on average, I would expect an above average meal for sure and definitely prompt service. If this place would at least regulate hours (hopefully expand them as well. Who closes at 8pm on weekends??), it would change my review for the better... slightly. Staff needs training and basic manners. The establishment itself could use a thorough cleaning and update. read more

Chupe de camaron and pescado frito. I ordered jalea and thats a lot of food! I was invited by a friend to try their food and i love the food. I will go back and try more of their authentic food. read more

El Estribo - Chupe de camaron and pescado frito - Peruvian Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

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Just had a great dinner at El Estribo, service was excellent and the food was amazing, Aji Galleno was delicious. Would remmend to everyone. We will be back! read more

Omg. What great food. I was full ten minutes before I could stop. I wanted to have the taste in my mouth as long as I could. The people were great. The restaurant was quite lovely...but omg the food!!!! read more

Came here for the chambar because it's Monday but of course they run out and its just 1 pm. It's ridiculous that they know about supply and demand. If you have a lot of customers wanting the menu then why don't you make more, because you want people to come in and find out that there's no menu but they are so hungry that they will have to order the food that's more expensive. Also, if you don't have the food why keep it posted on the board making it seem like it's still there? It's all about the money, not the people I guess. I'm just very disappointed read more

Tried to go in on a Friday night Looked up the place on yelp and said closes at 9 but actually closes at 8pm and was rudely kicked out

I ordered the Seafood rice plate amongst many other dishes. Highly disappointing. Not safe. There were 3 clams on top of the rice dish, as I continued to have a few more bites I kept finding myself crunching on hard shells. I'm surprised I didn't crack a tooth. I threw away the rest of the dish. I believe the clam bag was poured into the dish lending so many broken bits. Be Careful! Especially if you have any dental work. read more

Okay so my 5 stars might be just because I've never experienced Peruvian chicken until last night for dinner. Whoa have I been missing out! My friend took me here for dinner and honestly you can't any more for your money. Dinner was less than $19 and I still couldn't finish my plate. I ordered a 1/4 white meat which came with rice and a side salad and my friend ordered the same but with dark meat. He had been there before and ordered a half chicken and said it was WAY too much food. So he learned his lesson. We topped our order with a side of yuca to share. The food came out quick and the server was just adorable and super friendly. He even made fun of us for not finishing our yuca "I thought you guys liked yuca?!" ... Great space and atmosphere for sure. I hope to return sometime next week :) read more

3 stars for now.. Originally I planned on having lunch at Los Toltecos, but as soon as I saw this place I had to try it! A peruvian restaurant 5 mins away from me!! It was still the Lent period so I couldn't get the lomo saltado and I wasn't in the mood for chicken (they have pollo a la brasa!!) Instead I got a ceviche mixto, it was pretty good, had white fish, peel n eat shrimp, octopus, calamari and mini scallops. Though I love citrus, this one got a bit too sour towards the end, thank goodness for the big hunk of yam! Oh, almost forgot to mention, they give you tostado to munch on while you wait for your food! It's like a toasted corn kernel, salty, crunchy, delicious! I will definitely go back and try the beef and roasted chicken! read more

El Estribo is hidden in the Safeway shopping center off of Route 7 in Sterling beside the Los Toltecos. I went here with a friend from Brazil (Brazilians know good food!), my 6 year old son and a friend from the office. The restaurant advertises Peruvian style rotisserie chicken and beef specialties. The interior is comfortable, modern and clean. The menus have English translations and there are a variety of dishes that are not found elsewhere in the area. The restaurant is quite authentic and English is definitely optional. We had to get translation advice from another server, but that was all part of the fun of discovering a new source of good food! We ordered Marucha (grilled 10oz steak with salad and yucca), Pollo a la Parilla (pounded and grilled chicken breast with salad and yucca), and the best dish, Bistec a la Limena (sauteed beef with rice, yucca, 2 fried eggs, fried plantain and house sauce). We also had Cristal, a Cuban beer, that went perfectly with the food. Everyone had a great time, service was prompt and the food was hot and delicious. My son gave it his stamp of approval, which says a lot. There is unique food to explore at El Estribo, from Ceviche to Chicharrones to regular Pollo a la brasa. I'll be back for more. read more

It was September 1, 2012 and my first time trying Peruvian food besides pollo a la brasa. I was on a dinner date with my Peruvian girlfriend. I thought the anticucho (even though a bit tough on texture), chicha morada, Inka Cola, ceviche, and mazamorra morada were all pretty good. I would actually say 1.5 because of very crappy service. I had to make a quick run to the restroom right before dessert because of the lunch I had earlier that day elsewhere. The doorknob was broken, so my girlfriend helped by standing watch to ensure my privacy. After that business, I told a server about the broken doorknob and all she did was laugh. Once we finished dessert, we were trying to redeem a coupon for 10% off the check where all what the condition said it's good for dine-in only and one coupon per table per visit. The server told us it's only valid should we have presented it before ordering. If that was true, they should have said so in the condition too. My girlfriend told me she caught hearing that server tell one of the cooks in Spanish that she wishes some customer would go to hell. I know I myself made sure to show respectful, patient, and kind manners to her understanding that it's not always an easy job. Still an unacceptable attitude whether she was talking about me or someone else. Fortunately the check was settled where the server took off dessert. I felt I was far too generous leaving a 14% tip or even any at all. It's the last time they'll ever benefit from my generosity since I'm never coming back again. Girlfriend tells me there are plenty of other Peruvian restaurants anyways that are even better in price, quality, and service. read more

I ate here yesterday for dinner, using another restaurant.com coupon. Took a while to find, it's tucked away in the middle of a shopping center. Upon walking in, I noticed there was a live singer. He was definitely an excellent singer, no doubt about that, but the music and his microphone were turned up SO loud that I had a hard time communicating with my waitress. During the entire meal I couldn't really talk to my boyfriend without shouting. This was a minor set back... I really appreciate a restaurant that provides free entertainment for those who want it, but I don't like the speakers being intrusive for people who want to have conversations at dinner. Their menu was extensive. I am very unfamiliar with Peruvian style food (why we got the coupon) so I sort of wanted to try a little bit of everything. They provide corn kernels--which are delicious-- to munch on while you look over the menu. As an appetizer, we ordered Papa La Huancania-- which was a sliced potato covered in a creamy cheese sauce. It came cold, which seemed odd because it was a cooked potato, but after taking several bites I concluded that it was supposed to be served that way because it was completely wonderful. For my main course, I got the Malarabia which was a dish featured around plantains. I eat plantains all the time-- I definitely have never been able to prepare them like that! It didn't even resemble what I know as plantains, they were orange/brown and textured, and they were spicy. Surprisingly enjoyable! My boyfriend ordered Bistec A La Lemina, and while I did not taste it because of my vegetarian ways, he seemed to be throughly impressed himself. We also ordered a side of fried sweet potatoes, which where perfectly cooked. Yes, this was waaaay too much food for two people. Honestly, we could have split my dish and the appetizer and been stuffed. But everything was really delicious, nothing could have been prepared better. My only complaint is that their menu had NO vegetarian items on it, except for sides and salads. Definitely plan on eating a combination of side items if you aren't a veggie who eats fish. Overall, its hard to believe that such a hole in the wall is so delightful. Their menu was full of dishes I had never even imagined, so for someone who gets a kick out of trying new kinds of cuisines, this place is perfect. read more

It's been a long, long time since my sister and I went for our first and only visit to El Estribo. We were actually looking forward to dining at A Taste of Burma, but it was closed at the time, so we walked around and stumbled onto this culinary find. We were the first customers of the day, and were the only ones during our stay there. I remember having a seafood stew and something else (like I said, it's been a long time... at least two years?), and they tasted very familiar to Philippine cuisine. The only difference was the presence of a variety of corn (toasted, stewed, some were of large kernels and were white in color). I knew I was allergic to corn by then, so I can only say that my sister thought they were interesting. The yucca pieces were delightful! We liked the decor, but I wished that the karaoke stage would disappear, as its presence was jarring to the senses. read more

I had lunch at El Estribo this past weekend, and it was a real treat. Despite being in a strip-mall, any restaurant with an authentic Peruvian saddle and hitching post wins me over. I had 1/2 of the Peruvian rotisserie chicken, and it was very good (moist and flavorful). The french fries were not a side that I expected with Peruvian food, but they were excellent as well. I was not a fan of the salad dressing (a mayo-mustard combination), although the salad (iceberg) was fresh. The price ($7.99) was really impressive. My colleagues had a fish dish that they had enjoyed a number of times before, and it looked really tasty. The complementary corn snacks as an appetizer were delicious and addictive! I will go again. read more

El Estribo is well worth 5 stars. I am peruvian and let me tell you about peruvian food... you can't really find authentic peruvian flavors around VA or DC (you may find a few in Maryland). I came here with my family and enjoyed escabeche de perscado, arroz con pollo, pollo saltado, and patasca (soup made out of mote-peruvian corn). Every single dish was prepared freshly and they were all declicious. I even tried the yellow sauce served on the side and it was pretty similar to the yellow sauce served in peru and it was great!. There is a yelper somewhere in the reviews that said that the yellow sauce tasted like caesar dressing and that it wasn't good.. well... you are probably just used to the NON AUTHENTIC yellow sauce served in many peruvian restaurants around that try to make it authentic but fail. Anyways, service was excellent and the place looked pretty clean. Deff a place I will go back to and recommend. read more

A solid 3.5 stars. El Estribo is tucked away in a strip mall not too far from Dulles airport. Always wanting to relive our wonderful vacation in Peru years ago, my husband and I jump at the opportunity to try Peruvian restaurants. As usual, we went all out and ordered a lot of food. The variety sampler appetizer plate of anticuchos, sweet potatoes and a tamale could have been a meal in itself. But we didn't stop there, we decided on the papa la huacania as our follow up appetizer. I was happy to see chicha morada on the beverage menu and appreciated the trio of traditional Peruvian sauces, including the ubiquitous aji sauce in which I like to dip everything. There were quite a few unusual items on the menu, unfortunately, they were out of the first two things I tried to order, so I ended up with fish served with *mature* plantain mash with peppers and cheese curds. Everything was good, but not spectacular, however, I'm willing to try El Estribo again because everyone raves about the chicken and that is one of the menu items we didn't order. read more

I really wish this place were in a better location. After a string of failed places El Estribo moved in a few years ago and does not receive the attention or business it deserves. Overshadowed by the mexican place aboveish (that has now moved to another part of the shopping center) their location is tucked into a corner of a shopping mall no one knows exists. It is not visible from 7, nor is the section visible once you are in the shopping center. Next to an ABC and a paintball place... El Estribo has a fantastic mix of dishes of which we have sampled quite a few. It has been a few months since I was last there, so I can't do a review of the individual dishes, but what I will say is get outside of your comfort zone. If you are looking for roasted chicken... There are better places. If you want to move up to something a bit more interesting, lomo saltado is "good" but can be found quite a few places at similar quality levels. If you can to stretch past that though, you will enjoy it quite a bit. The more interesting the name, pretty much the better the food. My only real issue is that every time I have wanted picarones they were unavailable. Love those little fried things. read more

First I will say that there was an obvious language barrier from the moment we sat down. I ordered a tamale and a side of yucca. Ten minutes later I was told that they were out of tamales. The dish I ordered came with a side of yucca. Five minutes later I was brought my side of yucca as everyone else got their chicken. All of the chicken orders were incorrect. Either the sides were wrong or they were brought light meat when they asked for dark. Eventually I was brought my order that included another side of yucca, so I was charged for both sides of yucca. I had to ask several times or a box an eventually had to walk to the door of the kitchen to obtain one. The food was okay but the service was terrible! Will probably be back and hoping they have tamales this time. read more

The first time we came here, a few months ago, the place was so empty I thought maybe it was closed. We both ordered the rotisserie chicken, and were told they were out of it. This was at 7:00 on a Saturday, weird, I thought, but I guess it happens. Ever since then I've joked about the "Peruvian chicken place with no chicken." We ordered something else and I thought the rice and yucca were good. Last night we tried again, this time 7:30 on a Wednesday, the place again completely empty, but my boyfriend had his heart set on the chicken. Guess what? They were out of chicken again. We paid for our drinks and left . . . pretty disappointing. I don't think we'll go for a third. Incidentally, they have the TV on so loud in there it's hard to read the menu. read more

I love the lunch menu, everyday they surprise con a new dish that reminds me to my mom's homemade dishes, the specials on the weekends are supreme, love love the food and the service. read more