I've been here twice and both times, I have been really happy with their seafood paella. The paella didn't come in a frying pan with the rice crispy at the bottom. Nonetheless, I still loved the flavor of this dish and the portion is generous with lots of seafood. It was enough to share for two people. I also loved their complimentary bread with the two dipping sauces. I especially loved the green cilantro sauce. It had a nice kick and kind of addictive actually. I kept going back for more. The restaurant is clean inside and service was good. You get refills for ice teas. It is located in a busy shopping plaza in between Target and the mall. There is free parking outside the restaurant. read more

El Rocoto - Seafood paella - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

We have been going to El Rocoto since they early 90's at the original location in Gardena and then the Cerritos location since it opened. I cannot even count the number of times and family dinners we have had and celebrations. One of my fave dishes is chupe de camarones and they have always prepared it as good as my husband's Tia and mine. My husband loves Antiocho de corazon and picante de mariscos. We had moved 3 years ago and so we were very excited to go there for lunch yesterday when we had come down to visit. What a disappointment it was the soup had no flavor that didn't put the cheese in it, I had to ask and then whatever cheese they are now using didn't melt in the soup, the soup calls for a pouched egg they put a fried egg in it, there was no oregano and it had way to much hucatay the size of the bowl shrunk and the price went up. My husbands food was served in a shallow bowl, they use to serve this in a boat type dish much more food, his also was missing the clam, mussel and they put a boiled egg in it, which this definitely does not have boiled eggs. The antiocho's was old beef heart and dry with no marinade seasoning. $89.00 before tip for lunch and completely disappointed. We should have driven over to Orange County to Aji lemoñ, we have never had a bad dish since before when they were Nory's. read more

Our dinner here was a hot mess and nothing but one strike after the other. After spending over $100 on dinner for two, this place left nothing to be desired. Strike 1 - We found hair in the ceviche! See picture. The server had the kitchen remake another one but we had already lost our appetite strike 2 - We were given someone else's bill, and it was not a busy night Strike 3 - When the server finally brought our bill, Happy Hour discount was missed and we had to point it out to get the bill corrected Lesson learned - either never come back again or if must dine here, check everything: check the entree for "non-food" ingredients, and check the bill to make sure it's your bill and the prices charged are correct. Will not return. read more

El Rocoto - Hair in the ceviche - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Solid Peruvian restaurant in Cerritos! They have a wide range of interesting and delicious Peruvian dishes to choose from. I ordered their Lomo Saltado which is a stir fried beef dish with onions and tomatoes on a bed of thick cut potato fries. I was extremely impressed with the flavors of this dish, however, the beef was really dry. It was not really tender and overcooked. I loved the free bread appetizer with the two sauces. The sauces complemented all the dishes very well. The restaurant is quite small but has a fair amount of seating. Service was not the quickest but they were all extremely friendly and accommodating. read more

El Rocoto - Lomo Saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Great food...steak was tender and perfectly cooked! The servers are prompt and can get a little back up when it gets crowded around peak hours. It's a nice contemporary decor and can use a little more vines. read more

When I'm craving Peruvian food this is my go to place. Not only is the food always on point, but the customer service is exceptional. The young lady server is always positive, in a great mood and so sweet. She makes the overall experience even better. The restaurant is always clean and the music is great. I would definitely recommend this place! read more

My first experience having Peruvian was amazing! Lomo saltado and don't get me started on that Hauncaína! Our server Jonathan took great care of us and gave excellent recommendation. Will be back! read more

Excellent Peruvian food, excellent service. It's my favorite Peruvian restaurant. The servers are all very attentive and courteous, they just don't make mistakes. read more

~The food is authentic, delicious, and the place is very clean. They always have good music and the service is excellent (Gabriel served us today). Highly recommended! read more

El Rocoto - Lomo Saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

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It's a good spot to eat. Good food but lately the flavor has been dull on my seafood saltado. The squid doesn't seem to have any taste and the scallops have been somewhat overcooked. I'll be going back in a while. Maybe they'll fix it. Ambience is nice. Not too crowded. Service is pleasant. read more

El Rocoto - Lomo saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

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Cómida súper buena, servicio excelente, un buen lugar para ir en familia o en pareja.

Good good good service. Smaller portions but very tasty I recommend this place. Nice ambiance

11/20/22 I'm surprised I haven't left a review for El Rocoto. My family & I have dined here many times before. The food has been consistently delicious & the service has been fairly attentive as well. The one thing that we rave about is the seafood soup, Parihuela. My sister loves it so much that she's tried to replicate it at home & it's very close (but it's different when somebody else puts in all the effort & it's being served). The mainstay is the beef or chicken lomo saltado of course. It's always a family favorite. My sister in law ordered a different dish, oxtail fettuccine. She shared it with my niece & she says "it's alright, a bit greasy". Everyone enjoyed the table bread with the dipping sauces My brother ordered another soup, chupe de camaron. It had a yellow, silky type of broth that my sisters & parents found appetizing so they each had a bowlful. It was an instant hit! There were cuts of an ear of Peruvian corn (see pic) that had huge kernels-that was an interesting find. Our server said it's from Peru. That's fascinating! The shrimp were plump & juicy. My mom said they look & tasted fresh. It's a wonderful place to dine & enjoy the company of friends & family. It's casual & medium noise level. It's our go to Peruvian restaurant. Great food with wonderful company, a winning combination! read more

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Lomo Saltado & Papa Huancaina were delicious! Service was excellent. Potatoes were a bit soggy under the sauce. Overall a great experience!

The location is cute for a date night. There's plenty of parking. Our server was Ruth. Amazing customer service. Constantly checked in on us to make sure we were okay and answered every question we had. The complimentary bread and sauces taste amazing like always. We ordered the Tacu Tacu Especial and the Picante de Mariscos. The food was okay. I've had the Picante de Mariscos in the past and it's honestly my favorite dish. For some reason this time around i felt like the flavor was not the same. I tried the Tacu Tacu Especial for the first time. My favorite part was the plantain. read more

El Rocoto - Tacu Tacu Especial and Picante De Mariscos - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Over priced, the lomo saltado and pollo pobre or something was good the potato side is literally a cold chopped potato with nacho cheese for $15, and the small bowl soup $13 don't recommend those. Service was nice read more

El Rocoto - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

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We ordered Aji de Gallina and it was so far the best I've had. We also ordered Pescado Saltado and the flavor was perfect. Service was friendly and prompt. We also had chicha, very refreshing. The place was packed but we found a table right away. It was in a Sunday so we expected a long wait but we found a table rather quickly. Parking was easy for being in the Cerritos mall vicinity. Best Peruvian food around read more

Came for the Lomo Saltado and was pleasantly surprised by the Pescado a lo Macho. Got seated and was given 2 pieces of warm bolillo style bread rolls. The bread came with their signature green and red sauce. The sauces are typical for Lomo Saltado. The green is a creamy cilantro based sauce (my fave) and the red is a more mild cream sauce but I don't know the base. The Lomo Saltado was just as expected. Beef was slightly over-cooked, I ordered medium and received some pieces as medium and some as well done. Regardless, it was tender and flavorful. This dish also has the french fries and rice. The fries were a little soggy, but that could have just been the norm for them. The Pescado a lo Macho was fabulous. The fish was lightly breaded, the calamari was very tender, there was one mussel and one scallop, one shell on shrimp and a couple of shelled shrimp. The red/orange sauce was really tasty too. We came during lunch so it was not too loud or crowded. Service was okay - could be better but the server was super sweet. Overall, I enjoyed the meal. read more

El Rocoto - Lomo Saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

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Service today was good, the food on ther hand was widely inconsistent. I have visited rocoto of cerritos 3 times in the last month and out of the 3 visits 1 was ok, the other 2 unfortunately not so good. Don't know why there's such an inconsistency with seafood dishes. I.e i we always order picante de mariscos and today the flavor of the sauce was very disappointing more tomato flavor than anything else. The arroz con mariscos today lacked flavor as well. The causa traditional and the chicha were good. Hope the owner(s) read the reviews and make sure all food is standarized to deliver consistent flavor regardless of who's the cook of the day. I love this place but hate to see it going down on quality and flavor. read more

I am Peruvian, and I have to say el rocoto is the restaurant I want to go to when I want Peruvian food. The quality of the ingredients, the staff and the ambiance, are excellent. The taste of the food reminds me of home. No cutting down on quality here. I love it. read more

La comida es la mejor de los restaurantes peruanos del sur de California sin lugar a dudas un solo detalle es el tiempo de espera ,quizá es hora de ampliarlo ,por lo de demas todo 10 puntos! read more

The food had good flavors but we order a jalea and fried fish that was a bit oily for our taste. The place is decorated nicely, nothing trendy or too folkloric. The restroom did need some cleaning and a bit of updating. The staff was on their job and made the service was friendly and fast. read more

El Rocoto - Jalea regular - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Love love love there food. Great service and yummy food. Always busy so go early lots of good choices

Got here around 5:45 pm on Sat. There are 2 of us and another party of 4 in front of us. I put my name on the list even though thete is a table in front of us for 2 people empty. We were told to wait about 15 mins. Why?? Thete were no other party. Owners, please train your employees to be nice to people.. that 20 or 25 precents tips are to be earned and not an obligation. There are so many restaurants surrounding. read more

Came here a few years back and decided to give it another try. Food was delicious! From the fresh baked bread with the Aji to the pescado macho that i tried for the first time. Service was great, it wasn't as busy so the food , drinks and refills of bread and water were very fast. They've remodeled the inside from the last time i was there, but the music and lights make a great atmosphere for lunch or dinner. I had my usual inka cola as i do at every Peruvian restaurant and my dad really enjoyed the chicha morada. My dad had the arroz chaufa, it was good, maybe a little dry but the flavor was there, it had a small sweet flavor to it if that's something you like. Overall great food, service and flavor. read more

El Rocoto - Pescado A Lo Macho - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Kind of disappointed by this place. This used to be my go to Peruvian place to eat because the green and red sauce they have is amazing.. and it still is. We ordered the lomo saltado which is good but not amazing. The rice felt a little hard. We also ordered the fried plantain that was good, the fried yucca that had no flavor and was too dry and a side of the pesto spaghetti which was good. Service was pretty bad tho. We were seated in the back corner and our waiter just forgot about us. He serviced the family directly in front of us but failed to look over when I was waving the server down and saying excuse me. After trying to wave down two separate people I ended up just getting up and grabbing a togo box myself and a bag and my fiancé walked up to pay. The food is ok but service is subpar. Not worth the $60 price, I think we will go to pollo inka the next time we want some Peruvian food. read more

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I used to come here often when I was living in Long Beach. It was one of my favorite restaurant. Ive tried nearly all their seafood dishes and it was delicious. It was so good, I would introduce nearly all my friends to try it. I haven't been here in a few years. I was in town and of course I had to stop by. Their green sauce is still as good as I remembered it. The bf got his usual Beef Lomo Saltado and I tried something new, Tallarin Verde (beef). We enjoyed both but I think it needed a little bit more flavor. Service was great. Jorge was constantly working from table to table. I havent seen great service in a long time. read more

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Fantastic Peruvian food. We had a table of six with a Peruvian to guide us. Loved everything we had - apps, entrees, and desserts.

A cute intimate spot In Cerritos . I it's sandwiched in between a row of restaurants. The decor is pretty , service was ok , food was just ok too , I ordered the Lomo Saltado and a seafood friend rice , the presentation was pretty but the taste was forgettable . A little too pricey for the quality of food . And my stomach hurt after 30 Mins of eating here. read more

El Rocoto - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

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This restaurant is a must have every time we are in town. We have been coming here for years and never had a bad experience. The food is great no matter what you order. Service is always great. I recommend the lomo saltado, jalea and ceviche crocante. read more

El Rocoto - Ceviche Crocante - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

Food was delicious. Beef so tender. Quick service and super friendly staff. Cute decor. read more

El Rocoto - Lomo saltado Lomo Saltado - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

I'm underwhelm ! were is the gourmet chefs that these place used to have Food now is not the same unflavored and not the same quality and taste I want to know if the prior chef open a new place or if it working on a different place Can't wait to find it ! Or better if they can bring the prior chef back that will be the only way we will return to eat here ¡Estoy decepcionada ! Donde está el chefs gourmet que tenía estos lugares! La comida ahora no es la misma es sin sabor y no tiene la misma calidad Quiero saber si el chef anterior abrió un nuevo lugar o si está trabajando en un lugar diferente;No puedo esperar a encontrarlo! O mejor si pueden traer de vuelta al chef anterior así regresamos a comer aquí ! read more

El Rocoto - The service was good our waitress was excellent Janelle % she was the reason I was able to give the place 2 - Peruvian Near Me - Cerritos, California

I was in the mood for Peruvian so decided to try El Rocoto for lunch. The interior is bright and airy, and service was attentive and detailed. The menu is large and prices a bit high, but food is tasty. Portions were not bad. The bread and especially the two sauces that come with the bread are very memorable. I decided to try the lomo quinotto, a unique dish of lomo saltado (stir-fried beef) served with a quinoa-based risotto. The dish was not quite hot enough for me in terms of temperature, but was tasty. I also got a side of chicken sustancia soup, which was tasty and included a generous amount of chicken. To drink, I ordered chicha morada, the famous Peruvian purple corn drink. Overall, food was yummy but just a bit pricey. read more

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Thai is bar none the best Peruvian restaurant in town. The food is consistent, outstanding l, and simply delicious. If you haven't tried El Rocoto, you are missing out. Come visit and experience the best Peruvian dishes. We love their pescado macho, Malaya beef, lomo saltado, jalaya...everything in their menu is divine. read more

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Authentic! Great service. Beautiful drinks & dishes. Loved the desserts. Good portions read more

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We've been to this place numerous times and the food is always amazing! Today we celebrated a special birthday and we received THE BEST service!!! Thank Jorge for going above and beyond!!! read more

I came here with a friend who is Peruvian and highly suggested this place. I we got a bunch of different things and I found it to be a little higher end with the price but the food itself was very good. I've certainly had better I will say (there's some fire places in Long Beach such as Casa Chukis) but those places are usually not as nice of an ambiance to dine in. When I came here it was during late 2020 when they had outdoor dining in the parking lot, but that worked out well! I'm curious to see if anything has changed since then, but I am surprised on the lower reviews. read more

Few months ago I wasn't happy with quality of the food here, I've been visiting the place for many years already. I thought I will give it another try today and I'm speechless. 1st the service we received by Jorge was amazing . The food was super tasty, delicious. Definitely I will come back here again and I'm already talking to my friends and Family about the Great service and the Great food from El Rocoto. Keep up the good work Jorge and thank you very much for the great service. read more

This place has been inconsistent in the quality of its food. I've had their juicy lomo salado and it's been amazing. Their ceviche has also been really outstanding. And their pisco sour has been truly inspired! However, I'm not sure if it was due to COVID that the quality went down but I was a little overwhelmed. If I'm in the area again, I may give it a try and then add or delete a star depending on my next experience there. read more

1/31/23 : dicided to update my review, I was ver y pleased with my conversation with Jorge as soon as he saw this message he contact me immediatly and apoligize for the bad experience and understood my concern. I was invited to go go back to the restaurant again . Thak you Jorge for taking care of your customers and for undertanding how upset I was about the food. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND LOOKING FOWARD COMING BACK FOR SOME DELICIOUS PERUVIAN FOOD. Mr. Jorge thanks again if all managers were like you , we will have more happy customers. I really appreciate you. read more

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