Love to eat here. Best Peruvian food in SoCal. However, the wait staff are overworked, slow to respond and have trouble with speaking English. read more

For my birthday, we enjoyed a wonferfully spicy chicken picante and seafood stew. Their flan is the perfect way to end the meal - not sweet or overly syrupy. read more

My first time in a Peruvian restaurant. I went there with a friend recommendation and absolutely liked it. I tried the Chicken Picante, it was spicy and very good. Loved the green sauce - was told it's made daily at the restaurant. read more

This is great Peruvian food! The outside seating very nice and the green sauce is amazing on everything!!!! Try the chicicha morada (it's a deliciously sweet purple drink) read more

I ate here the day they opened. Even though there have been changes since then, they came out the other side intact. I love the SALTADO DE MARISCOS and can eat it forever! I also like fried yucca. Lunch can be busy and the service can be a little spotty but friendly and sincere. Recommended! read more

Inexpensive, consistently delicious food. The furniture is a bit run down and the service is decent. The yummy paella and decadent cookies make this place a family favorite. read more

Ok, so I've been coming to this place for years. The Saltado de Camerones are really good. Cute little hole in the wall.

I liked it! The service was very quick, could have been friendlier but overall was positive. The waitress seemed annoyed when we asked for more bread. I don't know if that's a weird thing to ask for, but the green sauce is ahhhmazing! I just wanted to eat it straight up. But the place is nice, though the seats were not very comfortable. Anywho, we walk in and are able to seat ourselves. Menus are brought to us immediately with waters, green sauce and bread. We ordered the empanadas as an appetizer and I thought they were fantastic. But seriously, in my mind you really can't go wrong with anything fried, so my frame of reference is very narrow. They were out of the spinach and cheese so we ordered chicken and beef empanadas. I totally dipped them in the green sauce, and the spicy lime juice was pretty fantastic as well. But they were flavorful even on their own. Each of them was pretty small, but it was a pretty good portion with three of them. I ordered the Chicken Mama Diablo, which is chicken sautéed with carrot shorts, scallions, and roasted garlic in a spicy Guajillo chili sauce. I had about half of my meal leftover and it was just as good the next day. The chicken is just incredibly flavorful. I was too full for desert, so we ordered some Alfajores (Peruvian cookies) to go. They were pretty good, it tasted like shortbread cookies with a dried filling and powdered sugar coating. I would definitely consider coming back here. Overall the experience was 4 stars, very positive read more

This review is way overdue. I love this place and pick up lunch from here pretty regularly. The food is fresh and tasty, and the service is what you'd expect from a family-run business: personalized and attentive. I like the Costa Mesa location too but since I work near Lake Forest, I frequent this one much more. read more

Ive been looking for a good Peruvian place and its looks like i found it! The best saltido! Add garlic Love it!!

First time I've tried Peruvian, so I can't say much in terms of comparison. However, the paella was delicious, and the garlic shrimp was alright, albeit unmemorable. It's warm salad, which I haven't eaten before. Although Inka Grill is labled with a $$, you should still be prepared for sizes of portions. While the empanadas were good, paticularly the spinach and feta cheese combo, we only had three. Definitely not worth $8 for such a small portion. Paella came in a very big portion, and my party could not finish it. Also brought in a metal container to keep the heat in. That was greatly appreciated. Interior is nice, waitress is attentive, making sure our water glasses and complimentary bread baskets were full. Overall, nice experience except that my seat was ruined, so it was covered over with itchy black duct tape. If you do visit, make sure to try out their paella! read more

I eat out everyday at least once , I tried this place and it was ok , prices are ok, food ok, service ok , . but nothing really would want me to come back for more , too many fantastic options in OC in my opinion. read more

Great Paella, fast service , reasonable prices and the staff is always very friendly. I would recommend it to anyone. Casual and serve alcohol as well. Paquita is very nice! I think prices are good considering a sit down restaurant and mixed seafood is only $14 or other meals only $7 to $10. I spend this much ordering fast food! read more

I'm a tough customer when it comes to quality of food. Although the quality of my dish was decent (Picante de Pollo) the quality of meat used for the Lomo Saltado was more or less subpar. I don't care if it's Zagat rated because that rating system is very bias, more or less a popularity contest. If you want better Peruvian food you should try a place called El Pollo Inka in Torrance, CA. Their lunch specials are cheaper than Inka Grill but the quality of the meat they use is much better. read more

If you're looking for something new to try, I definitely recommend Peruvian food. The best way to describe it is a fusion of Asian and Mexican cuisine. I tried it a couple years back when my boyfriend took me to Palos Verdes for the first time at El Pollo Inka and I immediately became addicted. Why? GREEN SAUCE. Right before you order anything, you get a bottle of green sauce and some bread... and omg dip some bread in that sauce; SO BOMB. That sauce is clutch. Before, I always had to drive 45 minutes away for my fix BUT the other day one of our friends told us about Inka Grill in Lake Forest so we decided to give it a try. (There's a location in Costa Mesa too.) Normally, I would order a Saltado (I recommend that to first-timers), but since I was in a "trying-new-things" mood haha we ordered empanada appetizers, Picante, & Mama Diablo. The empanada is definitely something I would order again, you get three in one order, so we got a mix of chicken and beef. Personally, beef was my favorite. For my entrée,I ordered the Mama Diablo because I really like carrots (it was like 85% carrots though haha). In my opinion, it lacked flavor and it wasn't as spicy as I expected/wanted... but it wasn't terrible. The Picante is somewhat like a Peruvian curry... it was delicious and the spiciness kind of has a kick at the end... probably one of my favorite Peruvian dishes so yes, try it! read more

BEWARE!!!!!!! This restaurant was charging fraudulent charges on my credit card. I went there a couple times and apparently someone wrote down my credit card information and was making charges i never did. When i called the owner, Anna, she avoided my calls instead of calling me back to resolve the issue. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and try to resolve things with her first, but no calls back. I will never go to either one of her locations ever again after the courtesy she didn't give me. This company is a fraud. read more

Went here for lunch with coworkers for a team member bday. Got seated quick as it was around 11:30am. it got busier as we left at 12:20ish and the outside tables started to fill up. I split a vegetarian saltado with a fellow meat free co-worker. they charge a buck to split it but seemed almost like a regular plate. i got a side salad with avocado which was good as well. not too much dressing but smaller than i expected. only $4 plus $2 for avocado. the saltado was delicious and it was my first time trying it. the only Peruvian I've had was chaufa back east. The green sauce was spicy when i ate it with the bread, but i poured it all over the saltada and didn't break a bead of sweat. hmmmm? The boss got and iced tea and said it was really good and the waitress brought a full bottle over for the girls if they wanted refills. same with water. all the food was presented well and almost wanted me to go back to eating meat it looked so good. Service was very good even though she had a bunch of tables to serve and food was great. I highly recommend Inka grill! read more

If I could give them a "0" star, I would! First of all, the service was horrible. Second of all, I ordered some sweet fried plantains and they brought them to the table totally uncooked. When I brought it up to the server, she did not even apologize. After she finally brought the plantains back, they were burned! I felt completely disrespected. We literally waited over 40 minutes to get our food and another 20 minutes to get the check. I definitely won't be going there again for lunch or dinner. Service is everything and they seemed to be more interested in their Botox than their customers. read more

Ordered chicken soup came out cold returned it and the soup came out scalding to the point that I now have a huge blister on my tongue, I could not eat another thing in fact my tongue is still burning. Told the waitress she apologized took the soup off and did nothing else. They scalded me I am damaged because of this restaurant and they did nothing. Shame on them! Paid the bill in cash the waitress rounded the check up and failed to give us the change. Bill was xx.40 they did not give the .60 change just bills ... very presumptuous ... service was inattentive at best. Will not return read more

best pesto basil pasta I have ever have. a must try if you eat here. and the bread and homemade green sauce they serva at the table is amazing read more

This is for the one in 19th St. in Costa Mesa (sister property). Starting with Paquita the hostess/waittress and her condescending look, her uncanny ability to look bad and get worst by the moment, and her sour comments about, "the owner of the place did not want exact replica of peruvian food, but instead she chooses an americanized version, so as not to scare of the Gringos". That statement and the food that followed sealed the deal for us. Where it really breaks my heart is than some unfamiliar costumer might step into this desolate, talentless eatery and believe for a second that this is in any way, shape, or form Peruvian food. It is an insult for all peruvian food to have this place called themselves a peruvian restaurant. Their famous chicken is far from peruvian best. Salty, salty it was by far of the food that was to follow. No one at the place at 7PM (that should warn the weary diner) not a place you want to sit down. There is a hole in the wall and the food that comes from there is lower than anything I have tried in peruvian food. When I commented on the quality of their saltado, she came back with the americanized version. But, wait, I said. These potatos are totally soggy, old and stale and the meat is not freshly grilled like it is supposed to be. Besides only ten percent was this distasteful already cook beef and the rest was onions and canned tomatoes, with a sauce that defied description. Do not waste you hard earned dollar and your precious time on this place. And the really sad thing is all those reviews who kept saying this place was the bomb! The bomb of crap is what I say! Go back to culinary classes for the cook and for Paquita the patronizing host, you better quit acting like you are better than the rest because your food does not merit any bragging rights. The worst of the worst! 1 Star and that is being kind. read more

Don't waste your time. OVERCHARGED and mediocre food. When I walked in it was totally empty and now I know why. First off nobody knew the WiFi password. The paella was mediocre, very greasy with barely enough seafood for them to even call it a Paella. The check came I noticed I got overcharged (and the price was already high considering what I got served). I told the waitress and she said "the owner changed the prices". Upon seeing other yelp reviews, many other people have also gotten overcharged here and this is a normal occurrence. No reason AT ALL to come here when there is an amazing Peruvian place less than a mile away! You have been warned. read more

Food here is good, but the servers and their service seriously suck. The servers are very slow, they don't care to check on you to see how the food is (if the food ever comes out), they lack basic communication skills, and sometime but not always give you several servings of attitude that you can cut with the butter knife they provide you. I'd rather use the knife to spread the yummy green sauce on the slice of bread they give you. They only come by to take your order, drop off your food, and drop off the most important item, "The Check". The manager or owner of this restaurant is never visible and do not check with you on how everything is going either. I get the feeling that they just don't really care. Seriously, customer service is a foreign concept at the restaurant. Seriously, I can be sitting there for an hour and no one working there would notice that I don't have the entrée that I ordered while my coworkers were almost done eating within a few bites. On the other hand, the guy running around refilling drinks is awesome and he always keeps your drink filled. I'll give this place a star for him! My other grip about this place is that you have to leave the exact amount including tip if you pay with cash. The servers here think that the amount you give them minus the amount on the check is ALL their tip . This is the only place I've been to where if the check total is around $30 and if you leave two 20 dollar bills, the server will not comes back with the change. I think it is arrogant of the servers to assume they are getting a 30+ percent tip for their crappy service. You can bring this up with your server, and somehow they still screw you in the end and walk away with a tip they don't deserve. Sorry Inka Grill, you are not the only Peruvian restaurant in Orange County, so I won't ever be back. A lot of yelpers give this place 4 and 5 stars and I agree with them that the food here is good. However, if you are looking for service, you will not find it here and that's why I decided to make this place a one star establishment. total fail! read more

1 Server, 13 tables. You do the math. On a Monday night. When the server asked how we were doing and I said "Fine, except for the cockroach cruising the wall next to my wife" she disappeared without comment for the remainder of the meal. Paella made with with Uncle Ben's rice. Really? My wife's order, a simple chicken breast, came out cold 15 minutes after my son's and my meal arrived. It was actually a concerted effort to pay the check as the dinner rush was over and the server , needing a break, disappeared. I guess the stiletto pumps she was wearing wore her out. Yikes. Never again. read more

Ugh!!! I took my uncle out to lunch today. My family is Peruvian so I know what good Peruvian food should taste like. This place doesn't get it. First off I found the general atmosphere on the cheap side. The waitresses are not dressed appropriately for a restaurant where families come to dine. I ordered the lomo saltado without the steak (I am vegetarian). This place charged me an extra dollar for the French fries! What the heck? Lomo saltado is always served with French fries! I have never been to a Peruvian restaurant (either in the US or Peru) where I get charged extra for fries in the lomo. That is like charging extra for the meatballs when you order spaghetti and meatballs. My meal came out to almost $11 for limp soggy French fries and sad looking stir fried vegetables. I had high hopes for this place being so close to home. My mom's Peruvian cooking is still the best though Inka Mama's comes close. Inka Grill Lake Forest is not worth the money. I will not be returning. read more

To keep a long story short, ordered a Fish CEVICHE, found that lime or lemon juice used for it tasted old, sweet potato was decomposed(waitress did not do much when told),She did ask us if we were Peruvians? Irrelevant question if you ask me; i could notice and taste the excessive black pepper added to it, and hot peppers were not the appropriate for this dish(jalapeño??) and pieces were too big for my taste, Then I ordered an Arroz Chaufa(chicken) that was brought to me almost at the same time as they did the ceviche, can't these people use common sense? Waitress didn't even ask when I wanted my main course, and guess what? More bad news, this supposedly "fried" dish had a boiled consistency,could not find much eggs or green onions, chicken was obviously part of leftovers(From their POLLO A LA BRASA) and again black pepper excessively sprinkled, thank God ordered an Inka Kola, the only positive experience about this FIRST & LAST VISIT, and last but not LEAST, someone else(manager I assume) other than de waitress came to my table asking how was everything, and when I explained most of my concerns, she just like the waitress, didn't do much of anything, would definitely spread the word within my circle of friends & family in the area, I really wanted to leave a penny as tips , but my wife didn't let me(she was also disappointed at everything she ordered, but she's not like me), like we say in Peru "DEBUT Y DESPEDIDA". read more

My first Yelp post, people, because i care about our dollars, and where to spend them wisely in these uncertain times: I was excited to introduce my young adult children to some new flavors at the InKaGrill, I had heard about this place in LF for several years, especially after some great meals at the Costa Mesa location. So we went this Sunday around 1:30pm, was that my first mistake? Only one other party at the tables, but meal took over 25 minutes to be sent out to us after ordering 2 appetizers and one entree. I asked the server excitedly, "what is this green sauce"? "salsa" , he says, is that right, salsa? Maybe he thought Iwas from Wisconsin. anyway, the green sauce with bread was the best part of our meal. I have had some awesome cerviche at the Costa Mesa location, but that was over 5 years ago. I only make18/hr, so a nice meal with my kids is something to be savored, and not at Mc Donalds, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING? It is a special event. The seafood cerviche ($12.95) no joke, this cerviche appetizer was chewy lime juice, I am not exagerating, I only tasted lime juice and that is all. I would have sent it back, but I did not want to shame the situation, people, have you been there? The yucca appetizer ($7.95) was raw in the cheese sauce, was it supposed to be cooked? I have had yucca before in the San Salvador stews to be enjoyed in downtown restaurants of Santa Ana, and I was excited to have them try that as well, again do I ask the server: "Hey, is raw okay in this dish, or what??" I had to hunt for the small amount of yucca, visible as small lumps in the sauce. So I made excuses: "Oh, I have never had this raw before!" "Have a taste!" My son had the chicken saltado which was nicely grilled and tasty, but overall an expensive lunch, (we all had water, no drinks, total was $32.48, not including tip) a meal we want to forget, I am sorry to say, but true. Look underneath their logo, it says: "where food is our passion, then they need VIAGRA! step it up or go away! read more

My folks love this place but I think it is just decent. The green aji sauce is pretty nice but I think it is mostly mayo. They do some interesting things with seafood. No complaints. read more

loved the Lamb stew empanadas were ok service was friendly and prompt read more

Succulent food, probably probably one of the best food I had. And the service was great as well. I liked the decor, very cosy and welcoming. The food again ( sorry ) was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!! read more

Inka Grill is so good, the seafood paella is so amazing. The team is very friendly and it always feels like family.

This place is so good! My favorite dishes are the seafood paella and the seafood picantes. It's a small place so it does get tight and i can see why some reviewers complained about the service. It's ALWAYS busy. You just have to be a little more patient. I personally don't mind too much since the food is so good and the people are nice. It's one of my go to places in OC. read more

I had the Lomo Soltado and it was amazing. Don't expect anything fancy here...just good food.

It's far for us, but we went there because of a dinner groupon and the food was excellent. We had the tamal, tiradito de pescado and paella. I only wish we lived closer so that we could taste their food more often, The waitresses were nice and kept on checking on us, granted we were the only ones in there for the hour that we were there. read more

The empanadas here are the best I have ever had. The chicken and noodle dishes are amazing as well... Every meal we have had here has been fantastic and leaves us impressed with how delicious the food truly is. It's a fun environment with great service and amazing food. read more

The food is really good and tasty, especially the green sauce they serve to you with the bread rolls, but the prices are a bit too high and they seem to change the prices over the phone. When we asked for a to go menu, they said they didnt have one, so we dont really know what the prices are. The food is great, but the prices and service are ok. read more

I ate at Inka Grill for lunch today for the first time with a couple of co-workers. They had been there before and told me the food is very fresh and tasty. They also let me know that they have some veggie selections which I should like. The place is nicely decorated and everything seems clean. The food was indeed tasty although I felt it was a little on the pricey side for what I received. I would have given Inka Grill four stars if my review was only based on the food. It was the attitude of our server that knocked off a couple of stars. One of my co-workers had heard about an appetizer IG was supposed to have that was made with green beans, onions, and nice seasonings. A mutual friend told him it was delicious. Not knowing what it was called, he asked our server if they had an appetizer made with green beans? Her very gruff reply was... and i quote, "We're not the Chinese restaurant next door." Really??? If it were just me, I would've walked out at that point. Pretty sure I will NEVER become the Duke at this place! If you're looking for me, don't waste your time looking at the Inka Grill, You may however find me at the Chinese restaurant next door... read more

I come here often for lunch. Everything I have tried is great and that green sauce they have is awesome. Try the Soltados.

I've come here a few times with friends and everyone always enjoys their food. I've tired the other Peruvian restaurants and this is by far the best! My favorite in the OC! Friendly staff too :) read more

I love this place. I eat here pretty regularly and love the saldata. In addition, there are a couple of really attractive servers so that rocks! Service is always fast as is the food prep. Great hidden gem. read more