Mission Ceviche – from a market stall to Second Avenue

On Second Avenue at 73rd Street, Mission Ceviche turns Peruvian street food into a sit-down meal. What began in 2015 as a kiosk inside Gansevoort Market, run by chef José Luis Chávez and his partner Brice Mastroluca, grew into a second fast-casual stall at Canal Street Market before the pair opened their first proper restaurant here on the Upper East Side in 2019. The launch earned a star from Pete Wells in the New York Times and a place in the MICHELIN Guide almost immediately, and Mission Ceviche is Selected in the MICHELIN Guide to this day. The kitchen's calling card is ceviche treated with the seriousness of fine dining: citrus-cured fish, Nikkei plates that fold Japanese technique into Peruvian flavour, and a chifa section that nods to Lima's Chinese-Peruvian kitchens. It is a neighbourhood restaurant with ambition well beyond the block it sits on.

01The chef

José Luis Chávez is the co-founder and creative force behind the kitchen, a cook whose own history mirrors the dish he is best known for: something formed where cultures meet. He was born in the Andes of Venezuela to Colombian and Peruvian parents, and his cooking carries that layered inheritance into every plate. On the Upper East Side, day-to-day service is run by executive chef Nacho Ascoy, working from recipes Chávez developed, while Brice Mastroluca remains Chávez's business partner and co-founder across both New York addresses.

02The cooking

The kitchen's reputation rests on ceviche in its traditional citrus-marinated form alongside Nikkei versions that blend Japanese and Peruvian ingredients, and the octopus dish dressed in olive-forward tiger's milk is one the restaurant is particularly known for. The chifa section, Lima's Chinese-Peruvian tradition, supplies Lomo Saltado: filet mignon wok-stirred with tomatoes, red onions and soy sauce, served with crispy yellow potatoes, rice and choclo.

Insider tip

Open daily; reservations recommended for the Chef's Tasting Menu and weekend brunch.

03What to order

The Inca Tiradito, torched salmon under a Mission Dynamite sauce, and the Causa de Cangrejo are smaller plates worth claiming early. The Truffadito, a tuna tataki tiradito in aji panca truffle tiger's milk with a cucumber micro salad, sits at the more composed end of the raw-fish list. For something cooked, Papa a la Huancaína — potatoes under a silken sauce with a Manchego veil and a touch of truffle — and the Lomo Saltado anchor the hot menu, and the Tres Leches cake is the dessert regulars keep ordering.

04Wine and drinks

Pisco, Peru's national spirit, runs the bar programme, with the pisco sour appearing in several guises alongside a Maracuyá Sour built on passionfruit. A short, considered wine list backs the raw-fish menu without competing for attention — the kind of list built to disappear behind a plate of ceviche rather than announce itself.

05When to go and booking

The Upper East Side room is open daily: Monday to Thursday from noon to 10pm, Friday to 10.30pm, and weekends from 11am. Happy Hour runs Monday to Friday, 3pm to 6pm, with discounted pisco sours, wine, beer and classic cocktails at the bar.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.