Amor Picante

Went back one time before it closed, and it definitely was not as good as it was before. The service was… slightly better, but I still had to keep asking where are dishes were and if we could have sauces, more drinks, etc. Luckily, my parents and I were super patient. Anyways, I found out the Peruvian chefs I had known all had been fired… no wonder the food wasn’t as good! Oh well, at least now I live in California where there are plenty of Peruvian restaurants! Hopefully some day a new place will open in KC for all my friends there.

The food was amazing! I ordered the Spicy Stuffed Chicken and it was served HOT from the pan. The chicken had a crunchy crust with cheese melting from the inside. Beautiful presentation with garlic rice (in lieu of the the mashed potatoes). Accompanied by yucca fries, also served nice and HOT! I will definitely go back! The atmosphere was quiet and relaxed.

This was the worst dining experience I have ever had. I ended up here by accident, and the menu did not look particularly appetizing, but I am not a picky eater so I decided to give it a try.
First of all, there were only two other tables sat in the dining room, and yet the service was atrocious. My friend and I each ordered margaritas, ceviche as an appetizer, and empanadas for the entrees.
The margaritas were decent, but it was about 45 minutes before we received any food. Rather than receiving our appetizer, we were served with our side item, French Fries, which in truth, were pretty good. The ceviche showed up about 10 minutes later and was terrible.
As we finished our margaritas, we decided to move on to the wine. Although the specials sign noted that it was Wine Flight Wednesday, the server could not locate a wine menu, nor did she have even a basic knowledge of what wines the restaurant carries. We ordered a glass of the house white and the house cabernet. After 20 minutes with no drink, I asked our server about the status of the wines, and she said they were coming. No apology or explanation for why it takes nearly half an hour to pour a wine, despite the fact that a manager was sitting at the bar and the server only had one other table to attend.
After we had been there for at least an hour, I was informed that they were out of the entrée I ordered, the beef empanadas. No explanation of why they were just discovering this an hour after I ordered. I switched to the chicken empanada.
The food came after a total wait of over an hour and was simply awful. «Empanada» is apparently Spanish for a dry, microwaveable Hot Pocket.
I asked for our checks at this time, anticipating another 30 minute wait, and the server did take my empanada off the check since they were out of the beef that I ordered. However, this gesture did not compensate for the overall experience.
I have never dined and dashed before, and this is the first time I seriously considered it. If not for the illegality of it, I had absolutely no moral qualms about not paying for the meal, as it did not justify one cent. Nevertheless, I did pay for my meal, although I did not leave a tip, something I have not done in over 10 years since I was a bratty high schooler.
Having said all this, I can’t say I regret my decision to eat at Amor Picante. The experience was so bad in every respect that it will remain in my memory forever, and life is all about memories. So if you want a dining experience so awful that it will give you a story to tell your friends and redefine bad service and bad food, give this place a try, and you will not be disappointed.

After reading all the previous reviews… I guess you could say that I was seriously under expecting. The owners must also be reading the reviews, because they did appear to go out of their way to attempt to be friendly and engaging. The criticisms regarding the décor seemed wholly unfounded to me. I felt the atmosphere was pleasant, and now there is soft background music.
There were some 5 star offerings (hits), and some that just were not outstanding (misses). We’ll start with the hits, ‘cuz that is just how I like to roll.
Hits: Fish Chowder — good flavor, sweet potatoes, tender, flaky chunks of white fish, with a seafood-​flavored creamy broth. A little thin, but definitely something that I would order again. Flan: velvety-​smooth texture. Cooked to perfection. A definite 5 star dessert. Tres Leche Cake: fabulous flavor — I could eat a pan of that stuff and waddle away supremely happy.
The «just OK» stuff: The Arepa was tasty. The portion seemed small for a Pappa bear size, but just right for Goldilocks. My Papa bear would swallow that whole and then be eyeballin’ my plate! Oh No you don’t! The Yucca fries were interesting, but in my humble opinion, would have a more pleasing crunch if cut thinner, so that there would be a better ratio of crust to starchy veggie. The Milanesa was a little dry and would benefit from a better sauce. The mustard-​type sauce that came with it (and most everything else we ordered), seemed lacking. The potato and Chorizo fritters just seemed too soft, but they did have flavor.
Misses: the seats in the booths were very lumpy and need some work to make them comfy. The salad was bland and the dressing vinegary, but that is totally personal taste preference. The greens, however, were fresh.
All in all, an interesting venture into another new cuisine. I say get out there and experience their culture. It may be your new favorite. I personally love trying new tastes, but for a sure bet, absolutely try the fish chowder, the flan, and the Tres Leche Cake. I know what you’re thinking… that’s a lot of dessert! But it is better to be fat… and happy!

The only thing wrong with this place is the location. Sad strip mall aside, Amor Picante has some fantastic Peruvian cuisine, reasonable prices and great drink specials. On my first visit we ordered four appetizers. The Papas Rellenos alone are worth a repeat trip — tasty potato/​chorizo fritters with a spicy sauce that sneaks up on you with a slow burn. The Papas a la Huancaina and the Causa, a chilled chicken pot pie, were both tasty. And the ceviche? So good, and much different than its Mexican counterpart.
There’s a drink special every day of the week. On Saturday it’s $ 4 sangrias and well drinks, and I never turn down a sangria! My dad ordered a $ 6 glass of Chardonnay that was literally the size of my face. Needless to say, he had to surrender the keys before we drove home. We finished the night with the Dessert Flight — Tres Leches Cake, Arroz con Leche and Flan. Each was delicious, but without a doubt the best flan I’ve ever had. Creamy, not overly sweet, melt in your mouth perfection. Do yourself a favor and patronize this place so it doesn’t close. I’m already looking forward to a repeat trip.

Let’s all get something straight first. Just because it’s Latin American doesn’t mean it is Mexican. I am half Mexican and some of the reviews of this I have read even from that Charles character over at Pitch (not necessarily here on Unilocal) are just plain goofy. Mexican food in Mexico is very different from state-​to-​state so it stands to reason, the cuisine from a Spanish-​speaking country thousands of miles south of Mexico will be quite different, just like Vietnamese is different from Chinese even though they’re both Asian. Ok. We read a lot and I mean a lot of bad reviews on this joint but I was still mad to try it. I had made the acquaintance of a very nice woman from Peru several years ago and she shared two recipes with me of the papas a la huancaina and the crema volteada. We made both at home and we loved both of them. We went to AP last Saturday and yes, it was late. We got there a little after 10 but they are open until 11. We walked up to the restaurant and there were two men sitting on the patio and we went inside and there were two couples sitting near the kitchen door. No one was at the bar and no servers anywhere. We waited for a few moments and a server came out, went behind the bar and flashed back to the kitchen. We seated ourselves. The server came out two more times. I looked at my watch, looked at my companion and said, «I’m about to leave.» Finally, the server came back out and voilà! There we were. He came over and was very cordial although he didn’t say much about not being available. I said, «We seated ourselves.» And he told us that was ok. Well, I’m glad that was okay? We saw that the sangria was on special and we ordered that to start out. The menu appeared to have a nice selection. I ordered spicy chorizo stuffed chicken with aji mashed potatoes and my companion had the bife encebollado with aji mashed potatoes. The server did ask us if we wanted to hear suggestions to which we agreed and he kindly did that but seemed to have trouble pronouncing some of the names of the food. I don’t want to be a picky sort but the server really should know what s/​he is purveying and how to pronounce it. He was still very pleasant and once the order was placed, very attentive. Okay, salad came out and was not much. Just some greens, chopped eggs, bacon and a light vinaigrette. Boy! The bacon really, really made it tasty and I can’t pick about the size of the salad, most restaurants just give you a smattering of wilty greens anyway. So, this was ok. We had papas a la huancaina as an appetizer and I was disappointed. Four or five slices of a boiled potato with a small cup of huancaina sauce. The sauce was delicious, the appetizer was ok. We made this dish ourselves from a great recipe from a Peruvian cuisine website and it was much more substantial like a true potato salad. I was getting a bit annoyed and then out came the entrées and they were gorgeous! And the quantity of food was generous without being too… too… Ok, I don’t know real Peruvian food personally as this is my first restaurant experience and I’ve only cooked two dishes based upon instructions given from a friend from Peru so, I don’t know how authentic what we had was? Right now, until I experience differently, this was delicious. The chicken breast was tender and juicy and the filling was spicy and flavorful with plenty of chorizo and cheese. The potatoes were delicious with a hint of aji. I almost couldn’t eat it all. My companion had bife encebollado which I thought was cooked to a good stage but a bit cool. Oh, I forgot to mention the Sangria. It was OMG, delicous! Tropical fruits and spicy, red wine. Perfect, if you like Sangria and I know some of the wine snobs don’t. But, I do and this was muy bueno! Ok, we will be back because there is other stuff we want to try. Owners, please do something about that poor service. I mean, once we got our server’s attention he was fine but I’ll bet we could have walked over and taken a bottle of booze and left and no one would have known the difference. The restaurant buisness is tough and you can’t do it half-a$$ed. Please try harder because we like what you have so far and we need dining diversity in Kansas City.

I first heard about this place when I saw a Groupon for it. The description sounded great, the website looked good, so I bought the Groupon. Weeks later, an old coworker informed me it the restaurant was her husband’s new business venture. I decided to have dinner with a visiting friend at Amor Picante. From the outside, it didn’t have a welcoming feel, but inside was much better. Then I noticed the floor was Pergo. Not a fan. Go real or go home.
I wanted to order their fish chowder, since I heard SOME positive feedback about it. However, the server actually talked us OUT of it. Hmm. Instead, I ordered the Spicy Stuffed Chicken with sweet potato fries, and the ceviche. My friend ordered an entrée that came with an aji salad. Twenty minutes later, the server comes out to tell us that the consistency of the sweet potato fries was off, and they couldn’t make them. I then ordered the aji salad in place of it. She also informed my friend that they were missing a key ingredient for his entrée, and couldn’t make it. WHAT? So he ordered the Bife Acebolado. Ten minutes after that (total of 30 min waiting), we got our salads. The vinaigrette dressing was straight vinegar, it seemed. I couldn’t finish it. Our food was ok, at most, the service was slow, and I don’t plan to return.

Even though the fish chowder was amazing, it cannot make up for everything else that just wasn’t there.
We ordered Papas a la Huancaina as an appetizer and they were decent. I think — and this is my own personal opinion, of course — that the Huancaina sauce could use a *little* more bite as well as flavor. For the entrees, we ordered the Bife Acebolado and Milanesa. Each plate’s presentation was pleasing. Unfortunately, the meat was just super bland and lacked… something. Oh yeah, flavor, that’s it.
Both cuts of meat were tender and looked absolutely delicious, but there was just nothing to them flavor-​wise. The Milanesa was more «blah» than the Bife. Huancaina sauce was served with the Milanesa, and had it not been for that, I would have had to have asked for ketchup or something to eat with it. Although I like my steak cooked medium, I went ahead and ordered it medium-​well out of courtesy for my significant other. Had I ordered it medium, it probably would have come out medium-​rare, as the «medium-​well» came out medium. Again, I can say that the cut of meat was super tender and juicy. With flavor it would have been SUPERB.
The Aji Mashed Potatoes that accompanied the Bife were very tasty. The collard greens were not. The White Rice served with the Milanesa was also pretty bland; I got a slight hint of garlic from it and that’s about it.
As I mentioned previously, the fish chowder (which was a side to the entrees) was B-​O-​M-​B. I would probably go back just for that if I could get a big ol’ bowl. Perhaps in the meantime the food will get better??? I think there is potential!

I rarely give extensive drawn out reviews, this will be an exception, I also gave myself a couple days since the experience so my thoughts would have plenty of time to stew. With that said here is my review:
Eating at Amor picante was a regretful experience… ouch, that’s a little harsh don’t you think… No, here’s why.
I heard about amor picante from another restaurant owner, but he didn’t go into details about how it compared to his own, diplomatic in this sense, he encouraged us to give it a try. And this curious george went for the attack.
As Peruvian cuisine is some of the best in the world, and some of our closest friends are from Peru, we were very excited to give this place a try. The linen table cloths and hand stencils on the wall distracted me from my first cue «no Hispanics dining in sight»
Hmmm…onto the menu. The menu also proved distracting, as I thought «well how bad could it be, look at their logo, they obviously put much thought into creating their restaurants identity».
So naturally we proceded and ordered some ceviche. If your going to a Peruvian restaurant and their ceviche is bad, that is your strongest cue to head for the hills. I’d read from another Unilocaler that their ceviche was overwhelmingly spicy, well… that was an understatement, I know the place is called Amor PICANTE, but in this case I think even a habanero, would of had a problemO. It was way to spicy, they really need to turn it down a notch.
Next…we ordered two traditional dishes (if you are eating at a peruvian restaurant they better nail these two). Lomo Salteado and Ají de Pollo. The lomo Salteado was cooked way to long in Vinegar and tasted like a dirty shoe who had been sitting to long in a puddle of ocean water, and the Aji de Pollo was a puddle of brown mush that tasted similar to a vegan stew (if your not vegan, this is just not cool).
Now I know this all might sound really harsh and mean, but it honestly was bad, and since I would never have the heart to walk into a restaurants kitchen and tell the cooks, OMG you suck, I figured… well a bad review should most certainly whip them into cooking shape.
One thing I cannot complain about was our young server, who was sweet, and attentive as can be, and because of him Amor Picante gets one star.

My family and I went to Amor Picante tonight, and would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The only saving grace were the potato fritters we ordered for the appetizer. We ordered the potato fritters for the appetizer, a mojito, chicken stew, beef with rice and beans, fish with aoli mashed potatoes and red peppers, and boiled chicken (chicken adobo with green rice).
First off, after 10 minutes without my mojito, I had to remind the server (Jack) about my mojito because I could see no one was making it. After 5 – 10 minutes, Jack brought the mojito with no rum, and he had ground the mint using a mortar and pestle. The mojito had half a teaspoon of mint, and ¼ a lime. Also, the drink had Sprite in it.
When I asked if the mojito had rum, he sheepishly said, «I’ll get you a new one,» and began to make my new mojito. I went to the bar and asked him to add lots of mint and limes, and to not use Sprite, but the new mojito had a teaspoon of mint and still ¼ lime.
The potato fritters were pretty good and were served with a somewhat spicy cheese sauce. Jack had served the appetizer before we got anything to drink. The cook accidentally made 2 orders (when we asked for one), so we got a free appetizer.
Jack then brought out two of our four side dishes (we ordered soup, salads, and a side of sweet potato fries). After a few minutes, we asked about the other sides, and he said that he would bring them shortly. Ten minutes later, we got our soup and other salad, and 1 minute after that, the main courses were served.
None of the food looked very appetizing, and the chicken stew looked like a giant hairball or like someone vomited on the plate. It tasted okay, but the thought of eating something that looked like a hairball was very unappealing. The presentation of all of the meals was very poor. Also, despite the name «Amor Picante», none of the food was spicy.
The server was good about refilling our water and asked us if we needed anything. We knew he was trying, but he needs to step it up a notch if he wants more than 10% tips. The cooks will have to do the same, or this place won’t last long.

Having been to Peru, I was quite excited for this missing cuisine in the Kansas City area. Now I’ll admit, my diet in Peru was pretty limited. My friend and I ended up ordering ceviche twice a day, with other random dishes mixed in, usually aji de gallina.
So when I got to Amor Picante, I may have gone slightly overboard. When ordering. I ended up getting the ceviche and aji de gallina. What can I say? I love Peruvian food?
The ceviche was spicy. Like ridiculously spicy. Luckily, I can handle my spice but nowhere on the menu does it say it’s remotely spicy. Even when I was in Peru, none of the ceviches I had was more than slightly spicy. This was over the top. When the waitress and I talked later, and she asked how it was, I mentioned that I didn’t realize it would be super spicy since nothing was mentioned on the menu about it. She said, «oh, yeah, well, it depends on who’s making it.» That’s quite a bit of inconsistency to have, especially since many people in this town cannot handle even slight spice. If it weren’t for that, I’d say the ceviche was definitely top notch.
The aji de gallina was excellent. Rich and creamy just the way I remember. The rice accompaniment was perfect. I loved the yellow sauce that came with it (name escapes me). It’s kind of addictive.
I’ll be judgemental and say that I thought it was pretty weird that this hipster girl was the one serving me. I don’t know but it just took away from the authenticity just a little. Also, despite being virtually empty, she wasn’t really on the top of her game. I had to call across the restaurant several times for her to refill my smallish water glass. Which I really needed since the ceviche was so unexpectedly spicy.
The décor is nice, though the place feels a little big, rather than intimate. I think that may be due to higher ceilings.
All in all, 3.5 stars. Service is okish and the food is pretty good for KC but not top Peruvian. I also wish they served Peruvian sandwiches during lunch. I’d be there like a crack addict.

They now are open for dinner, have a liquor license, and have a web site at:
Note that the URL ends in net, not com, contrary to what was written on their menu yesterday.
The portobellos salteados have been removed from the menu, but there are other additions. They also have daily specials on weekends. When we were there, they did not yet have wine, but had beer and mixed drinks.

With high expectations, I finally tried Amor Picante this afternoon. I’d only tried Peruvian food once before, at a friend’s house. Her family had made papa a la huancaina (spicy cheese sauce over boiled potatoes) and chicken causa (chicken and potato layered casserole), and I enjoyed both. This experience excited me for my visit.
Equipped with a sad «base knowledge» and three Peruvian friends, I ordered a nice sampling off their modest menu. We shared most items:
chupe de pescado — fish chowder:
Good stuff. I really did not recognize what all the bits in the soup were, but there were chewy specks of seafood in a slightly under-​spiced, thick, cream-​based broth.
ceviche:
Tilapia in an awesome mingle of lime and spices, topped with shreds of red onion. Mmm. I have only had ceviche under a dozen times, but this really was the best I’ve had.
anticucho — beef heart kabobs:
Vinegar-​marinated and grilled rare, these were tender chunks of savory joy. It was served with some spicy yellow sauce… no idea what it was… and a quarter of grilled corn on the cob.
yucas fritas — fried yuca:
Fancy french fry. Sorry, I don’t know how else to describe this. I only had one, as not to fill up on «fillers», but I was more impressed with the spicy ketchup (?) that accompanied it. Yum!
aji de gallina — chicken stew w/​rice:
It almost seemed like a thick and spicy chicken gravy, but don’t let that description fool you. Much more opaque, rich, satisfying and savory, it was served with a heap of perfectly-​cooked rice. I still can’t get over how good the rice was by itself. And the chicken? Let me just say, I almost NEVER order chicken, but this was some good shredded chicken.
chicken arepa — corncake-​like ‘pocket’ stuffed w/​chicken & avocado:
I wish I was paying attention when this was ordered. We’d ordered it to split, and my friend chose chicken. I am sure the chorizo or beef would’ve been much better. Despite my least favorite meat, I loved the avocado, mayo, and chicken stuffing.
Inca Kola — a Peruvian soda:
Gold and bubbly, I can’t describe the flavor. It’s unlike anything I’ve tasted before. It was tasty, but incredibly sweet. I only had one sip; I don’t particularly care for sweet beverages.
pisco sour — a Peruvian alcoholic beverage:
Well, my 3 Peruvian friends said it tasted nothing like pisco sour should, so I don’t know what to say here. I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like, but it tasted fine. Nothing to jump up and down about. It was quite strong, though.
Let me wrap ‘er up. I really enjoyed the food. What I didn’t enjoy so much was the service. We had an American server who seemed to know very little about the menu. She wasn’t particularly helpful with suggestions and offered no insight into what to expect entrees to look like. I’d ordered an iced tea, and she didn’t tell me that their only tea was sweetened raspberry tea. After tasting this for myself, I asked if they had unsweetened tea. When she said no, I asked for a water. She charged me for the tea anyway. Nice.
Everything here is seemed very reasonably priced. I’ll give them more time to settle in before judging them on their service. For now, I’m excited to go back and try more menu items.