Pleased To Machu Picchu Elite Event @ La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

Amazing Amazing ceviche. Fish, clams, sea urchin… name it. All seasoned t perfection and tastefully served.
And what’s ceviche with no pisco from a Peruvian restaurant? La Mar serves a good number of pisco mixed drinks that will complement the food.
Throw in a modern atmosphere (or sit outside weather permitting), and you have an amazing experience.
Great Elite event here!

Five stars for the fresh, made-​to-​order ceviche that left me begging for more. I would have kissed the angry fish at some point if it meant I could have another bite of those deliciously prepared dishes.
Bottom line about La Mar? Nothing else really matters but the cebiche. ’nuff said.
Thank you Ruggy + Unilocal Crew and La Mar Cebicheria for spoiling my taste buds for the evening.

Gotta say, getting here 15 minutes after the doors opened was a big mistake.
The space was a bit crowded, and I spent the whole time in line waiting for food and drinks. And the free food doesn’t always bring out the best in Unilocalers, unfortunately.
I liked my ceviche and paid my compliments to the chef, who was appreciative albeit a bit busy. I really liked the chilcano drink; it had the perfect flavor of ginger.

Personally a big fan of Ceviche, I was really excited to attend the tasting event at La Mar.
Located conveniently few blocks away from the subway. The décor of the place was über chic and modern. The place is spread across two floors and there is also an outdoor seating. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, as my +1 was coming from work she wanted to check in her bags and the front desk staff helped us.
The layout of the place is really nice. As we walked the was a small line for drinks on the first floor but the line upstairs was really long. Since all the cocktails were sophisticated in terms on ingredients, I wish they would have made the drinks beforehand which would have avoided the long lines.
Coming to food I was able to try different kinds of empanadas and my personal favorite was the one with corn. The chicken skewer was also really nice. Hats off to the chefs behind the ceviche counters, they were working so hard in churning out so many ceviche bowls.
I agree with fellow Unilocalers, that fellow elites and thier +1’s have to understand that we go to a sampling event and not to a event where they will serve full course meal. We should try to share and let everybody sample the food.
High five to La mar and Ruggy J for putting together another great event!

La Mar offers high quality food and drink at high quality prices. The Restaurant Week menu here was a bargain. We visited during lunch and grabbed a seat outside. It’s a lovely patio overlooking Madison Square Park.
I sampled the cebiche limeño for an appetizer, the anticucho grilled salmon as a main course, and the chicha sorbet as a dessert. Dessert wasn’t fantastic but both the cebiche and the salmon really impressed me. The portions were on the small side but that’s understandable, especially during RW. We all enjoyed several passionfruit pisco sours which were just as good, if not better, than I had in Cusco (Peru). They were painful on my wallet at $ 13 a pop but it was a temporary hurt that was dulled by a fuzzy head from the pisco.
While La Mar is too pricey to become a regular haunt of mine, I will absolutely come here again for a cocktail and cebiche and willingly pay full price… It’s just that good.

Holy ceviche!
I’m learning slowly that this is how Unilocal events go — arrive a half hour late and the lines are insane and the room is packed and you think petulantly, «I’ll never get anything!!»
But have a little patience (what do you lose by waiting on line with a smile?) and suddenly it’s like there’s all the food in the world.
Unlike most events, the food at La Mar was spectacular across the board. I hung around for a while and managed to try just about everything. The ceviches were fabulous, ALL OF THEM. I do not often use the word fabulous to describe things, but there it is. Perfect tanginess, perfect saltiness.
— Scallop and uni, rich and smooth.
— Yellowfin tuna with tangles of daikon on top, supah fresh and more what I’m used to.
— Yellowtail? with kernels of starchy, rustic corn — my favorite. DANG, that corn!
— Shrimp and maybe also fluke? (I’m bad at ID’ing white fish…)
— Later into the evening, a chef upstairs started butchering one of the whole fish standing by and just set out lightly marinated pieces on a tray, crudo-​style. You could really tell how gorgeous that fish was.
The steak and chicken skewers were cooked perfectly. The empanadas were hot out the fryer and all very very delicious, and the servers bore the hordes of Unilocalers with more dignity than I could’ve mustered up. Even the unassuming-​looking dessert, a tiny sandwich of dulce de leche and chocolate ganache in shortbread, was surprisingly delicious.
I actually didn’t love the chilcano, whose only saving grace was the extreme amount of ginger. And that it was… alcoholic.
Props to the La Mar staff for providing food WELL after much of the crowd had dissipated — this means that empanadas lasted on the plate longer than 12 seconds, what? Everything just kept coming out!
Yes, some of our fellow Unilocalers & Friends are a lil grabby. And I saw some flaring nostrils because some people hogged a table, or took too many drinks, or what have you. Eh well. The one thing worse than people being rude is other people being passive aggressive and bitchy about people being rude. Let’s just all chillllll.
I’m just in a good mood right now because I’m sitting here still drooling over that ceviche.
Maybe I’ll move to Peru.

It’s that time of the month again…
I’m not talking about your monthly menstrual cycles, Unilocalettes. I was referring to the Unilocal Manhattan Events where we watch the predators pounce on their elusive prey. Well actually it wasn’t really like that, but you get the picture. Basically it was the same scenes like at RSVP.
It’s always good to try a new place. The food was something new and for some, and also an acquired taste. Ceviche is always refreshing. It’s just something about raw, cold seafood on a hot day. Paired up with a nice drink, that refreshes you. Mix that up with a nice place and cool people. You got a party!
The food that was being sent out were quite delicious. I had my tastes of a few things that went around. I would have to say that the Grilled Chicken Skewers and the Tuna Ceviche were the ones that stuck out the most. The Tuna Ceviche consisted of a couple of cuts of tuna with red onion, micro greens and sesame seeds. Pretty damn good! I Also enjoyed the toasted corn that everyone was crunching on. I wanted to take some of that home.
Were my eyes playing tricks last night, or did I really see a line to the bar? I’ve been to a lot of events, and that’s a first. Instead of seeing people talking and mingling around you just see a line. The only line that should have been forming was at the table for the drinks upstairs. The bar is a bar, like at any other event.
Aside from the obvious scenes from that night, it was a great event. The food was good, drinks were refreshing. It’s always good to catch up with fellow Elites. Also with the newbies. Next time lets not get to the point where it turns into a «Club A Steakhouse» event. We all know what went down that night. If you don’t know what i’m talking about… Please do your homework.
Much love to Mr. Manhattan, Ruggy for hosting another great event!

I’m a fan of Ruggy J. making the past few months of Unilocal Elite Events so damn incredible. This place was a great venue. Very stylish and swanky… and totally different than I was expecting.
The drinks were a knockout. I felt terrible for the bar tenders downstairs and upstairs trying to please the endless line of Elites… especially downstairs as they tried to get drinks made for paying customers. If you put lime and liquor together, chances are I’m going to like it. Add in a dash of bitters and ginger… and I’m your new best friend. Whoever was our mixologist for the evening, I thank you.
The ceviche was excellent as well. I loved the tuna, shrimp and clam… perfect food to enjoy on a summer day. (And I definitely want to come back and eat in their great outdoor patio). The little pockets of corn, chicken and veggies were also delish.
Too bad after the first 30 minutes, some nasty and greedy Unilocalers made the passed food a fighting match to the death. I love me some Unilocal events with free drinks and food… but sometimes we Unilocalers can be a hungry, nasty bunch. Ah well…
Thanks Unilocal NYC team for putting this together for us! Had a great time.

Special thanks to Ruggy for helping me get into my first Elite Event in months! He was very cool with emailing me back and forth about my +1 changing. The event was really nicely organized. Check in was fast, my friends and I walked straight in and we were quickly ushered upstairs where there was both a drink stand and a ceviche table.
La Mar’s space is absolutely beautiful. The first floor has a bar and some lounge style seating. The décor is clean and modern with black and white serving as the primary colors. From a circle above, there are strings hanging crystals looking like raindrops. Upstairs the space has much of the same décor, but the old style moldings from the historic building can be seen on the ceiling. On your way up, check out the wall with a *gigantic* display of tiny seashells. It’s all elegant and simple.
I’ll qualify this by saying that my friends and I arrived early, so we managed to avoid the extremely long lines that formed later. I can imagine that for those who arrived later, spending most of the event on one line after another (one for drinks, one for food) it was frustrating. However, when we were there, food was being brought around by servers on trays. I tried the tuna which was served with red onion and a cube of sweet potato. It was a perfectly marriage of flavors. Tart, yet sweet, savory yet bright. The other item I tried was (I believe) the fluke (it was kind of hard to hear the waitress) and that was very refreshing and more mild than the tuna.
In terms of hot dishes, I was able to try a beef and chicken empenada. These small bites were very tasty, but I have to confess to preferring the spices in the chicken one. It also came with a dipping sauce that was awesome and actually kind of sweet. The most substantial small bite of the night was chicken on a skewer that was wonderfully seasoned. On its own it was good, with its spicy dipping mustard sauce it was heavenly. I’d totally order this!
The staff was very friendly and they worked super hard to deal with the incoming rush of people. I give them a lot of credit for being so organized, but I think they could have used one more station on each floor to distribute the crowd a bit (a lot of people wound up lining up right at the stairs).
Fun event and it reminded me how much I enjoyed going to YEE’s. Thank you Unilocal

First event I attended solo.
Little hesitant at first but of course you make friends– this is Unilocal yo!
I didn’t wait much to get inside. Probably because I was an early bird; despite being right on time though, there was a long line for drinks. Blah. Waited a good 10 minutes to get my first drink at this DIY bar they had upstairs. Drink was… well, I forgot the name but it was alriiiiight. There was a line downstairs too. Lines, lines, lines everywhere! So don’t be mad if people cut, or were slick and slipped $ 3 instead of $ 1 in an attempt to get the bartender’s attention. It’ll be okay… & your frustration is a feeling so it will pass.
Ceviche was good but being the ceviche snob that I am (yeah, right), I’ve had better. However, this was some fresh fish (tuna, scallop, I think they also had salmon but I had none of that) so I appreciated it. Also, I tried uni for the first time! Like taking a bite out of the sea… seriously, beach mouth. They were suppose to be «passing» the ceviches around but I guess these poor people at La Mar didn’t know that at Unilocal events if you even attempt to «pass» the food around you’ll be serving the same people over & over OR you’ll risk a chance at being attacked. That being said, eventually they started letting people wait in line at the ceviche station upstairs. Once again, if people cut you in line… meh. People who grabbed like 3 instead of 1 though– you suck.
Mini empanadas were ALL great! The corn being SUPER awesome. To be honest they were so small I didn’t know if I was eating chicken or beef but… it was good nonetheless. And all very hot & obviously fresh! I did have some mash potato mini log thing that was really gross. But of course I grab without asking what it is soooo the server probably did say «this is a weird mash potato, olive app thing» but I didn’t listen.
Overall this was a fun event with good apps and decent drinks as usual! Thank you RUGGY! I do think they were expecting a much smaller crowd considering the ridiculous lines that would’ve been a turn-​off if I didn’t love me some ceviche!

Was I viewing a live action human version of «Shark Week» at this recent Elite event? I could swear the music playing switched over to the «Jaws theme» each time a server with a tray of food walked on the floor. They were descended upon by packs of Shark-​Elites with little to no mercy. It was a blood bath. A feeding frenzy.
Da-​dum. Da-​dum. Dum dum dum dum dum dum — da da daaaaaa!
All kidding aside I think some of the noob Elites, and a few of the vets need to step back and learn some manners. Either that or make sure to eat before coming to these things as we are always warned. These are meant to be tastings, not full meal opportunities. It’s a free event for all to enjoy, and a chance to try out and discover new venues and businesses. Mix and mingle and meet fellow Elites.
That being said In was thrilled to hear that Ruggy J set up an Elite event at a place I work a few blocks away from. The La Mar Cebicheria venue itself is beautiful in a swanky and glittery kind of way. Set apart by two floors with an open hole in the upper floor to view the downstairs it is a cool design architecturally. Definitely looks like a nice spot to take a date, or to go for happy hour drinks. I was glad we were some of the first people in as getting a few drinks right away was easy. Pisco sours and Pisco Punch cocktails were a few of my favs. We were also treated to some delicious ceviche. I had the luck to sample a cup of the tuna and a cup of the shrimp, along with some tasty empanadas that were brought about by the servers. The marinated beef skewers were off the hook, and that dessert cookie thingie with the caramel soft center was delish!
Then the rest of the Unilocalers piled in, the lines started, and chaos erupted. The ensuing lines for drinks became ridiculous and basically unbearable. It took an average of a half hour to finally get a drink after the crowd piled in. I think I spent half the event waiting on lines. You could tell that the bartenders were overwhelmed and could not speed it up. I used to be a bartender and could easily see where the problems lied. They should have set up four bar stations — two upstairs and two downstairs, and added on drink staff. They should have also had someone prepping drinks to be carried out on trays. Plus, these drinks used a blender and multiple ingredients which slowed things down. I’m surprised the management at La Mar did not step in and try to alleviate things when they saw how bad and slow the lines became.
I do have to hand it to the staff at La Mar that worked this event. They did their best with the crowd and always had a smile on their faces. The two bartenders that were slinging the drinks did they best they could to keep the lines moving. The servers coming around with trays of food braved the ravenous hordes.
Overall, I still had a good time and got to hang out and meet many of my Unilocal friends. La Mer Cebicheria is a really nice place. I definitely liked what I tasted and might go back over there one night after work to check out a normal meal or relaxed drink. Again, I have to hand it to Ruggy J and the rest of the Unilocal crew for finding this spot and setting up this event. Big props. Damn, I work around the block from here and did not even knew it existed!

This new pescatarian was extremely excited for an event that I could throw down on, but the lines were a bit ridiculous. I think it would have worked out better if everyone knew that the food was meant to be passed around, not buffet-​style. There probably should have been more bartenders, but the quality of food and choices were pretty awesome. The fish was incredibly fresh and the cuts were amazing, considering it was a free event for food hoarders. The Unilocalers were pretty aggressive, which I haven’t seen in quite some time. We were able to snag a seat at a table, so it wasn’t too bad where we were. The popcorn/​kernels were delicious and the dessert sandwiches rocked my tastebuds. I tried all but the punch (allergy), but came back for more of the Chilcano :)
Thanks to Ruggy for a kick-​ass time!
We loved the service, the food was delicious and will definitely return to La Mar.

Thanks to Nina C.‘s (you rock girlie!) impromptu invite to be her +1, I was able to attend a pretty tasty Unilocal event. I used to come to this spot when it was Tabla (I’m dating myself, I know) for their happy hour and I’m glad to see that La Mar filled the space quite nicely with it’s super fresh, super delicious ceviche.
Hands down the scallops and uni ceviche was my favorite — the flavors of the ocean with a kick of citrus. But all the ceviche here was pretty spectacular and I can’t wait to come back and have a proper meal here.
The poor bartender upstairs had to deal with hungry and thirsty masses and I have to give him props for keeping his cool and mixing up some amazing drinks — I love a good pisco sour, but the chilcano was the drink of the evening I think.
Thanks to Ruggy and the Unilocal crew for putting together such a tasty event on a Tuesday evening. And it was nice to say hello and mingle with old and new Unilocalers!