Dinner at Manko Paris

I am finally back home in London and well enough to be able to sit down and write this post to share with all of you dear friends from my recent trip to Paris. I was fortunate enough to spend a dinner one evening with my friends at the new trendy Manko Paris restaurant on the famed Avenue Montaigne in the city of lights.

Tucked in the basement of the Theatre des Champs-Élysées, in a former auction room, Manko is divided into three areas: the restaurant, the bar and the cabaret. The cabaret is only open on Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 10:30, after the Theatre des Champs-Élysées closes for the evening. There you can get a booth or table with bottle service, or order cocktails, sit back, relax and enjoy the burlesque show.

Chef Gastón Acurio, who presides over 40 establishments worldwide, has created the concept for Manko based on Peruvian food, which takes influences from all over the world. The food is  served tapas style and in true Peruvian form, signature dishes would be the various ceviches and grilled meats. As an avid fish and seafood fan, I was very excited to try the different ceviches which are pictured in the first few photos below.

I was also happy to expand my horizons and try some tapas that I do not normally encounter, such as the empanada, which was stuffed with crab below and the grilled octopus.

The bar which boats a wide array of cocktails and servers who were extremely friendly is particularly stocked with wine and various cocktails. I would highly recommend trying a cocktail based with Pisco –the national alcohol of Peru made from sugar cane.

I had a fantastic time catching up with my friends and trying this new trendy restaurant in Paris. I feel that the Peruvian tapas and cocktails are a fresh spin and offer something new to the French here and it will become even more popular in the near future. Manko is a trendy atmosphere and offers something that is not typically French at a very affordable price. Go visit and see for yourself, and don’t forget to save room for some of their Peruvian chocolate moose and crunchy quinoa dessert!