My friend and I decided we wanted something different for lunch and settled on Inka Grill. Inka Grill is a Peruvian restaurant located at the corner of Redhill and Bristol in Costa Mesa. At first glance, you could guess that it occupies the building of some former fast food restaurant. However once we walked in, things were quite different. We were greeted by the receptionist and guided to a nice window seat.

The restaurant is decorated with a lot of bright colors, orangish-tan, blues, and other popular colors I’d imagine you’d see in Inka regions of Peru. We gave our drink orders and turned to browse the menu. I think a lot of people assume that Peruvian food is probably similar to Mexican food. Well, it’s definitely not. A lot of dishes on the menu were accompanied with rice, not corn tortillas, or other thinks common to Mexican cuisine. They have fish, lamb, beef, and chicken dishes. My friend settled on seafood paella (Arroz con Marisco) and I opted for the beef combo. There were a lot of other dishes that got my interest, but I figure I’d pick these and see how they taste first.

Also unlike a Mexican restaurant, we received warm French bread, butter, and a spicy pesto-like sauce on the side, no chips and salsa. The bread with sauce was quite good, and we actually finished off a basket of bread in quick order. We looked around and noticed the dining room has suddenly become quite full and loud. Inka Grill seems to be very popular with the lunch crowd.

Our food arrived about 15 minutes later. My friend’s Arroz con Marisco was served in a stainless steel dish with side handles, much like a small wok. The seafood paella had clams, mussels, bits of white fish, and calamari rings, seasoned rice, bits of corn and peas, and red onions on the side. He said it was very good and even asked for extra bread to eat with the paella. It was a bit spicy, but a very good mix of flavors.

My beef combo has seasoned and pan fried beef with green and red onions, served with white rice and black beans. I found that mixing all three together formed a very tasty combo. I normally don’t find black beans all that flavorful, but this was quite good. I had no problem finishing off my lunch.

I really like Inka Grill, the food is different, quite good, and not a rip on your pocketbook. The atmosphere is a breath of fresh air and quite lively, if a bit loud with other customers.

Our total bill with tax was $31.70, which included two entrées and two drinks.