I love New York! Where else can you find an entire bar or restaurant dedicated to a specific dish? Sure, we’ve all heard of pizzerias and taquerias but how often do you come across a cevicheria?
Desnuda is a narrow bar in the East Village specializing in the citrus-marinated seafood dish. The only food this place offers besides their nine traditional and non-traditional ceviches is a few oyster options, including a rather showy tea-smoked oyster dish (the tea smoke comes out of a bong!).
The bar was funky and the bartender (cevich-ologist?) was personable and theatrical. It was a very exciting yet crowded little spot.
The ceviche mixto wasn’t on the menu which made me a little nervous. But I asked and they said it was available. In retrospect, I think they may have been out of the tiger prawns (which is one of the three fish in the dish) since I didn’t see anything resembling shrimp on the plate. What did end up on the plate was salmon, tuna, lots of peppers (he warned us it was spicy), pineapple, cinnamon, and lemon zest. The final garnish was a splash of Sprite (from the bottle) which he showcased right in front of us.
I thought the addition of Sprite was very strange, but it ended up being subtle and sort of kitschy. It added just a touch of sweetness and effervescence that balanced the heat and acidity perfectly.
This was a great ceviche (it better be since this is the speciality) – refreshing, creative, and flavorful. I really want to come back and try all the different versions of ceviche that Desnuda offers. My one big complaint was the price for the portion size. They should be a lot more filling for the $16 price tag, but this place seems more like a bar for socializing and nibbling rather than a full-on restaurant. But then, again, this is New York and nothing comes cheap. But I still love ya!
Would Desnuda’s ceviche mixto make my Top 100 of the year? The flavors were clean and balanced, but the portion sizes were a little smaller than I expect at these prices, so it gets a 7 out of 10.
