Paradita is the first fast-causal concept restaurant from the award-winning Altamirano Restaurant Group, the team behind Parada Kitchen in Walnut Creek, Mochica in Potrero Hill, Piqueos in Bernal Heights, and the Michelin-recognized La Costanera just north of Half Moon Bay. And, of course, those popular late-night Sanguchon food trucks found across the San Francisco Bay Area. Carlos Altamirano is a name familiar to many in the Bay Area. Chef Altamirano and his wife Shu Dai opened their first Peruvian restaurant, Mochica, on Harrison Street in San Francisco’s SOMA district in January 2004. The restaurant quickly gained a dedicated following and after a decade expanded and relocated to Potrero Hill. On the heels of Mochica’s ongoing success, the Altamirano family opened Piqueos, a popular Peruvian tapas bar, in Bernal Heights in 2007. In 2009, they established La Costanera, a contemporary Peruvian restaurant that offered the coastal cuisine of Latin America from a stunning location in Half Moon Bay. In 2015, Chef Altamirano opened the tremendously successful Parada in Walnut Creek, which won Diablo magazine’s highest honor in their annual food awards, and is the inspiration behind the two additional restaurants in the East Bay in 2017: the Group’s first fast-casual concept, Paradita Eatery, in Public Market Emeryville, and the full-service Barranco in the heart of downtown Lafayette. In April 2021, the group transformed their popular Sanguchon food trucks into the Group’s second fast-causal concept brick and mortar in the Mission District of San Francisco.
The one consistent element at all of the Altamirano eateries is the authentic and flavorful nature of the culinary creations. Chef Altamirano was born and raised in the mountainous coastal region of southern Peru. Here he developed an innate appreciation for Latin American cuisine, which encompasses indigenous, African, European and Asian influences. Over the years, the chef has developed a reputation for using innovative techniques and utilizing only the finest and freshest ingredients. In 2010, Chef Altamirano founded Alta Farm, a single-acre plot dedicated to producing the spicy rocoto variety of pepper, a foundational ingredient of Peruvian cuisine. Previously available only as a frozen import, the rocoto is used liberally at all Altamirano Restaurant Group properties, and the little red pepper even influenced the decor at Paradita, where the dining space features pops of color that reflect the vibrant peppers used in many of the dishes, plus vibrant, custom-painted artwork by renowned Bay Area artists Letty Samonte and Bridget Moser.
Please visit Chef Carlos Altamirano’s other San Francisco Bay Area Peruvian restaurants:
