Mission Ceviche (***)
1400 2nd Ave, New York, NY (Upper East Side)
It’s time for some FISH. . . . Well, kinda.
The hubby was having a craving for raw fish that was not sushi so we headed to our nearest ceviche spot. We’ve been here a few times and have not had any issues or complaints. However, I feel like the place is becoming more overpriced as time passes. More on that below.
Of course, no excursion to a ceviche spot would be complete without a couple (well, a few) rounds of pisco sours.
Slight rant:
Due to the pandemic, I understand that menu item prices are increasing so I’m not complaining about this issue . . . for the most part. While I get that one should expect ceviche to be a bit up there in price, I kind of feel like this restaurant is doing too much. Actually, I am not complaining about the ceviche prices per se, because no one wants to eat bargain-basement raw seafood. *I learned my lesson after eating at a 2-4-1 sushi place back in the early 2000s.* But, the prices of some of the restaurant’s non-ceviche menu items are a bit outrageous.
For instance, the Aji de Gallina (shredded chicken breast in a yellow chili sauce) was about $35 for a relatively small serving. We also ordered a side of yucca fries (not pictured), which were about $19. You should have seen my face when the small plate came out with five goddman fries (about the same size as your typical steak fries) on it. To be perfectly honest, I was already a bit annoyed that one side was $19 bucks. I guess that restaurants (like any business) have to mark up prices so they will make a profit, but I think there’s a difference between making an honest profit and price gouging. Then again, the restaurant is located on the Upper East Side (UES), which is a pricey part of NYC so I get it . . . I think. Yes, the UES is in a somewhat posh part of town, but it’s not like the restaurant is located in TriBeCa or SoHo. For the most part, I know how the game goes on the UES because I used to work in that area for about 5 years during my 20-year tenure in NYC. Let me stop complaining bc the yucca fries probably would have been $25 bucks had the restaurant been located in TriBeCa or SoHo.
Ranting aside: I will say that the restaurant’s service was pretty on point. No wait, the service was TOO on point. It seemed like the waitresses were constantly trying to take our plates before we finished eating our meager servings. In the restaurant’s defense, it is a popular spot (probably because there are so few ceviche restaurants in the city) so I guess they like to get customers in and out. I was like: Damn, Girl. I was going to order another overpriced pisco sour, but I’ll pass since y’all trying to kick us out.
The next time that either one of us wants ceviche (unless we are in Perú), I’ll just sprinkle lime juice on some sushi or sashimi.
A LOL Moment: A couple of ladies were seated next to us. One kind of sassy lady asked the waitress: so how does this work? Thinking to myself, I was like: what’s so confusing? Take a look at the menu and order what you want. It’s not rocket science or as one of my friends says – it’s not rocket surgery.
