EAT: Inca's Kitchen Fine Peruvian Cuisine, Naples, FL

Naples, FL and South Florida in general is known for its Peruvian food. Inca's Kitchen Fine Peruvian Cuisine on Collier Blvd does not disappoint. I had heard great things about Inca's Kitchen, so I was excited to check it out and eat some authentic Peruvian food. Don't let its location in a small strip mall throw you off, as the restaurant was packed on a Tuesday evening.

Inca's Kitchen does not have a large dining room, but has a nice vibe and a bar with wine and beer (no liquor). The dining room was decorated with photos of Peru and several TVs were rotating photos of beautiful scenes from Peru. The menu is authentic Peruvian cuisine with a large sampling of seafood. Even though there was no gluten free menu, we spoke with the manager and our server, both of whom said some of the dishes are naturally gluten free and pointed out some suggestions.

To start, we had to try the Peruvian Ceviche. Our server recommended the Wahoo Ceviche, and it did not disappoint. Marinated in tiger milk (lime juice, chiles, coconut milk), the ceviche was a tad spicy, but very flavorful. The dish was served with a shot glass of the tiger milk to finish off the dish. The dish is suppose to come with corn, but due to my corn allergy, it was left out.

With so many seafood options, I decided to try the Arroz Fruots Del Mar, the Peruvian Seafood Rice. It was one of the dishes our server said would be naturally gluten free. The saffron rice was cooked with calamari, scallops, shrimp, and yellow-red peppers. Is that a shrimp with the head on top?!? For some reason, I have a thing about cooked shrimp with the heads still on (weird, I know), so it was quickly passed off to my dinner companion! The meal was very good and was a large portion.

My dinner companion ordered the Saltado De Mariscos, the Seafood Saute. With shrimp, calamari, fish, scallops, and mussels, the dish also had onions, tomatoes, and yellow peppers. The dish had to be modified to be gluten free, as the seafood is suppose to be sauteed in soy sauce. Also, the fried potatoes that were to accompany the dish were not fried in a dedicated fryer. He decided to just have white rice. The seafood had a nice flavor with a touch of cilantro.

Inca's Kitchen does a great job of sharing authentic Peruvian food to the people of Naples. With the crowds that gather at Inca's, I highly recommend reservations. The service can be a tad slow when there is a packed house. Even though there was no gluten free menu, I really appreciated the manager speaking with us about food allergies, as well as the server checking on certain items with the chef to make sure we had the safest meal possible.

Inca's Kitchen Fine Peruvian Cuisine
11985 Collier Blvd.
Naples, FL 34116
239.352.3200
http://incaskitchens.com/