El Inca Plebeyo is a family run Ecuadorian restaurant at 162 Essex Road in Islington. Executive chef Jorge Pacheco draws on the regional food of Ecuador and more than a decade in leading London kitchens, presenting traditional flavours with modern technique in a warm dining room shaped by Latin music and hospitality.
Ceviche is prepared with sea bass, prawns, tuna, scallops or grilled mushroom, using tamarillo, lime, yellow chilli and peanut based tiger milk to create distinctive versions. Smoked haddock and cassava croquettes, purple corn empanadas and guacamole with crisp green plantain provide further ways to begin.
Hot starters include pork tamal steamed in a leaf, giant white corn with egg and cheese, potato patties with octopus and plantain with homemade cheese. Main courses move through slow cooked beef rib, crisp pork belly, grilled baby chicken and Ecuadorian roast pork, accompanied by sweet potato, corn, plantain and sharp curtido.
Tuna and cassava soup, sea bass in coconut cream and a mixed seafood soup bring coastal cooking into the main selection, while barley risotto offers a meat free choice. Cassava fries, fried plantain and bean stew complete the table, followed by quinoa pudding, chilli chocolate fondant, homemade sorbet or a South American inspired cocktail.
Address: 162 Essex Road, Islington, London N1 8LY, United Kingdom