Llama Restaurant

Date night on Anastasia Island, enjoying Peruvian Cuisine at Llama feels like you are magically transported to a mini vacation to Peru.Artful presentations of Peruvian food featured in a charming setting with an intimate feel.Owner and chef Marcel Vizcarra is young, ambitious and talented. Add his talent to the attentive, friendly service and pair it with creative plating We started with the bowl of warm crunchy roasted purple corn and yucca chips as appetizer so addicting + unexpectedly delicious!Delight your taste buds with an explosion of flavors with the mango ceviche, a fresh contrast of sweetness, citrus and spicy heat topped with an edible Passion flower so sweet + succulent. Palate cleansers with tamarind, lime and mint.

Everything was awesome from drinks, appetizer, Mains, and dessert. Service was on point. Food was amazingly delicious! Beautiful presentation too. Appetizer -- Anticuchos - marinated chargrilled beef heart skewers. So good you wouldn't think it's beef hearts. Mains -- Mar Y Tierra - surf and turf of the most iconic cuisine dish of Peru. -- Cordero Cusqueño(roasted rack of lamb marinated with Andean herbs and spices. Dessert-- Sacred Valley - Quillabamba cacao mousse, Lucuma fruit puree drizzled with spiced chocolate sauce. Drinks - Peruvian IPA and Yerba MateI Highly recommend this place. Reservation is required.

We found out about this place when we had coffee at Marakuya by Llama Restaurant. We enjoyed their coffee and decided to celebrate my husband's birthday here. First of all, the place is small and I counted like maybe less than 10 tables. So, it is a must to make a reservation! We started off with Anticuchos. It's a marinated chargrilled beef heart. Oh my goodness, it tasted like steak! So tasty and tender! For the main entree I got the Mar Y Tierra which is their version of Lomo Saltado, It has stir-fry hangar steak, onions and tomatoes over a shrimp tagliatelle pasta. This was so delicious and great portion too! I also get to try my husband's rack of lamb, it was fantastic as well. And yes, you get what you paid for, which is a high quality food bursting with flavors, not to mention the exquisite presentation! Service was fast and our server was very knowledgeable and patiently answered all our questions. Worth every penny!

Celebrated my 35th Birthday here. The food is incredible! I got the octopus as my appetizer and the rack of lamb as my entree. You have to make a reservation far in advance as they get booked up pretty quickly. Will definitely go back!

My friend and I were recommended this place and it didn't disappoint! The food and service were immaculate and so filling too!!Pro tip: A great place to break up with someone because the food was so good that you didn't need to speak to the other person with you.

Llama Restaurant in St. Augustine promises an elevated Peruvian dining experience with a modern twist, and they certainly deliver on the food front. However, our overall experience was a mixed bag.I made our reservation several weeks in advance and was reminded of their no-show fee policy a day before our reservation. They emphasized punctuality, so we arrived 15 minutes early, only to find our table occupied. Understandable given the small space, but we weren't seated until 30 minutes after our reservation time. While we waited, they invited us to sit at the bar, but with a party of five, the standing room was inadequate.Once we were seated, the culinary journey began with some delicious appetizers. The standout was the Ceviche Nikkei, a Japanese-influenced salmon ceviche garnished with chalaca salad, quail eggs, avocado, scallions, chulpi corn, and Ponzu leche de tigre. It was a delightful mix of flavors and textures that set the tone for the rest of the meal.For dinner, the highlight was undoubtedly the Patarashca--grouper wrapped in plantain leaves, and cooked over hot coals. It was served with yucca, plantains, hearts of palm, sweet jungle peppers, and a passion fruit-cilantro sauce. The dish was a beautiful blend of flavors.I was also pleased to see an extensive vegetarian menu. I ordered the Hongos Bachiche, featuring chilled, chargrilled marinated king trumpet mushrooms with a creamy Parmesan leche de tigre, toasted Andean corn, and micro cilantro. Although the mushrooms were delightful, the sauce tasted too reminiscent of mac and cheese for my liking.For dessert, the restaurant kindly brought us a complimentary Luna Llena dessert to apologize for our long wait. This honey-lavender Tres Leches cake with butterfly snow pea ground and white-chocolate yeast ice cream was the star of the meal. It was well-balanced and not overly sweet--a perfect ending to our dinner.Despite the outstanding food, the overall experience was not great, due to the cramped, loud ambiance and slow service. With crowded tables and uncomfortable wooden chairs, I found myself waiting for the meal to end due to physical discomfort. They were also serving something that was smoked in the dining room (not sure what it was), so since it was a small space, I was constantly hit by the haze of the smoke). While Llama boasts well-executed Peruvian cuisine, I felt the experience was somewhat overhyped and a bit pricey for what was offered.Overall, Llama Restaurant is worth checking out if you're interested in trying some beautifully crafted Peruvian dishes. Just keep in mind that while the food may be excellent, the dining experience could use some refinement.

This Peruvian love affair with Llama has gone on for over 6 years. If I had to take a guess, I first dined here back in late 2016/2017.When I tell you all it took was that one reservation, I'm not kidding. Llama instantly became my absolute favorite restaurant in the surrounding Jacksonville area. Now it's 2024, and I'm still making reservations at this niche nook located in St Augustine.If you have never dined here before, may I please give some wonderful suggestions?If you have a specific day and time in mind, I highly recommend booking weeks ahead of time to secure it. This is a very quaint restaurant with limited seating.I recommend starting with the ceviche Lima (fresh catch), antichuchos (beef), or pulpo (octopus).All tasty &/or gorgeous appetizers to capture & eat.After your appetizers your server will come by and drop off a delicious palate cleanser to sip on before your entree comes out.Take note that each dish has a wonderful presentation. The service and execution of each menu item has been carefully selected to really give the customer an elevated overall experience.My favorite entree that seems to also be an overall house favorite is the Mar Y Tierra aka surf and turf. Tender hanger steak with shrimp, pasta, and fresh vegetables.Also photographed below is the Lomo Saltado. This is similar to the surf and turf but served with white rice, potatoes, & veggies(no shrimp or pasta).This is not on the menu anymore but still available upon request.Please ask to see a dessert menu because the presentation does not stop there.If you have room, I highly suggest splitting a dessert or two with your party.Another favorite: the s'more's on fire. I did not order this visit but I have before and it's noteworthy. A great option to end the evening with.As always, thank you for choosing to support small/local ; )

I'm not even sure where to start! We were at dinner with my nephew and his wife - they had been here before and made a reservation for the four of us while we were in town. We started with three appetizers - and shared them with some wonderful Cava - the beef hearts arrived in a tower of smoke, beef skewers that melted in your mouth and were on top of a potato slice. The sauce that accompanied it was a spicy roasted pepper sauce. We also shared the Civeich Lima, and the pork belly, sweet potato, criolla salad, Avocado guasacaca appetizer. The room was small, but so cozy and the service was second to none. We had three entrees - Wayne and I shared the risotto - it was very yummy and included scallops, shrimp, and mussels, perfumed with Andean Peppers and Herbs, garnished with parmesan and green peas. It was SO good. The surf and turf - and yes, I tasted it - was a hanger steak atop pasta and with wood grilled shrimp. My nephew had rack of lamb that was served with potatoes and a very yummy corn and onions salad. We then decided that we had had enough - but come on, we had to have a dessert! So opted for the Sacred Valley - essentially a Peruvian take on creme' brûlée. It was not an inexpensive dinner, but truly worth it!

It's a shame Michelin skips over Northeast Florida, because I think Llama would -- and should -- earn that recognition.We went as a party of three and were immediately greeted by staff, who were friendly and helpful (especially with suggestions) throughout the meal. The restaurant itself is very small and cozy; it almost feels like eating in someone's private dining room.The food was top notch. We had one vegetarian, one pescatarian, and one omnivore in our party and loved that there is an entire menu page dedicated to vegetarian options. We started with the hongos bachiche and the yucca fries. My only "complaint" with the hongos bachiche was that the leche de tigre was so good that we wanted something to scoop up the rest of it with after we ate the mushrooms. The yucca fries (and dipping sauces) were so delicious -- crisp on the outside, tender on the inside -- that we ended up getting a second order! I can't remember ever doing that in a restaurant. For entrees, my spouse enjoyed his cordero cusqueño (lamb dish), and I went with the patarashca (grouper) on the server's suggestion. The fish was great, and the accompanying sides paired with it well, especially the peppers. The other person in our party went with the mushroom quinotto, which was cooked absolutely perfectly.Everything here was plated beautifully, but the desserts are likely to catch your eye, especially as multiple involve fire. My spouse got the s'mores, which, of course, involves flames. The alfajore in it was perfect, and I personally loved the taste of the Parmesan ice cream, although my dining partners found it a bit too, well...Parmesan-y for their tastes. The rosemary in the compote was a delicious addition, too.My dessert -- the Sacred Valley -- may be my favorite thing of the night. It came with a eucalyptus "aroma" (hence the involvement of fire again) that helped balance the deep chocolate flavors, which were spectacular.Oh, and the drinks! I could drink a gallon of chicha morada if given the chance, and they make a delicious one here. They also brought an alcoholic "canapé" just before our entrees, which we liked. And we really appreciated that a server checked with us to make sure alcohol was OK BEFORE serving it; we're all fine with alcohol but thought it was considerate for those who may not be.The only "negative" -- and it's mild -- is that I actually would have liked a bit more time between dishes to really sit with the flavors after finishing a course. We had three courses in less than 1 hour and 10 minutes; while I wouldn't want it go the full two hours for that many courses, taking a little bit more time would match what I've experienced at restaurants of similar (great) quality. Overall, Llama feels like a love letter to Peruvian food and to its diners. I'd suggest it to anyone intrigued by the menu.

LLAMAmazing!! Picture this: cozy vibes, intimate ambiance, food so gorgeous it belongs in a museum, all sprinkled with the joyful, whimsical spirit of llamas. Yes, llamas. It's like dining in the middle of an adorable art exhibit on a farm where everything is edible and delicious.The chef? Clearly a culinary wizard. Every dish came with its own little backstory tied to Peru, like a culinary TED talk on a plate. The ceviche? So fresh it could've filed its own passport. And the chocolate mousse? Oh, I had to stuff that in after four dishes because... it was fancy, decadent, and came with a eucalyptus pit LIT ON FIRE. Who wouldn't want a dessert with its own pyrotechnics?The staff? Friendlier than your overly-chatty neighbor, but way more fun. We were just passing through town, and somehow they worked their magic to get us a prime 7 PM reservation at the perfect corner table under a romantic climbing tree covered in adorable mini llamas for some A+ people watching. HOW?! This place is so popular they don't even allow young kids or large parties, yet here we were living the dream.Huge shoutout to Gabriel and the team for starting our vacation on such a high note. Not sure how anything else on this trip is going to compare, but at least we have llamas to thank for setting the bar this high!Pro tip: they do splitsies on the big dishes, which is chef's kiss for trying more of the menu without looking like total gluttons. The pappardelle? Oh, it was creamy perfection--like eating comfort food that put on a tuxedo just to impress you.Bonus pro tip: great spot to bring your vegan friends! (And don't worry, you won't have to guess they're vegan--they'll definitely tell you. Probably before you even sit down.)ENJOY! :)