Tijuana’s

There are lots of kingfish ceviches out there in Sydney, so it takes a special one to stand out. If you order the ceviche at Manly’s Tijuana’s, you’ll be thinking about it long after you scrape up that last spoonful of leche de tigre. It’s a concert of velvety textures, sour sweetness and salty spice.

Peru’s most iconic dish is a strange bestseller for a restaurant named after a Mexican city, but the intermingling of Peruvian and Mexican dishes, ingredients and techniques at Tijuana’s is a natural expression of head chef Eduardo Miranda’s past. He was born and raised in Lima but has spent much of his career cooking Mexican.

Your experience at Tijuana’s could play out in a few different ways. You could park yourself in the starters section and work your way through tuna tostadas; panko-crumbed eggplant; and prawns cooked in white wine and mezcal served with slices of toasted baguette. Or you could take the entree, main, sides, dessert route. (If you do, the most popular choices are the grilled octopus and the barramundi fillet.) Many others just go through round after round of tacos and Margaritas – or Pisco Sours, to keep it interesting – even when it’s not Tuesday.

The menu may walk a tightrope between Mexico and Peru, but the vibe of the narrow 76-seat space is pure Tulum-meets-Cabo. The textured white rendering on the walls and reed-thatched ceilings are reminiscent of adobe-style architecture. And the creamy upholstery and accents, soft lighting and conga line of cactus along one feature wall give the entire restaurant a leisurely coastal-luxe feel. If Venroy had a restaurant, it would probably look a lot like Tijuana’s.