A few months back I read about a place named Dark Horse opening…..no not the coffee shop, but according to Eater a “Japanese-Peruvian” spot in Torrey Hills. Well now. If you’ve been reading our humble little blog for a while you’d know how much I enjoy Peruvian cuisine. And travelling to Peru twice has given me a real appreciation for what I consider Nikkei cuisine. Stuff like tiradito. And we’ve had the “Nikkei Experience” at Maido, which strangely, at least to me, took the title of “Best Restaurant in the World” in 2025!
Anyway, being quite curious, I decided to head up to Torrey Hills Center to search out Dark Horse.
Which I easily found. I noticed the Open sign and walked on over and peeked in. The place was empty…..soon enough a really friendly gentleman came over and I was seated in a booth. He introduced himself as Edgar.
And I was handed the menus……with some interesting dishes.
Of course I wasn’t interesting in the “rolls” and such; but seeing items like Anticuchos, Camaron Al Ajillo, Ahumado, Ceviche, and of course Tiradito. And well…..I love Tiradito…but with salmon? I don’t think so. Edgar came over and started explaining “Nikkei” cuisine to me…a nice gesture. Then I told him we’ve been to Peru and even to Maido and explaining the history of tiradito and things got a bit quiet. He then told me that “our dishes aren’t really Peruvian Nikkei, more of a mix of many cultures.” So, I guess Eater wasn’t quite right in their description? Not that many folks would know….
There were two dishes I was interested in and so I ordered the Mushroom Anticuchos ($14) and the Hamachi Ahumado ($24).
You know me and Anticuchos de Corazon, whether in a rather fancy restaurant or on a street corner in Cusco, I enjoy the texture and the seasonings. This looked quite interesting.
The texture was interesting…it was almost meat like, but perhaps on the mushier side of the scale. Some earthy mushroom flavor, but really lacking in the cumin-achiote, achiote/aji panca flavor and quite bland overall.
The presentation of the Hamachi Ahumado was very, dramatic, with the tabletop smoker cloche….which I’ve been seeing at various places over the last couple of years brought to your table.
Once the top was lifted and the smoke gone the dish was revealed.
Very nice presentation; the hamachi had not really changed in texture and was still somewhat buttery. The overall dish was much too sour, which even nullified any smokiness in the dish. The chili paste, made from morita chilies – smoked and dried red jalapenos had a bit of a kick, but was still overpowered by the sour-acidity.
While the portions seemed a bit on the small side; this was enough for a light lunch, though not cheap at nearly forty bucks. It seemed to be more about presentation-concept to me; but I felt I needed to give the place another try; so I returned.
For lunch again. The very nice and friendly Edgar greeted me once again and I was seated.
I was handed the menus again; but this time I paid attention to the lunch specials.
And no, it wasn’t the poke bowl or teri chicken that interested me. Rather, the Agedashi Tofu ($15) and looking for a more traditional dish I was going to order the ceviche; but noticed the Aguachile ($19) on the lunch special menu so I ordered that as well.
The Agedashi Tofu looked quite interesting.
This was so close to being a good dish. The batter was so light and perfectly crisp. The tofu light and creamy. I didn’t mind the creaminess of the guacamole or the crema.
The biquinho peppers added some fruity sweetness, with a hint of spice.
What was missing in this dish was a savory-umami component….you know…like what the tentsuyu provides for a traditional agedashi tofu and a pungent component like what daikon oroshi would provide.
The dish just seemed incomplete. Bummer…..
My favorite dish by far was the Aguachile.
Though I had to crack up when I saw it was served with won ton chips! I guess they had to keep something Asian in the dish?
Like the Hamachi Ahumado I’d had previously, I saw that the aguachile used the Yuzu Kosho type marinating liquid. But for reason, the bracing, acidic sauce did really good here. I’m thinking that the mild, oceany brininess of the raw shrimp and the buffering of the acidity by the avocado contributed to this dish nicely.
The slices of red jalapeno added some spice and the shrimp had hit that firm, yet tender balance.
Again, not a cheap lunch at nearly thirty-five bucks, but I was quite full when I left and thinking in terms of what a chirashi would cost. Well, this didn’t seem too bad at all.
In Luis Hara’s wonderful cookbook; Nikkei Cuisine : Japanese Food the South American Way, which I do own BTW…such is my love and respect for that type of cusine. Within the introduction is this quote regarding just throwing together flavors and the roll of various ingredients from different cultures : “without this understanding, fusion becomes confusion.” In the end; perhaps I was expecting a bit more as this seemed like “con-fusion” than fusion to me. Perhaps I was expecting a bit too much?
Edgar was very nice, warm, and friendly. Perhaps I’ll return in a couple of months?
Dark Horse Japanese Nikkei Cuisine
4639 Carmel Mountain Rd. #103
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Daily 11am – 9pm
hoping it will be better the next time you eat there