Tigre Morado (Purple Tiger) is a restaurant located directly on the beachfront in Port d'es Torrent specialising in sumptuous Peruvian Nikkei cuisine with Mediterranean touches.
The restaurant is adorned with lots of wickerwork lamps, Esparto grass blinds and palm-fringed parasols, giving the visitor the impression it forms an integral part of the natural surroundings of this popular family beach.
The music - a lilting soundtrack made up of Afro-tribal and Tulum-style Balearic rhythms - hits just the right note: accompanying yet discreet enough that you can still converse with your fellow diners.
Our feast got underway with some lovely cocktails and mocktails.
Both the restaurant and the sun loungers in front of it were occupied by diners and sun worshippers evidently enjoying themselves. On the subject of the sun loungers, it was nice to hear patrons may obtain them at a very reasonable price and without a minimum spend.
The prospect from the restaurant is enchanting: the bay’s clear, turquoise waters, fine, white sands, rocky outcrops and lots of indigenous pine trees make it a privileged setting in which to enjoy food of this standard.
Already hugely successful in its native South America, Tigre Morado bills itself as a homage to Peru’s centuries-old cultural legacy, offering food that is created specifically to awaken the senses. Having eaten there, we go along with that claim wholeheartedly.
Seated on the outside terrace, feet in the sand, cooled by the lovely onshore breeze, we commenced our lunch with some crispy, spicy edamame (a vegan option is available).
Things got off to a mouth-watering start with the plate of sauteed seafood in a rich, creamy batayaki butter, spring onions, and lime, served in the shell. Seriously, do not miss this!
Other seafood starters followed in quick succession. Were they delicious? Let us count the ways. There was a delicate shiromi nikkei with lime zest and the mild Japanese pepper, togamshi, an octopus carpaccio, and a superb sea bass ceviche in tiger milk, two kinds of maize, sweet potato and limo pepper. Confirmation of how utterly scrumptious it all was came from an adjoining table who cooed over the sight of our dishes.
The service at Tigre Morado is outstanding: relaxed, attentive and genuinely warm. All three of our servers, Daina, Charlotte and Lucia excelled themselves. Our remarks and those of other lucky diners were invariably met with “You’re welcome” and being addressed as “amores” is Latin American hospitality at its most heartfelt.
Starters ingested, we moved on to the mains.
Lacquered octopus in a classic panca chilli sauce and paprika oil in rocoto chilli and a reduction of soya sauce. The dish’s rich, mildly spicy, smoky flavour was a delight.
It was accompanied by a Nikkei curry featuring flambéed shrimps in a red curry with leek cream and slightly sticky Peruvian rice.
The pièce de résistance, however, was the sea bass in Japanese butter and lime chilli. Now, we generally prefer our sea bass served without sauce so as to fully appreciate the fish’s fine flavour but, in this case, the sauce in which it came was a match made in heaven. Hats off to head chef Alberto, whose creative freedom in the kitchen is the key to Tigre Morado’s exquisite fare.
One Mediterranean classic at Tigre Morado is the paella. Unfortunately, given the wealth of dishes we had, there simply wasn't room for it. Rest assured, we'll be back for it! In the meantime, take it on word.
No sooner ordered than served up, the desserts did full credit to what had come before. The churros - called Churros Churros!! (so good, they named it twice!) served with two sauces; the classic Argentinian dulce de leche (milk toffee) and Nutella were an original take on a Spanish classic.
Second up was chocoteja, a Peruvian classic comprising creamy chocolate slabs with tiny nuggets of caramelised cancha maize and sea salt.
Our favourite of all was the fruit carpaccio (in this case, pineapple), which came with two scoops of homemade ice cream, coconut and pistachio. Chef Alberto's own concoction, it was a triumph of flavours and textures.
Extolling all the virtues of Incan cuisine with a Mediterranean touch and lots of creativity, Tigre Morado is highly recommended to discerning gourmets who appreciate food of this quality and high-class service in an enviable seaside location. You might just want to leave the diary clear for the rest of the afternoon...
For a taste of this bliss, book your table direct here.
