Good things come to cevicherias who wait, and now, after years of pop-ups and planning, Ceviche Project is finally opening its own brick-and-mortar restaurant—and sprucing up the menu with a ton of new additions.
Octavio Olivas slides his artful ceviches, aguachiles and tostadas into a cozy Silver Lake spot tonight, flipping the former Pazzaz Sushi space into a bright, marble-topped raw bar and destination for the citrus-tinged fish, octopus and shellfish Olivas has already served at appearances in Mexico City, Cabo, Tulum and Puerto Vallarta—in addition to local spots like Bar Bandini and El Chavo here in L.A.
You’ll certainly be able to taste Ceviche Project’s flower-adorned, visually arresting dishes such as bigeye tuna tostadas with tosazu dressing, avocado, oro blanco citrus and serrano-pepper oil, or the striped sea bass aguachile made with key lime, melon, tomato, cucumber, serrano and nasturtium, but you’ll also be able to order from a full raw bar, with oysters and Santa Barbara spot prawns and uni on full display at the counter.
Photograph: Courtesy Ceviche Project/Dylan+Jeni
Not into seafood? Despite the name and the focus, Ceviche Project’s also made a project of creating new vegan dishes from farmers’ market fare, which you’ll be able to find onsite: a ceviche-style vegetable dish, for instance, and a lemony mushroom carpaccio, with dishes rotating frequently. Round it all out with natural wine, sake cocktails and Mexican beer—all set to a cumbia playlist—and you’ve got a grand spot to welcome spring.
“Since Ceviche Project was first born, it has been my dream to turn our pop-up into a permanent location, to give our friends and followers someplace they can come and unwind over a juicy, uni-topped tostada or a fresh and spicy aguachile,” founder and owner Octavio Olivas says in a provided statement. “To be opening our ceviche bar at long last in the L.A. neighborhood we call home is this cevichero’s dream come true!”
Catch a glimpse of Ceviche Project’s new digs and dishes, below, then stop by tonight for the restaurant’s opening:
Photograph: Courtesy Ceviche Project/Dylan+Jeni
Photograph: Courtesy Ceviche Project/Dylan+Jeni
Photograph: Courtesy Ceviche Project/Dylan+Jeni
Ceviche Project is now open in Silver Lake at 2524½ Hyperion Blvd, with hours of 5 to 10pm Tuesday to Sunday.