Chio’s Peruvian Grill Expands to Woodland Hills

Chef Dante Balarezo and business partner Glenn Ramirez expanded Chio’s Peruvian Grill from Van Nuys to Woodland Hills, serving Peruvian comfort food.

Many Peruvian restaurants in the Valley are concentrated in Van Nuys, but that’s starting to change with a new crop of spots in the west Valley devoted to South America’s most revered cuisine. Chio’s Peruvian Grill chef-owner Dante Balarezo and business partner Glenn Ramirez started with two Van Nuys restaurants and rode a flavorful Peruvian wave to Woodland Hills, where they recently opened a third location.

Chio’s lives up to its name by cooking a number of proteins on the grill, including individual items and a gut-busting parrilla ($37.99) that’s designed for at least two people and includes traditional beef hearts marinated in panca sauce and Peruvian spices, rib eye, top sirloin and pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) served with two sides and house-made sauces.

The restaurant also prepares citrus-cured seafood ceviches, salads, soups and saltados (wok-fired dishes) like classic lomo saltado with beef, onions, tomatoes and French fries. The famed Peruvian-Chinese fried rice called chaufa is available with ingredients like beef, chicken, shrimp and BBQ pork. We recommend Tallarin Verde con Milanesa ($15.99) panko-breaded chicken breast served with fettuccine folded with house-made pesto sauce.

Another option: Order piqueos—share-friendly, compartmentalized platters that focus on either seafood or meat. Piqueo Criollo ($32.99) combines three Peruvian greatest hits: aji de gallina (shredded chicken and potatoes in creamy cheese sauce with hard-boiled egg); seco de cordero (lamb shank slow-cooked in cilantro beer sauce); and papa a la huancaina (halved potatoes blanketed in cheese sauce).

Peru is also justifiably famous for wood-grilled rotisserie chicken known as pollo a la brasa, which is properly smoky and juicy here. Each order comes with a choice of sides. Sure you can get rice and beans, but spend the extra $3 for tacu tacu. This mix of rice, beans and olive oil forms a beautifully crusty patty. Be sure to spoon on aji, Peru’s famous spicy, herbaceous green salsa.

The space features burgundy and orange walls, exposed grey rafters and an open kitchen. While the dining room is spacious and inviting, classic Peruvian comfort food is clearly Chio’s focus.

19960 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, 818-704-1422