Best Summer Ceviches

Certain foods seem to define summer — rose, lobster rolls, gazpacho, and ceviche.   There are few better ways to capture the freshness of just-caught seafood than soaking it in a little citrus and spices.   Whether you like your ceviche brightened with just lime juice or more creative preparations, we’ve found this summer’s best ceviches.

Toloache
251 W. 50th St., btwn. Broadway & Eighth Ave.
(212) 581-1818
www.toloachenyc.com
If you can’t get a seat at the five person ceviche bar, Chef Julian Medina offers the El Acapulco tasting of three ceviches in the main dining room as well. The tasting includes the Camaron (shrimp, spicy roasted tomato salsa, lime and pico de gallo), the Átun (spicy yellowfin tuna, key lime, vidalia onion, radish and watermelon), and the hamachi (yellowtail, Meyer lemon, cucumber, huichol salsa and crispy avocado).

The John Dory
85 Tenth Ave., btwn. W. 15th & W. 16th Sts.
(212) 929-4948
www.thejohndory.com
April Bloomfield proved her mastery of seafood at The John Dory, where she’s constantly coming up with new dishes.  Her latest creation is a terrific fluke with avos, orange, lime and tomato powder.  Also worth trying is the sea bream with tomatoes and marjoram. 

Harbour
290 Hudson St., btwn. Dominick & Spring Sts.
(212) 989-6410
www.harbournyc.com
Alongside appetizers like Kampachi crudo with la quercia ham, crawfish, jicama and arugula and an excellent sea bream sashimi with myoga, green apple and ponzu, the sea scallop ceviche might sound a little ordinary.  But Chef Anthony Fusco’s combines exquisitely fresh scallops with sea urchins and a thai mignonette sauce as well as with corn, fava and coconut.

Red Hook Ballfields
Clinton & Bay Sts.
Looking for something to do on a sunny Saturday?  Head to the Red Hook ballfields for tons of great cheap eats.  The long lines are undeniably daunting, but they move quickly and the food is worth the wait.   New Yorkers come from all five boroughs for the pupusas, tacos and tamales sold from Central and South American trucks.  The Ecuadorian ceviche mixto with shrimp, white fish and octopus is our favorite, new discovery.

Esperanto
145 Avenue C, at E. Ninth St.
(212) 505-6559
www.esperantony.com
You’ll never get bored of the ceviche de la casa, which changes nightly at the East Village spot.  Recent offerings include red snapper or tuna marinated in a traditional Brazilian coconut broth, served with plantains.  The perfect way to experience the kitchen here is the Tapas Plate, which comes with the ceviche de la casa, chorizo, torta española, olives, and shrimp.

Rosa Mexicano
61 Columbus Ave. at W. 62nd St.
(212) 977-7700
www.rosamexicano.com

Guests flock to Rosa Mexicano for the guacamole prepared tableside.  The ceviche de atun and camarones is a classic–it’s simply prepared, but perfectly executed. 

Yerba Buena
23 Avenue A., btwn. Houston & E. Second Sts.
(212) 529-2919
www.ybnyc.com
This Pan-Latin joint has become so popular that they’re opening a second West Village location.  For summer, there’s two great ceviche offerings that pair perfectly with their tequila and rum-based cocktail menu.  The Limeño is a simple hamachi ceviche, mixed with citrus miso, jalapeño, jicama and cucumber, while the Ceviche Mixto encompasses shrimp, octopus, crawfish, clams, red onion, rocoto, cilantro, and maiz cancha.

Fig & Olive
420 W. 13th St., btwn. Ninth Ave. & Washington St.
(212) 924-1200
www.figandolive.com
I wouldn’t think to order ceviche at Fig & Olive, but they have a few notable offerings that they serve with one of their signature extra virgin oils as well as fougasse toasts.  There’s a salmon mojo with oregano and avocado, branzino with lemon, orange and fennel, sesame tuna with cucumber, and rock shrimp with citrus and fennel.

Rayuela
165 Allen St., btwn. Rivington & Stanton Sts.
(212) 253-8840
www.rayuelanyc.com
There’s lots of ceviches on the menu at this Lower East Side “Freestyle Latino” spot.  Chef Máximo Tejada’s successfully embraces ingredients from the far east as well.  Our favorites are tuna con sandia (diced calamari and tuna marinated in a watermelon-lemongrass citrus sauce, the hamachi (yellowtail tuna served with avocado and orange zest in a wasabi citrus sauce,)  and the huachinango con soya (red snapper marinated in a ginger soy citrus sauce with julienne peppers, cucumbers, jalapeno and sesame seeds).

Lima’s Taste
122 Christopher St., at Bedford St.
(212) 242-0010
www.limastaste.com
Chef Nelly Godfrey learned to cook in her grandmother’s kitchen in Peru.  At Lima’s Taste, Godfrey’s developed an extensive ceviche menu of her own.  There are staples like tuna and ceviche mixto, and more elaborate dishes like the caliente, grilled shrimp scallops in a spicy sauce over fried yucca, as well as the lobster, served with lemon, lime and a garlic rocoto pepper cream sauce.