Peruvian seafood in Washington, D.C., can mean a whole culinary itinerary or a ceviche chosen as the beginning of dinner. Causa in Blagden Alley and Pisco y Nazca near Dupont Circle make that distinction especially clear. They do not offer two versions of the same night out: one asks the diner to follow a chef’s interpretation of Peru, while the other lets a table explore ceviches, grilled preparations and wok-cooked dishes at its own pace.
At Causa, Carlos Delgado builds a seafood-led tasting experience in the ground-floor dining room. The coast and the Andes provide the restaurant’s stated framework; MICHELIN also identifies Nikkei influences in its account of the cooking. The kitchen’s changing selection is part of that proposition. Rather than arrive with a fixed checklist of dishes from an old review, a guest is choosing the restaurant’s approach to ingredients and sequence.
Delgado’s own story supplies a human connection to the food. In MICHELIN’s 2024 interview, he described his grandmother and visits to Peruvian markets as important parts of his education. The guide recognized him with its Washington Young Chef Award that year. That history gives the tasting room’s Peruvian focus a personal foundation: family cooking, markets and a chef’s continuing interpretation.
The beverage program extends the subject. Co-founder and beverage director Glendon Hartley oversees piscos representing eight Peruvian grape varieties, alongside wine and a nonalcoholic pairing. Causa also offers a vegetarian menu, but it expressly says it cannot accommodate celiac disease or allium allergies. A guest with either restriction needs a different dining plan; a tasting format should not be confused with unlimited customization.
Pisco y Nazca answers a more open-ended appetite. Its Washington dinner menu, dated August 2026, places traditional fish ceviche beside creamier or mixed-seafood versions and a sampler. That makes comparison possible within one meal: the citrus marinade, sweet potato and corn form a recognizable reference, while other preparations change the balance of seafood, chile and texture.
The hot dishes prevent the meal from becoming a raw-seafood exercise. Beef cooked in a wok for lomo saltado, grilled anticuchos and fried rice in the chifa tradition offer substantial alternatives. Japanese influences appear in a tuna ceviche with soy and mirin and in the restaurant’s rolls. A table can therefore share ceviche without expecting every diner to want the same main course.
Choose Causa when the goal is a concentrated exploration led by the kitchen, and be sure the reservation concerns Causa rather than the separate Amazonia upstairs. Choose Pisco y Nazca when the group wants Peruvian seafood with the freedom of a broad à la carte dinner. In both cases, understanding the format is more useful than treating the restaurant name as a promise of a single definitive Peruvian meal.
Explore the profiles: Causa — Washington, D.C. · Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Carlos Delgado’s ground-floor Peruvian tasting room in Blagden Alley, exploring coastal seafood and Andean traditions with wine and pisco pairings.
Peruvian seafood tasting menus, Andean influences and pisco pairings.
A Dupont Circle Peruvian gastrobar with varied ceviches, wok-cooked saltados, anticuchos and contemporary Nikkei combinations.
Peruvian ceviches, lomo saltado, anticuchos and Nikkei-inspired dishes.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Causa: current tasting experience and conditions ↗ Primary source www.causadc.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Causa: official contact ↗ Primary source www.causadc.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Causa: founders and team ↗ Primary source www.causadc.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- MICHELIN Guide: Causa ↗ Primary source guide.michelin.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- MICHELIN: Carlos Delgado interview, 2024 ↗ Primary source guide.michelin.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Causa — Washington, D.C.: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Pisco y Nazca: Washington location and current hours ↗ Primary source piscoynazca.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Pisco y Nazca: official Washington menus ↗ Primary source piscoynazca.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Pisco y Nazca: Washington dinner menu, August 2026 ↗ Primary source piscoynazca.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026