About Ocopa
The unlikeliest hit of the year was this Peruvian newcomer, a 24-seater on a street known more for drinking than for dining, and with a relatively untested 24-year-old, Carlos Delgado, commanding the open galley kitchen. But from the start, Ocopa oozed assurance, and that confidence hasn’t waned since it set up shop over the summer.
The rum and pisco cocktails are good and strong, the plates bright and colorful, and the young staff determined to please. If you think of it as a place to graze rather than to hunker down with an entrée, you’re likely to come away happy. Particularly if you load up on fish (preferably raw or lightly cooked, as in the various ceviches and tiraditos, all excellent) and potatoes—Delgado is a whiz at turning the humble spud into culinary art.
Don’t miss:
- Tiradito clásico
- Ceviche mixto
- Papa a la huancaina (potatoes with queso fresco and aji amarillo)
- Causa cangrejo (potato topped with crab and avocado)
- Anticuchos (beef hearts)
- Soy-flavored slices of tuna with daikon
- Papa rellena (lamb-stuffed fried potato)
- Pisco sour
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
