Celeste

"For a romantic date night, you can never go wrong with Celeste, simultaneously cozy and celebratory. The menu features hits from acidic ceviches to lomo saltado, a well-known and perfectly executed example of the Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine called Chifa. Don’t miss out on the elaborate cocktail list, where you can take a deep-dive into pisco starting with Peru’s national cocktail, the pisco sour, as well as modern spins like the Pisco Martini. Consider making reservations as this Peruvian restaurant is small, though the nicely decorated outdoor patio adds lots of lovely seats in the warmer months." - Nathan Tavares, Valerie Li Stack

"Celeste, an Eater Boston Restaurant of the Year in 2018, is a dreamy little spot in Somerville’s Union Square, serving flavorful Peruvian dishes in a neighborhood known for its Peruvian options. All are worthy destinations, but Celeste is the spot for bright ceviche, fragrant lomo saltado, and the feeling of sipping pisco as the honored guest at the joyfully crowded dinner party of co-founders JuanMa Calderón and Maria Rondeau." - Eater Staff

"Celeste, Eater Boston’s 2018 Restaurant of the Year, is a lively little Somerville gem filled with upbeat music, pisco, and the tempting scent of lomo saltado being fired up in the open kitchen. Get a reservation, and get ready to eat lots of ceviche." - Celina Colby, Dana Hatic, Erika Adams

"A meal at Celeste has us feeling like those cartoon characters who pass out and literally see stars. That’s thanks to their ceviche and frothy pisco sours. While we adore the many iterations of ceviche, the one at Celeste is in a league of its own with a passion fruit-infused leche de tigre that adds a fruity, sweet dimension to the seafood. Your perfect order includes the mixed seafood ceviche, the avocado causa, a passion fruit pisco sour, and the lucuma mousse dessert. Dinner is a party in the best way, hosted in a tiny dining room that looks like someone took retro ’50s dining chairs and flatware and set them up at a diner on the moon. Make reservations in advance, because the small space fills up fast. And be ready to take a pisco shot with your waiter at literally any moment. " - tanya edwards, lala thaddeus

"Celeste is quite possibly the most fun restaurant in Somerville. Head here with a date or even a double-date (more people, more sharing) for ceviche that’s been marinated in the Peruvian-style leche de tigre. Get the mixed seafood ceviche (blue cod, shrimp, and squid) and a glossy lomo saltado with perfectly cooked steak and softball-sized onion slices. Top it off with a purple pisco drink while you watch the flames dancing from the fast-moving pans in the kitchen. The energy is generally chaotic, but everyone who works here is extremely nice and your waiter will probably do a shot of pisco with you." - tanya edwards