Señor Carbón

This Peruvian-Nikkei spot’s causa crocante Nikkei might be the greatest bite of food we’ve eaten in Pioneer Square. It’s a mellow panko-crusted potato cake topped with spicy mayo-coated tuna tartare, sesame oil, sticky unagi sauce, and pops of fresh avocado and radish. Between the juxtaposition of cold vs. hot, crunchy vs. creamy, salty vs. sweet, spicy vs. cooling, the elements in this thing all duel flawlessly—like a beautifully-shot battle royale between superheroes in an action flick, only with exponentially more mashed potatoes. Señor Carbón has more to offer, though, from an excellent lomo saltado to rockfish nigiri topped with a tangy acevichado sauce and sandy crumbles of Andean corn. We like it best for a casual weeknight dinner date, but we’d even come here just to drink tasty pisco sours and take selfies with their giant plush llama.