by MARK SLUTSKY

Large, brightly-lit and cheerful, Eche Pa Echarle sits on St-Hubert on that more humble strip just north of the great, baffling glass awning that encloses the street’s main shopping drag. The restaurant’s sign proudly announces that the proprietors hail from northern Peru, and the cuisine reflects that. Eche Pa Echarle may not be the fanciest or most stylish restaurant in town—it’s the polar opposite of Mochica, the exquisitely decorated and pricey haute-Peruvian restaurant on St-Denis—but for an honest meal, especially one involving more denizens of the sea than even old Neptune could count, it’s worth a visit.

On a recent visit, the place was hardly full (despite a multi-table birthday party), but lord, did it ever feel so—some DJs had set up and were testing the sound system, and the chirpy Peruvian music was loud enough to make communication with the server almost impossible (thankfully, the volume was eventually turned down).

Every meal seems to start with a plate of hot plantain chips (at least that’s the impression I got, as I couldn’t quite make out what our server was saying over the din), served with a delicious, bright-orange hot sauce. They were addictive and the bowl went fast, and the pleasing warmth of the chips led to a very poorly thought-out experiment in my kitchen later that night involving potato chips and a toaster oven. As it turns out, potato chips can catch fire.

Next we tried one of the restaurant’s many ceviche dishes, this one the ceviche mixto à la diabla ($17). Consisting of a variety of seafood and fish “cooked” cold in citrus juice, the à la diabla variation was spicier than the straight-up ceviche mixto, largely via the inclusion of a couple of blindingly hot Scotch Bonnet peppers in the mix. Scallops, octopus, clam, shrimp, giant shrimp, mussels... they were all there, mixed with the aforementioned peppers and sliced red onions. Definitely the most memorable dish of the night. It actually went quite well with the potato starter, a dish of boiled taters and sliced boiled eggs ($5) served in a creamy sauce that contrasted well with the ceviche’s sharp citrus-y zing. We also started out the meal with a very nourishing bowl of chicken noodle soup ($6), with a nice savoury broth and thick, spaghetti-like noodles. The near-overflowing soup was really big enough to be a meal on its own. It’s a pretty good deal.

On the main-course front, I’d have to recommend the Peruvian seafood sauté ($20), another great pile-on of fruits de mer, and a huge dish in its own right. Accompanied by some plain white rice, the dish featured a mish-mash of yummy oceanic edibles: mussels, breaded cod, shrimp, octopus and the like. These were in turn tossed with a generous portion of delicious, thick-cut french fries. This was a lot of food and two could easily share it. I especially liked the cod, which tasted fresh despite being deep-fried. My only real complaint was with the kitchen’s liberal use of salt. If you’ve got high blood pressure, stay clear. The life you save could be your own.

The house shrimp dish ($20) begged a try. The massive, meaty shrimp come served in a thick, creamy sauce, heavy on the garlic, and there are plenty of them. A bowl of white rice accompanied the dish, but as my friend pointed out, the rich, all-white dish was sorely in need of a salad or something vegetable to balance things out a little. A green salad did come with the grilled chicken ($12.50), a juicy flat filet that wasn’t particularly fascinating but was solid eating in its own right.

Eche Pa Echarle isn’t quite a revelation, but its unpretentious family feel has its own appeal, and if you’re a big seafood lover, there’s plenty to enjoy.

TIPS? QUESTIONS? COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF? E-mail eattothebeat@gmail.com

Eche Pa Echarle
ADDRESS: 7216 St-Hubert (just north of Jean-Talon)
PHONE: 276-3243
HOURS: Sun-Fri 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m.–3 a.m.
BEST FEATURES: The numerous and varied ceviche dishes, most featuring a wide variety of seafood
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A few steps
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Not so much
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $15–$25 per person, before tax and tip
RATING: ** and a 1/2 out of ****