"I had high expectations for Ocopa based on the Washington Post review, my fondness for Peruvian food, and its convenient location to the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Arrived for pre theater dinner on a Saturday evening around 6:15 p.m. Despite well meaning staff, service was very slow and disorganized. The woman who was our waitress was trying to do too much too many table, acting at times as hostess, pouring wine and she made bad choices, like taking our order then getting engaged with other tables for 10 minutes before entering it for the kitchen. The result was painfully slow and erratic service, including waiting almost 30 minutes for a first drink. And as for the drinks, we had two versions of the pisco sour and both were nicely made but disturbingly weak, which is a death nell for a pisco sour. If we thought another would arrive in our lifetimes, we might have ordered replacements. Another gentleman who told us he had chosen the wine list later helped save the drink service by recommending a lovely cabernet sauvignon and bringing it quickly. Unlike the WP, I did not find the layout of the restaurant enticing or inviting. Yes there are four seats facing the street and bar seating, but most of the seating is cramped with clunky relatively small, unstable tables and uncomfortable seats. The restaurant feels like its been shoe horned into the available space. The food shows promise, with some enticing items, but portions are small and a number of selections are bland or certainly nothing special. I eat a lot of ceviche and this version was just meh. Some of the fish was actually tough likely not cut properly. Another uninteresting dish was the causa de camerone. The plancha de tierra was quite good, and the polo la brasa was excellent. This is a kitchen that knows how to cook, but as a diner here, you have to know what to order. And have a lot of patience!"
