The Early Word on Richard Sandoval's Raymi

Raymi, the latest venture from Latin American restaurateur Richard Sandoval, opened in the Flatiron District two weeks ago. Since then, diners have been quick to weigh in on the restaurant's upscale Peruvian menu, which includes several ceviches and dishes like arroz con pato and cod cau cau. Early reviews have been largely positive, especially when it comes to the ceviches and wide selection of "pisco infusions." Here's the roundup of what diners have to say about the food and the service at Raymi:

The Better Than Usual News: An Eater commenter thinks Raymi is an improvement over previous Sandoval projects: "RS's food can sometimes be heavy (Zengo), dated (Pampano) or just plain boring (Maya) - but the snacks we sampled were fresh, unassuming and restrained. Good ceviches, tiraditos and skewers. The entrees were pretty excellent - perfectly cooked and seasoned steak on the lomo saltado. Was pretty impressed all around. Space looks good too - rustic, comfy. Staff is friendly, but service will need some work. Try the piscos straight up - they're not as strong as the bartenders will tell you they are. Was a f/f meal - but I wouldn't have hated paying for it - price point is reasonable for the quality and portions. Knock yourself out with the shill accusations, but it's nice to see a new RS restaurant that is pretty fresh in execution." [Eater Comments]

The Good News: One of the Zagat bloggers loves the ceviche: "Big chunks of fish are mixed with citrus and sweet potato, and the servers bring out a plate of toasted corn that is meant to be sprinkled into the dish for some crunch. We tried some other things, but the cool and fresh ceviche stood out as the real gem at this place. Well, that and the Pisco cocktail. We suggest grabbing a seat at the ceviche bar and working your way through the selection." [Zagat]

The Strong Start News: A reviewer at Opentable keeps it simple: "Outstanding food. We visited the restaurant on its second night of operation. The ceviche was delicious. The entrees were delicious as well. Presentation was nice, and the service was outstanding. Especially considering that the place was new." [Opentable]

The Celebrity Sighting News: Over on Yelp, one reviewer spotted Sandoval himself: "The restaurant's menu is fusion so we started with tuna nikkei which was a real stand out (there known for there ceviches) the arroz con pato was cooked perfectly, the mixed vegetable saltado was so good i couldnt stop eating it. It was a very large portion enough for 3. To drink we had pisco sours (there know for there variety of piscos). Where we were seated we saw Chef Richard himself cooking in the kitchen which was very cool.. Overall dinner was fabulous and we will def be back for dinner again." [Yelp]

More Good News: Another Yelper also had a positive dining experience: "The quality of the meat in the lomo saltado was the best in any lomo saltado I've had in a Peruvian restaurant in the US. Instead of thin strips of (sometimes dry) meat, this was little delicious juicy mini steaks. And the flavor was authentic. The hot rock ceviche (tonight made with striped bass) was a creative dish with just the right amount of spice. Everything else was delicious and well-prepared, as well." [Yelp]

The Stop After the Ceviche News: Another Zagat reviewer says stick to the ceviche: "They certainly understand how to do ceviche (even if the chunks were cut a bit too large for my liking) & pisco beverages, but they should stick to just that. The meat courses were a tad underwhelming. Although I was impressed by how perfectly cooked the steak was, I was too distracted by the confetti of fries that were thrown on top of the dish, which instantly became soggy from the sauce, to even notice the meat. Honestly, soggy fries are the worst." [Zagat]

The Bad News: One Yelper's reservation got bungled, but it's worth noting that this was a Zagat promotion: "I called up and got a reservation for the special intro. Zagat's dinner. Six days before the dinner I received the standard reservation confirmation call for dinner that night. I explained that I had baseball tickets for that night, my reservation was for the now, oversubscribed dinner the following week. The woman on the reservations line was very sympathetic and volunteered to have the restaurant manager call me back. I thought that was a good solution and waited 3 days for the call. I then called the restaurant back and asked to speak to the manager, and explained why. I was told he was in a meeting. Tonight was the special Zagat's dinner, I did not get to attend, and I have still not heard back from the manager or anyone else at the restaurant. Not only do I live near Raymi, I am also both a fan of Peruvian food and I teach restaurant management and how to cook. I now have a new example for my management students of how to alienate a potential customer." The management responded in the comments, offering the customer another reservation.

The Foursquare News: Here's what Foursquare users are saying: "The arroz con pato is great," "so so good. chicha morada drink + corn empanadas + solterito salad + picarones 4 dessert = yum. come here," "Arroz con pato, tuna ceviche, dry aged ribeye. YUM." [Foursquare]
— Alison Herman and Hannah Leighton