Los Balcones exists at the intersection of two great Latin American culinary traditions, and it navigates that intersection with more confidence than most restaurants bring to a single cuisine.
Owner Carlos Delgado grew up between Lima and Oaxaca — two cities that produce people who think very seriously about food. The menu reflects both traditions without forcing them into unnecessary dialogue: Peruvian dishes appear as themselves, Mexican dishes appear as themselves, and the occasional hybrid emerges naturally from a kitchen that has internalized both.
The ceviche is the opening argument. Fresh white fish marinated in lime and aji amarillo, the Peruvian yellow chili that adds fruity heat without aggression, served with sweet potato and cancha corn. It is properly acidic, properly cold, and demonstrates immediately that this kitchen takes technique seriously.
The lomo saltado is the cross-cultural master class that Peruvian cuisine built on Chinese wok technique: beef tenderloin stir-fried at high heat with tomato, onion, soy sauce, and aji amarillo, served over rice and fries simultaneously. It should not work as well as it does. It works perfectly.
The pollo a la brasa — Peruvian rotisserie chicken rubbed with aji panca and cumin — produces a bird with crispy skin and juicy interior that arrives with two sauces that are worth ordering the chicken specifically to dip into.
Happy hour pisco sours at Los Balcones are one of the better decisions available to a Burbank resident on a weekday afternoon.
