Best of Boston

2019 Best South American Restaurant

Celeste

The ceviche is always stellar at this pint-size Peruvian spot, thanks to a vibrant marinade of leche de tigre (“tiger’s milk”) that’s a whole different animal from the limey bell-pepper water everyone else plies. Temper the punishing bursts of ají-chili fire with bites of cold sweet potato and an egg-white-velveted pisco sour before moving on to the kitchen’s creamy shredded-hen stew. “Celeste” means “heavenly,” and after sampling the menu here, we’d hardly disagree.

21 Bow St., Somerville, 617-616-5319, celesteunionsquare.com