Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in New York: Latin-Owned Restaurants Defining the City’s Culinary Landscape

Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) offers an opportunity to celebrate the chefs and restaurateurs shaping New York City’s dining scene with stories of tradition, innovation, and cultural pride. These Latin-owned restaurants go beyond the plate, weaving heritage into every detail of their menus, cocktails, and spaces.

What started as a modest ceviche kiosk in Gansevoort Market has grown into one of the city’s most acclaimed Peruvian restaurants. Chef Jose Luis Chavez and partner Brice Mastroluca now helm two locations, including a 5,000-square-foot Union Square flagship, the largest Peruvian restaurant in Manhattan. The Nikkei-driven menu at Mission Ceviche fuses Peruvian flavors with Japanese precision, spotlighting dishes like Pulpo al Olivo, vegan watermelon ceviche, and tuna tartare with yuzu acevichado. Guests encounter theatrical touches, including ceviche carts rolling tableside, and dedicated Pisco bars where cocktails like the palo santo–smoked Witch Hunter become rituals in themselves.

Located on Chambers Street, Artesano brings together the culinary diversity of Peru under the direction of Michelin-trained chef Rodrigo Fernandini. The menu journeys across the country’s regions, serving ceviches that reflect coastal traditions, alongside highland specialties such as Norteño duck prepared two ways. Attention to detail runs deep, from stone plateware carved in South America to the bi-level dining room anchored by a symbolic central tree. With Pisco-based cocktails elevated through theatrical presentations, Artesano serves as both a restaurant and a cultural manifesto of Peru’s heritage.

The Artesano Group also extends its vision to Mexico with Tabú, a Tulum-inspired destination in Williamsburg. Its design blends Mayan calendar motifs, a cenote-style waterfall, and an open-air patio circling a 360-degree bar. On the menu, diners can trace a map of Mexico through smoky chipotle octopus tostadas, cochinita pibil, Oaxacan mole, and bone marrow-topped tlayuditas. Esquites accented with truffle oil reflect a creative spirit, while the bar celebrates agave in all its forms—mezcal, tequila, raicilla, and sotol—through cocktails like the Mole Old Fashioned and Fermented Corn Margarita. More than a meal, Tabú is a multisensory immersion into Mexico’s past and present, enhanced with live music and curated events.