If your family is looking for a fun takeout option, check out Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken. Despite the name, this restaurant offers far more than just chicken with a menu that includes vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, and other allergen-free options as well as chicken and beef favorites and delicious Latin-inspired side dishes that make it a great choice for a group meal.
Alpaca Chicken is a Raleigh-based restaurant chain that opened in Wilmington in January. The business was founded by the Bakhski family who spent years testing formulas to perfect their chicken recipe and technique. Most of their restaurants are in the Triangle area with only recent expansions into other areas of the state.
Ordering at Alpaca Chicken is super easy thanks to both their webpage and app that makes it simple to select your dishes and customize your order. I was especially impressed by the company’s commitment to sustainability as they asked if plasticware was needed during ordering, and no styrofoam was used in the packaging. Furthermore, they only use all-natural chickens free of any added hormones or FDA allergens (a nice option in light of Chick-fil-a’s recent announcement that they will no longer use hormone-free chicken).
When you enter the restaurant you notice that it smells delicious. It also looks very clean and bright with lime green and white decor. There was plenty of seating and ordering at the restaurant for dine-in guests was walk-up style, where you visit the counter to make your selections and can see the side dishes that are available.
We tried a variety of Peruvian dishes as well as the signature charcoal rotisserie. The rotisserie chicken was super moist and juicy with a well seasoned skin. Everyone enjoyed the Arroz Chaufa, which is a Peruvian style stir-fried rice dish that includes chicken, sausage, egg and scallions and is served with salad. Our favorite dish was the chicken flautas which were four crisp rolled tortillas filled with Peruvian chicken and topped with lettuce, sour cream, queso fresco and tomatoes and came with black beans.
The side dishes were a lot of fun to try. The yuca fries were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and went well with the chain’s signature green and yellow sauces. The maduras, or fried plantains, were crispy and sweet. Finally, we sampled chi cha morada, a Peruvian drink made of purple corn, pineapples, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice. While it was fun to take a sip, I would not recommend it as a good choice to go with your meal as it tasted a lot like a holiday drink given its strong cinnamon and clove flavor.
The cost of our meal was $65.00 and it easily fed four people – making it fairly affordable compared to booking a flight to Peru. Grab your family and friends and check out Alpaca Chicken.
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