Brother of Lima chef Robert Ortiz to open solo health food restaurant

The younger brother of the top chef behind acclaimed Peruvian restaurant Lima was today opening his first solo venture a stone’s throw from the Michelin-starred venue.

Chef William Ortiz, 44, who worked at The Savoy, The Dorchester and The Berkeley before moving to his brother Robert’s restaurant Lima, has left to open health food venue Pisqu eight doors down in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia.

He said: “It is my first solo venture and it is my menu so there was a big opportunity there. What makes us different is our focus on healthy, natural products brought in from Peru and the surrounding area. All our meat and fresh fish and vegetables are organic and sourced from the best suppliers you can find in the UK.” The brothers trained together at their family’s restaurant in Lima, Peru, before moving to the UK in 1994.

William Ortiz said Pisqu was not in competition with Lima as it is “a different concept”, adding: “I explained that [to Robert] and it’s fine. We talk often and he is coming to the opening of the restaurant.” Asked if there were any hard feelings, he said: “No, not at all. He understands this opportunity.”

Pisqu uses ingredients from the Amazon and the Andes such as camu, a berry packed with Vitamin C; cedron, a herb that aids digestion; matcha, a root said to boost energy levels; and achiote, which is seen as a new super food.

Dishes cost about £10 for a starter and £15 for a main. Pisqu, on the site of the former Buttery Grill, is the idea of former City worker Yuko Uchida. Her husband and co-founder Coco Gil, a banker, is of Peruvian heritage. Lima was awarded a Michelin star in 2013. It has a sister restaurant in Covent Garden.

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout