Photo c/o @newopeningsnyc
One of Lima’s most celebrated chefs is bringing Peruvian street food to downtown Manhattan next week, and his business partner is reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee.
Cholapink, a fast-casual restaurant built around anticuchos, Peru’s marinated grilled skewers, is set to open on Wednesday, October 28 at 32 Spring Street. Daddy Yankee is a co-founder, and the menu comes from executive chef Jaime Pesaque, whose Lima restaurant Mayta ranked No. 39 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025.
The restaurant could have ended up with a very different menu. A group of British investors originally approached Daddy Yankee about a Mexican concept, but he turned it down and insisted it be Peruvian, according to Mercado Negro. The investors then traveled to Peru, met with several chefs and chose Pesaque. Pesaque also told the outlet that when Daddy Yankee visited Peru, he stopped by Mayta and the two cooked anticuchos together, a visit that was kept quiet at the time.
“I always look forward to the chance to eat Peruvian food when I’m on tour,” Daddy Yankee said in a statement published by Forbes Perú. “With Jaime, I discovered more about the history of the anticucho and all the possibilities of a dish we both admire. We wanted to share it with the world. Now it’s New York’s turn to discover Cholapink.”
Diners can mix and match anticuchos, sides and sauces. Skewer options include chicken thigh glazed with miso and ají mirasol, pork belly with sweet-and-sour rocoto and pineapple chutney, and a vegan version made with mushrooms, peanuts and an emulsion of Peruvian herbs. Away from the grill, there’s a house ceviche with leche de tigre and arroz chaufa, and the drink list includes a Cholapink Pisco Sour made with lime, orange bitters and pink sugar, according to the statement.
The name is a nod to the fuchsia of the pollera, the traditional skirt worn by Andean women, and that pink runs through the 60-seat space in micro-cement surfaces set against wood, stone and corrugated metal.
“The heart of Peruvian cuisine is found in the markets and city streets, in what we eat every day,” Pesaque wrote on Instagram. “This is the Peru that inspires Cholapink.”
