NYC Peruvian restaurant Pio Pio opens in Glen Cove

It all started with four tables in Rego Park, Queens. In 1994, Augusto Yallico opened a tiny Peruvian eatery called Pio Pio and, within a few years, its main item, rotisserie chicken, had become a cult item among New York Chowhounds. During the ensuing decades, Yallico opened two more locations in Queens, four in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn (since closed) and one in the Bronx. Earlier this month, Pio Pio made the leap into Nassau with a stunning new restaurant in Glen Cove.

The opening took more than three years, Yallico said, thanks to the twin vexations of COVID and permits. “Gut renovation” may be too mild a term to convey what he and his team did to 51 Cedar Swamp Rd., which had housed the storied Italian ristorante La Pace from 1978 to 2005, its successor, La Pace with Chef Michael, until 2013 and another classic Italian, Da Claudio, from 2014 to 2018. Gone are the patterned carpets, the dimly lit rooms (albeit with ornate chandeliers and wall sconces) and the red-leather banquettes that went so well with veal Parmesan. In their place: A huge, high-ceilinged, light-filled space divided into a chic bar and a sleek dining room.

Both the look and the fare are very similar to Pio Pio’s Jackson Heights location, dubbed "the salon," the company’s largest. In both Jackson Heights and Glen Cove, there's a full bar — here's your chance to try the Peruvian national cocktail, the pisco sour — and a menu that extends way beyond rotisserie chicken to encompass the seafood soups chupe and parihuela, the great potato dishes causa de pollo and papa a la Huancaina , the Chinese-influenced arroz chaufa (fried rice) and lomo saltado (stir-fried beef), jalea (fried mixed seafood) and ceviche (raw, marinated fish).

The most popular dish is unquestionably the "matador combo" ($60) which can feed four people. Centered around a whole, burnished chicken — which must be anointed with Pio Pio’s famous spicy green sauce — it also includes a platter of salchipapas (French fries topped with hot dog slices, improbably delicious), tostones (fried and smashed green plantains), avocado salad and rice and beans.

Pio Pio, 51 Cedar Swamp Rd., Glen Cove, 516-667-6868, piopio.shop. Open Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m., Friday 4-11 p.m., Saturday 2-11 p.m., Sunday 2-10 p.m.