New Peruvian restaurant named after Paddington Bear

It's been tipped as a trend for a couple of years now, and Peruvian cuisine may get a leg-up with the announcement that the team from Argentinian restaurant San Telmo have joined forces with Peruvian chef Alejandro Saravia (ex-Morena in Sydney).

Restaurant No. 2 is called Pastuso, the original name of the children's book character Paddington Bear, who arrived as a stowaway from ''darkest Peru''. It's at 108 Flinders Street, the entrance tucked down AC/DC Lane at the rear, creating a dining hub in the small laneway with neighbours Tonka and soon-to-open Lee Ho Fook. Co-owner Dave Parker says Pastuso's food will be ''a lot lighter than San Telmo, with lots of grilled dishes, seafood and salsas'', with a ceviche bar, an open grill and an offering of Pisco (Peruvian wine brandy). Pastuso is due to open mid-2014.