We tend to be a little skeptical of hotel restaurants. The clientele is often unpredictable, the restaurant might be run by a chef who lives halfway across the country, and the menus are often derivative to appeal to all the tourists who pass through. You won’t have to worry about any of that at Popular in the Public Hotel on the LES. The Peruvian food is highlighted by a ceviche classico with bits of charred sweet potato and big hunks of snapper and octopus swimming in a tangy leche de tigre and lomo saltado with bursting tomatoes, roasted whole shallots, and smashed potatoes. Order a cocktail made with pisco, like the “Ponche 1890” that’s made with pisco using 100% quebranta grapes, and have a genuinely pleasant meal among all the foliage in the dining room.