Cusco and the Sacred Valley Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Cusco and the Sacred Valley - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Cusco and the Sacred Valley - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
The family that owns this small restaurant pours passion into their business and their excellent food, which is made using local ingredients that are carefully sourced in ways that lend poorer communities a helping hand. To ensure that everyone who walks in gains a little more understanding of indigenous culture, the specialty here is meat prepared on stones that are full of nutritious, flavor-enhancing minerals. There are also veggie options and a daily menu.
A labor of love from someone born and raised in Ollantaytambo has resulted in a must-visit restaurant experience—one in which you will savor traditional ancestral foods made with the freshest of local ingredients and prepared to appeal to the foreign palate. The all-wood décor makes for a warm and rustic yet chic atmosphere, with Peruvian accents sprinkled throughout. If you like cocktails, you must try one using Destilería Andina’s artisanal hooch produced, like Chuncho, by the El Albergue family.
Everyone seems to know everyone at this second-floor eatery, part lively tapas bar, part sit-down, candlelit restaurant. The tapas are delicious and varied, while the main dishes offer fabulous Mediterranean cuisine with twists from the Andes. You can order off the restaurant menu in the tapas bar, but not the other way around. Reservations are very strongly encouraged.
One of the best restaurants in the Cusco region was serving Peruvian fusion before it became trendy, perfecting the art of combining flavors in a way that each one can be savored. You’ll need some time to decide between all the enticing options on the menu; the cuts of meat are amazingly tender, and there are some interesting vegetarian choices as well, not to mention an array of fabulous appetizers that might tempt you to just order a medley.
More a wine bar than a restaurant, La Cantina has walls lined with Italian vintages that are poured by a friendly and attentive staff, creating a setting that invites both sampling and lingering. For your meal, there are delicious pizzas with wafer-thin crusts and high-quality ingredients, plus meats and cheeses from the Old Country and a killer tiramisu for dessert. If the location in the center is full, there's another in the Magisterio neighborhood.
Start with a drink made from one of the many house-made pisco infusions, and then move on to the Peruvian fusion that is Batata's specialty, in particular, mouthwatering alpaca steaks. With a rooftop terrace and a cozy interior dining room, the vibe here is in the sweet spot between upscale-but-friendly and romantic. The wine list is continuously improving, and you may be able to get in a wine or pisco tasting if you ask ahead of time. The restaurant also offers cooking classes that include a trip to the local market for the freshest ingredients.
World-renowned chef Virgilio Martinez of Central fame has done it again with this tasting menu–style restaurant that allows you to devour Andean culture in a very personal way. Locally grown products that have been used in the Andes mountains for millennia are crafted into gourmet dishes that should be on any gastronomic tour of Peru. Be sure to opt for the pairing option, with or without alcohol.
The menu at this restaurant, which is modeled after a typical open-air quinta, with wooden tables scattered around a large patio, gets its influences from all over Peru, and the waiters are happy to explain what makes each traditional dish special. For a special treat, go for the underground-oven-baked pachamanca, in which different types of meats are slow roasted together with potatoes and aromatic herbs. This dish, as well as the cuy, has to be ordered 24 hours in advance, so plan ahead.
Enjoy absolutely fabulous sandwiches, salads, homemade ice cream and other desserts, craft beer, and much more at this cozy and comfortable café. The outdoor garden area is perfect for enjoying a sunny day under the gaze of the gorgeous Pitusiray Mountain.
Pouring some of the best coffee in the city from a special house blend, this café is a Cusco icon; Martin Chambi photos help anchor it in Peru, but the jazz and bohemian atmosphere make it feel more cosmopolitan. It's great for a quick bite, as well as for picking up fliers on current cultural offerings. Try the passion-fruit cheesecake or tiramisu with your cappuccino, and head next door to the Cusco School of Fine Arts to see what's on display.
It's best to hunker down for a day or two in Ollantaytambo, but if you've only got time for a pit stop, Café Mayu is conveniently located at the train station. This tiny spot serves big-city-style coffee, quick bites like empanadas, and to-go sandwiches that are perfect for your ride to Machu Picchu. The chocolate-chip cookies are as good as they smell, but you can't go wrong with any of the baked goods here.
Want a time out but not super hungry? Head to this well-designed café-bar for a coffee drink or an alcoholic beverage, depending on the time of day and your mood—the vibe is great, as are the libations, plus they have a number of light food offerings including soups, sandwiches, pizza, and desserts.
Come for the kitschy, fun, over-the-top decor: take your pick of seating from a brass daybed, a heart-shaped couch, or leopard- and cheetah-print stools, and dine off bathtubs that double as fish tanks covered with glass tops, watched over all the while by baroque angels, flying pigs, and disco balls in all sizes. The steak-driven menu, just like the decoration, is absolutely fabulous, darling. A massive angel sculpture presides over the courtyard, whose walls are painted to look like a sky full of clouds. This was one of Francisco Pizarro's houses, and it's doubtful that he envisioned anything so avant-garde. The decor encourages you to indulge, and you won't want to pass up a sinful dessert. There are plenty of tables, but if your heart is set on dinner here, make a reservation. Fallen Angel rents out similarly decorated, uniquely luxurious rooms upstairs starting at around US$200 per night.
Although there are plenty of vegetarian options elsewhere, here vegetarians and vegans can order anything with a clear, animal-loving conscience. You can even have your coffee with nut milk. The menu of the day (S/22), which includes salad, soup, main course, dessert, and a drink, is one of the best deals in town and one many nonvegans flock to as well. You can also pick up some of that nondairy goodness to go, as well as a variety of fresh breads.
Serving delicious dishes that you can feel good about eating, too, this restaurant's use of top-quality, locally produced, and organic ingredients makes it the go-to place in town. Whether you are a carnivore or a vegetarian, you'll find options to make your mouth water and ensure you leave satisfied. The organic offerings even extend to beer and wine. It also serves one of the better breakfasts in town.
The empanadas are fantastic, but that's not the only reason to stop by at this classic empanada place. The real hook is a "cuy castle," a sort of Barbie mansion for guinea pigs. But rest assured, there are no cuy empanadas on the menu.
This little café is the place to go for pizza, lasagna, breads, desserts, and, of course, coffee. There are some vegetarian and gluten-free options, and they also feature a small selection of organic products.
Stylish contemporary design in an Andean setting has made this large, upscale restaurant near the Plaza de Armas a hit with those looking for a classy night out. It dishes up Mediterranean-Andean fusion cuisine, meaning that traditional Italian favorites are given a twist thanks to the use of Peruvian ingredients and flavors. Wander down the back to the open kitchen, and don't forget to have a look at the original Inca wall on the way.
Featuring soups, salads, a plethora of tasty appetizers, sandwiches, and hearty main dishes, as well as delicious desserts, this popular restaurant located in the Plaza de Armas offers both comfort and gourmet choices, all with a Peruvian flair. It's a great place to go when you are with a group that has varying tastes—even the pickiest of palates should find something to suit them—and it also features live Peruvian music.
Scrumptious breakfasts can be had all day at this bright, busy, American-style café with Aussie roots, where you can order granola and yogurt, large fluffy pancakes, or a grand "brekkie" with bacon and eggs. Also on the menu are gourmet sandwiches, fresh salads, and a variety of other satisfying dishes. Everything is prepared in-house, including the delicious breads, and the coffee and hot chocolate are excellent. If you come during high season, you may have to line up to get a table; this jumping spot stays open well into the night.
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName}} Restaurants in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions: