The so-called “navel of the world”, as the Incas understood the location of their Empire’s capital to be, Cusco has been a cosmopolitan city since those very earliest of times. People from all over the Inca empire – members of the ruling classes conquered by the Inca, scholars, merchants and travelers – converged in this stone-built hub.

Five hundred years later, Cusco still welcomes people from the wider world, with millions of travelers arriving here every year and thousands of expats moving to the city. Fortunately, this melting pot of nationalities is deliciously reflected in Cusco’s culinary scene: when dining here, you’ll find everything from classic French favorites to Indian curries, Nikkei (Peruvian Japanese fusion), Thai, Italian, and a good juicy cheeseburger too for good measure.

Of course, there’s also fantastic local Peruvian cuisine, ranging from home cooking to innovative fine-dining. It’s impossible to list all the great options, you should consider the following selection to be just the tip of the iceberg.

This should get you started though and point you in the right direction as you set about planning your culinary adventure through Cusco and the Sacred Valley!

More Peru travel info:

For more information on dining in Peru, check out our guide to the best restaurants in Peru and where to eat in Lima.

If you could use some help planning your Peru itinerary, schedule a Peru travel consultation with one of our Local Experts!

Click here to see all of our Peru guides & itineraries

Plan your itinerary with local help

If you could use some help planning your Peru itinerary, schedule a Peru travel consultation with Nicho, our Lima-based local expert!

These are one-hour Zoom calls where you’ll get to chat with Nicho about the trip you’re planning and he’ll share his tips and advice, answer your travel questions, and help you perfect your itinerary.

Plan with Nicho

1. Cicciolina - Centro Histórico, Cusco

Cicciolina is a true classic. Opened in 2002 by Aussie-born, Tammy Gordon, and Argentinian chef, Luis Alberto Sacilotto, the restaurant has earned a reputation as the most outstanding place to enjoy a fine-dining experience in the city.

Part a fun tapas-bar, part a sit-down, candle-lit restaurant, it’s located in the second floor of a colonial house, on the corner of Palacio and Hatun Rumiyoc Streets, the latter of which showcases the famous 12-angle stone (be sure to check it out).

The menu can be described as a Mediterranean approach with Andean products, highlighting alpaca (yes, the cute relative of the llama), trout, quinoa and a selected variety of tubers.

Some must-try dishes are: alpaca carpaccio, with huacatay (black mint) scented oil; goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, and potato with beetroot chips; alpaca fillet, served with a red-wine quinoto (quinoa risotto); trout tiradito, with sliced avocado, ginger, Chinese crunchy crawfish flakes, and tumbo honey; and the homemade duck prosciutto, served on fried polenta.

If you’re a salad lover there are several options with quinoa, the staple of the Andes.

Some of the pasta dishes are to die for as well! You’ll find beetroot ravioli stuffed with Andean pesto; calamari ink tagliolini with sauté crawfish in coconut sauce; and Peruvian yellow potato gnocchi with a classic butter, sage, and Parmesan sauce.

An outstanding selection of South American wines is also available. Needless to say, make your reservation well in advance because this place gets really busy!

www.cicciolinacuzco.com

www.instagram.com/cicciolinacusco

2. La Bo’M - San Blas, Cusco

Sarah Tenenbaum is a French architect from Marseille, who landed in Cusco in 2010 to work with a local construction firm. An arrival, she realized the city had a limited offer of French cuisine, so in 2013 she decided to open her creperie.

Sarah started out in a small joint in the touristy neighborhood of San Blas, not far from Cusco’s main square. Business grew successfully, so she eventually opened a bigger place, which she has entirely decorated herself (the decor is awesome).

In addition to sweet crêpes, La Bo’M also serves galettes (savoury crêpes), as well asherbal teas, coffee, cider, and beers. It’s a cozy, homey place to have either a light lunch or dessert. Your choice.

www.labohemecusco.com/en/the-creperie-la-bom

www.instagram.com/labohemecusco

3. Local - San Blas, Cusco

The restaurant’s slogan explains the reason for its name name: “Made with local products by local hands.” Located where Granja de Heidi (a very popular organic food restaurant owned by Germans) used to be, Local is a collaboration between Lima-born Alex Klinge and the former proprietors of Heidi.

The restaurant is open from 8 am to 10 pm, so you can go for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. The food options are varied accordingly.

Here are some of my favorites: sartén de hongos y papas, a variety of sautéd potatoes and mushrooms with garlic and yellow pepper sauce, served in a frying pan. Trout tartare, the classic recipe with river trout from the Andes. And Quinoto, quinoa risotto, with yellow pepper sauce, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and mushroom ragu.

If you’re looking for a bigger meal, try the lamb stew with mashed potatoes and rice. Everything is good though.

www.instagram.com/local.cusco

4. Jack’s Café - San Blas, Cusco

If by the time you reach Cusco you’re craving a meal you’re familiar with, head to Jack’s. Opened in 2003 by Australian expat Jane Berthelson and Irish-born, Gary Feeney, Jack’s can be described as the “temple of comfort food.”

It has many options catering to all kinds of tastes and cravings: vegan and gluten free dishes; all-day breakfast (try the Huevos Rancheros); Tex Mex nibbles; soups – the cream soup of green peas and ham is a classic; salads, including an all-time favorite such as Caesar’s; big toasted sandwiches highlighting excellent versions of BLT, Tuna Melt and Alpaca Fillet (you can order fries and salad for an extra cost); burgers – veggie and cheeseburgers are on the list; and main courses such as Chicken Satay Curry Skewers or Thai-spiced veggie pasta.

For drinks, you’ve got milkshakes, fresh juices, coffee, smoothies, and iced tea all on the menu. And please, leave room for dessert! The carrot cake, Southern pecan pie, or the mouth-watering chocolate and mango tart are all a delicious way to crown a meal here.

www.jackscafecusco.com

www.instagram.com/jackscafecusco

5. La Cusqueñísima - Magisterio, Cusco

José Lujan Vargas, a Lima-born expat, and Diana Samanez Samaniego, a Cusco native, are the proud and proactive couple that run this “picantería” located in Magisterio, a 20-minute drive south of the historic center.

Similar to what you’d find in Arequipa, these traditional eateries preserve the old-school cooking just like grandma used to make. In this case, the grandmother in question is Diana’s, who opened the joint in 1986 on the second floor of her home.

José, who arrived in Cusco more than a decade ago (which is when he met his now wife Diana), immediately submerged himself into the research of traditional techniques and long-time forgotten recipes. Their goal was to rescue a cuisine that has been neglected by locals in favor of the more cosmopolitan food commonly found in Cusco or, even worse, the infamous fast food industry.

Eventually, this grandma’s joint moved into a bigger space and José and Diana took over to revamp the place into an ultimate traditional food experience. In La Cusqueñísima, which is a superlative term referring to “a very very Cusqueñan woman”, you can enjoy a handful of generous dishes with ingredients you probably have never heard of or tried.

Choclo con queso, a perfect and filling snack, consisting of a boiled Andean corn on the cob (the kernels are huge!) with aniseed, served with a chunk of fresh cheese at the side. “Sarzas,” a diversity of options consisting of marinated offals (pigfeet, testicles, tongue, etc.) with vinegar, herbsand spices served with boiled potatoes. “Caldos” or broths (so good!) and several varieties of stews made with hen, lamb, and beef..

Discover authentic Peru

Plan smarter with local advice

Perfect your travel plan with an expert

Meet the locals

And then crackling piglet and the iconic baked cuy (guinea pig), of course. You’ll also find “setas,” wild mushrooms that grow in the mountaintops, where the lightning strikes after a rainstorm, according to legend.

Wash it all down with a huge glass of “Frutillada”, strawberry beer, and be sure to share portions, family style, because they are huge!

www.facebook.com/CusquenisimaPicanteria

www.instagram.com/cusquenisima.picanteria

6. Museo del Pisco - Centro Histórico, Cusco

Adam Weintraub was born in London, raised in Seattle, but finally fell in love in Peru. Twice. First with Xiomara, his Cusco-born wife, and then with pisco, Peru’s flagship spirit. A photographer by trade, a passionate foodie with epicurean habits, and an enthusiastic traveler, Adam discovered pisco when arrived in Peru during a backpacking trip in South America.

Years later, in 2012, he opened a bar in a historic house made of Inca walls here in Cusco and named it Museo del Pisco. Although it’s not precisely a museum, Adam once explained that “Calling the the bar ‘museo’ has enabled us to approach the world of pisco from a different perspective”.

Pisco originated in the Peruvian coast at the end of the 16th century, after the Jesuits discovered that they could distill the wine must. Three centuries later, in the 1850s, it became a trendy spirit in the Bank Exchange Bar in San Francisco, where Pisco Punch was invented.

Another seventy years later, Pisco Sour was mixed for the first time, around the 1920s, in a Lima hotel by a U.S. born bartender surnamed Morris.

These classics and a wide range of innovative, refreshing cocktails can all be enjoyed at this bar. You like it neat? Museo offers a great selection of piscos from all the regions where it is produced.

Live music and delicious bites complement the experience.

https://english.museodelpisco.org

www.instagram.com/museodlpisco

7. Florencia y Fortunata - Centro Histórico, Cusco

Cusco is one of Peru’s most relevant coffee regions, and it would be a shame if you didn’t enjoy this local product during a visit here. Florencia y Fortunata can provide you with that experience with an added bonus: the coffee shop is a social project that sells coffee from Peruvian women producers and features women baristas.

Carolina Peralta Minaya, founder and head of the organization, explains it this way: “We want to empower women, increase their visibility and opportunities in the industry, keeping in mind that traceability and sustainability are key values to promote specialty coffee.”

They opened their first shop in 2020 in Magisterio, not far away from La Cusqueñísima. In 2022 they inaugurated their second location in a beautiful colonial house a few meters away from Cusco’s main plaza.

Their coffee from different regions in Peru (including Cusco of course) and is always very good. The social project behind it is even better. Kudos to Carolina and her team.

www.florenciayfortunata.com/en

www.instagram.com/florenciayfortunata.cafe

Got Peru travel questions?

Our local experts have answers!

Connect with Nicho in Lima for help perfecting your itinerary, fabulous local tips, and expert advice on your trip plan!

Plan with a local

8. El Huacatay - Urubamba, Sacred Valley

The name of this place refers to a cooking herb – known in English as black mint – very common in Peruvian cuisine, especially in the south. It has a robust and distinctive smell and taste, very much like the food that Pío Vásquez de Velasco makes in his hearty restaurant, El Huacatay.

Born in Lima, Pío moved to the Sacred Valley after living in Germany and traveling around several countries. Curiously enough, he met his German wife, Iris Rohde, in Colombia, and in 2006 they opened this joint which, from the very start, had a big impact.

They specialize in fun, innovative, fresh dishes with local products and impeccable technique. The menu is small – especially post pandemic times – but it contains some must-try food. The Alpaca carpaccio, either the Andean version or Mediterranean style; Chupe de quinua (quinoa soup), which is comfort food for the soul; the Mediterranean style Andean trout, or the classic Malaya Urubambina, a flank steak served with Pachamanca sauce, fries, rice, and a fried egg.

The pisco sours are pretty damn good here as well and the wine list worth taking a look at. Go for it.

www.elhuacatay.com

www.instagram.com/elhuacatay

9. Tierra - Urubamba, Sacred Valley

As its name suggests, this restaurant is absolutely down-to-earth, and they serve homey and seasonal cuisine at its best. Owned and run by Rely Alencastre, this savvy cook born in Arequipa moved into the Sacred Valley to open a place where you can enjoy perfectly made comfort food. This is an entirely unpretentious place that just focuses on making good, honest food.

Some recommended appetizers are trout ceviche; lamb kebabs, or crispy shrimps with avocado. Follow it up with an iconic Peruvian dish like Lomo Saltado, Rely’s style; a good classic lasagna, or perhaps a grilled catch of the day fish. You want something more Pantagruelian? Go for the 850 gram tomahawk steak.

One small secret: the coffee in this place, selected and roasted by barista Deisy Mariscal, Rely’s wife, is excellent.

www.instagram.com/tierra_restaurante

10. Apu Verónica - Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley

This is a small restaurant owned by local cook Carmen Rosa Mesco and her husband Henry. It is located in the second floor of a small business, past the bridge that crosses over the Patacancha River, on the way to Ollantaytambo’s main archaeological site.

Carmen is a local young woman who is passionate about her cooking. She loves to serve authentic food in generous portions, with organic products in an unpretentious way, just like her ancestors did.

Quinoa soup, pumpkin chowder, roasted duck or cuy (guinea pig) are all served in rustic stone dinnerware, which makes the experience very special. Alpaca, lamb and beef steaks are stone-grilled and also served over flat stone surfaces, and combined with an organic salad, Andean potato fries and spicy, flavorful sauces.

Vegetarians and vegans, don’t be disappointed! There is a pretty long list of options for you guys too. And for drinks, some travelers claim to have enjoyed the biggest Pisco Sours in the country at this place! You’ll have to find out for yourself if that’s true.

www.facebook.com/restauranteapuve,ronica

www.instagram.com/apuveronicarestaurantgrill

11. El Albergue - Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley

If you have a spare day in the Sacred Valley, either before or after visiting Machu Picchu, enjoying a Pachamanca should be at the top of your eating priorities. It is offered exclusively in El Albergue Hotel, a place with tons of history, founded by the Randall-Weeks, a U.S./Peruvian expat family that arrived in the 1970s.

The word Pacahamanca means “earth oven” in Quechua, and that is exactly what it is. A feast that can be traced back to pre-Columbian times, cooked under hot rocks in a pit. Chicken, pork, lamb, alpaca, rabbit, and cuy are all available upon request, along with different kinds of Andean tubers (native and sweet potatoes), organic vegetables from the hotel’s farm, a house-made salad, and spicy sauces.

To wash it all down, you’ll be sipping on chicha morada, Peru’s traditional refreshment, made out of purple corn with clove, cinnamon, and other ingredients.

Once again, Pachamanca is a perfect outcome of syncretism between European and Andean influences. Once you make a reservation, regardless of whether you’re a guest at the hotel or not, you will be toured around their distillery (Matacuy is their trademark spirit) and coffee roasting facility. The Mayu Café in the hotel serves excellent local specialty coffee, which is great to sip on while you watch great local cooks preparing your meal in the ground.

You need to reserve your meal at least one day in advance (there’s a lot of prep work to be done), and you can do so by writing to reservations@elalbergue.com or sending a message via WhatsApp to +51 954151823.

www.elalbergue.com/experience/pachamanca.html

www.instagram.com/elalbergue

12. Cervecería del Valle - Pachar, Sacred Valley

If you’re a beer enthusiast you will love the concept at Cervecería del Valle. Also known in English as the Sacred Valley Brewing Co., this place was founded by high school buddies Juan Mayorga, a Peruvian native who lived with his family in the United States, and U.S.-born Joe Giammatteo.

It all started in 2014 when they met up in Peru and decided to open the brewery, not too far from Ollantaytambo. Since their high school days, Juan had become a marketing expert and Joe a seasoned brewer. It didn’t take that long for them to lead the local craft-beer production in the region.

Several awards have recognized their brewing skills, and they produce great saisons, Belgian wits, double IPAs, and sours. They’ve opened a few other locations, and you can now sample six classic beers and eight special editions in their tap rooms in Cusco City, Marcavalle, Pisac, and even Lima. Check out all their locations in the following link: www.cerveceriadelvalle.com/taprooms

www.cerveceriadelvalle.com

www.instagram.com/cerveceriadelvalle

Perfect your Peru itinerary with local advice!