Where to eat in Peru!!! - amazing restaurants and cafes

Peru is a treasure trove of amazing food. It is one of those countries that has good food options for 3-5 dollars or upwards of 100 dollars - Good food for any budget. Traditional to Modern, Fusion and International. And an abundance of cultural dishes from every region. Truly, in regard to flavour and diversity, the Indian food of South America. 

It does help of course, as always, to know where to go in a city or what to try, so in regard to hitting main and major cities and places in Peru, here is a list of great places and their general price ranges. 

CUSCO

1. The Republic of Pisco - Near the main Plaza - excellent drinks especially chiclanos and Pisco sours, live music at night, amazing ceviche, causa, and lomo saltado - around 20-25 dollars for a solid meal and drink 
2. Cucharitas - On Plaza San Francisco - ice cream - melted ice-cream with fresh fruit mashed into it - amazing flavours - 2-5 dollars 
3. Heladarte - Near the main Plaza - ice cream - some of the best I’ve encountered world wide - 2-5 dollars 
4. Pantastico - Near Plaza San Blas - bakery - great loaves, muffins, and brownies - good coffee - A great view of Cusco from above - 2-5 dollars 
5. PanAm - Near main Plaza - bakery - amazing plain croissants, danish bread, and sandwiches - also their Cappuccino are among the best in Peru - good ambiance - nice wall mural - 3-8 dollars
6. La Bondiet - Near main Plaza - cafe - good sandwiches, coffee, pastries, cakes, juices - decent atmosphere - best cheese cake in Cusco - 3-8 dollars 
7. Valariana - Near main Plaza and also another across from the Quoricancha down the Avenida del Sol - cafe - good coffee, baked goods, sandwiches, empanadas - great ambiance and good internet connection - 3-8 dollars 
8. On a budget - any local place with a set menu of local cuisine is usually pretty good - 2-5 dollars - if you want to be safe - at these places get the Lomo Saltado or Montado 
9. Chinese food - generally cheap and pretty good - 5-15 dollars - the few upper end ones are quite pricy - meat heavy dishes 
10. Sangucheria - Plaza San Francisco - great sandwiches and juices - 4-10 dollars - their Sandwich - el Cubano - has a nice tang to it with the mustard and pickles. 
11. Jack’s Cafe - Cafe - breakfast, lunch, dinner - American portions - Off the main Plaza near the foot of the hill leading up to Plaza San Blas - American fare - amazing pancakes, French toast, sandwiches, breakfasts, burgers - a Cusco staple - 8-20 dollars 
12. Granja Heidi - Best lunch place ever - Kitty corner to Jack’s Cafe - another local but more hidden Cusco staple - 30 sole lunch including a starter, drink, main, and dessert and really amazing home cooked food - also amazing crepes - this is where I come to gorge in a good way - good ambiance - owner is great!! - 10-20 dollars 

​​More in Cusco 

1. Fallen Angel - Up from the main Plaza - Restaurant - a bit pricy but what an atmosphere and what food! - great art and decor including bathtub tables with aquariums inside - amazing ceviche and desserts - and really all their food is great - 15-50 dollars 
2. La Bodega - Off the main Plaza - Restaurant - more Italian based - good pasta and pizza - 15-25 dollars for dinner and drink 
3. La Trattoria - Off the main Plaza - Restaurant - more Italian based - good pasta and pizza - 15–25 dollars for dinner and drink 
4. Chez Maggy - all over Cusco - 3-4 locations - Pizza place - yum!! - 15-25 dollars - try the typical fruit pizza covered in banana, mango, peach, and pineapple - its actually delicious!
5. El Hornito - Avenida la Cultura - Pizza place - good pizza!! - 10-20 dollars
6. El Secreto de la Vaca - Avenida la Cultura - Restaurant - meat heavy with great salad buffet - menu place - 20-40 soles - includes a drink - Brazilian style grill house 
7. Korma - Plaza San Blas - Indian Cuisine - coming from an Indian family with a grandma who writes best selling Indian Cookery Books - I was scared to try this for fear of really missing home and how disappointing shitty Indian food is - finally tried it and it not only passed the bar, I went again - great appetizers, mains, no desserts - only dinner time - quite busy with locals and expats - not well known to Tourists - 15-40 dollars for an amazing meal 
8. Paddy’s Irish Pub - good pub fare including a good shepards pie - On the main Plaza - they always show football matches - so it gets packed - 7-20 dollars - good beer selection 
9. Baco - Of the main Plaza - good food - amazing desserts - including a fresh apple pie slice filled with apples until bursting and also swimming in a red wine sauce - this actually changed my life - not to be missed - 20-40 dollars for a meal 
10. Chicha - off the main Plaza - lunch and dinner - upper end - excellent food and desserts - 20-50 dollars for a meal 
11. El Soleil - a French restaurant - great cuisine - tasting menu - beautifully presented - very pricy - 35-90 dollars and up for a meal - near Novotel Hotel - they have a beautiful tasting menu!! 

SACRED VALLEY

1. Kaia - vegan and vegetarian options - Urubamba - great juices, clean and organic foods - a bit hippie and artsy - very chill - good music - outdoor seating - great place to chill - wonderful wraps, quesadillas, and desserts - 10-25 dollars 
2. El Eden - Main street Urubamba - cafe and store - nice juices and baked goods - good for breakfast - amazing jams for sale - 5-20 dollars 
3. Sacred Valley - menu place - Urubamba - 3 dollar lunch - one of the best local menu places ever 
4. El Huacatay - high end - but the best in the Valley - make reservations - upscale local food - beautifully cooked and presented - nice gardens - very intimate atmosphere - 20-60 dollars for a meal 
5. Blue Llama - cafe - Pisaq - good snacks, food, and hot chocolate - owner has been around a long time - good atmosphere - love this place - 5-20 dollars 
6. Muna - agan upscale but amazing food - lunch and dinner - nice gardens - 20-50 dollars for a meal 
7. Loads of menu places - I find the menu places in the valley are actually pretty good, so are the Chinese places, rotisserie chicken places, and pizza places - so find and enjoy them! - 3-15 dollars 

Miraflores - LIMA

I never used to believe it until I went - but when you ask Peruvian people why do you go to Lima - the reason always is - TO EAT!! - it’s true and one day I’ll go back to Lima to eat again!! 

1. Of course the thing to get in Lima is ceviche -but honestly food in Lima is just good - big portions, tasty, and can be super reasonably priced - ceviche is one of those things that will be raved about for 40 dollars at some hipster restaurant and might in all honesty be even better at the little market 4 blocks away for 5-8 dollars. 
2. My favorite ceviche place in Lima is near the Pariwana hostel - explain that you want a super local place to eat - 5 dollar ceviche - available at lunch time - their staff are great! 
3. La Lucha - Crillolla sandwiches - across from Pariwana hostel - near park Kennedy - amazing sandwiches and juices - 5-15 dollars - their chicken cheese and pineapple sandwich is honestly the best!! 
4. A place of top restaurants - these are pricy but sooooo worth it - once in a life times restaurants - quality, presentation, new amazing flavours, experimental cuisine, tasting menus - Check out 
   1. Astrid y Gaston - fusion Peruvian cuisine - one of the world’s top restaurants 
   2. Central Restaurant - fusion Peruvian cuisine - one of the world’s top restaurants 
   3. IK - Peruvian gastronomy - quickly becoming one of Lima’s top restaurants 
   4. Maido - Japanese Peruvian fusion - one of the world’s best restaurants - this cost $100 per person and was actually worth every penny 
   5. THESE PLACES NEED RESERVATIONS - 2-6 month’s in advance
   6. we got lucky and waited outside Maido for a spot to open up - it did and then on top of a ridiculous list of allergies - nuts, soy, tofu, beans, peas, and lentils - the wait staff and chef still created an absolutely stunning tasting menu for me. 
   7. These are pricy - were talking 50-100 dollars for a meal or more 
5. Edo Sushi bar - apparently amazing - for when you just can’t get into Maido - presentation looks incredible - and rave reviews from all - yes Japenese food in Peru is good!!!! 
6. Chinese food in Peru is also amazing - and can be super cheap or more pricy - one of the better up scale places for Peruvian Chinese food is Madam Tusan - great food and atmosphere - 3-50 dollars 
7. Larcomar - this is actually a mall - albeit a very upscale mall over hanging the cliff side of the Miraflores board walk - and it has many good restaurants averaging 30-45 dollars a meal - overlooking the ocean - worth it for the experience - but then so are the much cheaper cafes that overlook and over hang the cliff side board walk 
8. Other places with amazing reviews include Rafael, Cosme, and Costanera - also Amaz for typical amazing amazonian type food 

AREQUIPPA

1. Tanta - great mid-upscale food - Peruvian fusion - great atmosphere and patio - across from the Monastery - their Pallella - Spanish rice and seafood dish - is to die for - 10-25 dollars 
2. Museo del Pisco - amazing roof top patio, and drinks, finger foods are also really well prepared and seasoned - 15-30 dollars 
3. Chi Cha - up scale - near Tanta - beautiful ambiance in one of the historic venues - great food - Peruvian - 20-40 dollars for a good meal - off the main Plaza 
4. Zig Zag - up scale - and pretty good - actually they cook their alpaca amazingly - so make sure to try!! - 20-40 dollars for a meal - off the main Plaza (great lunch time menu!) 
5. Crepisimo - near Tanta - off the Main Plaza - good lunch menu for 30 soles - nice patio - great crepes!! 
6. The Main Plaza - many of the restaurants are tourist traps that said, the breakfast menus are pretty good and for 15-30 soles you get a patio view of the main Plaza and can enjoy taking it all in while having breakfast - usually eggs, pancakes, juice, and coffee 
7. The Quaint Walking Street - near the Monestary - lots of tourist trap restaurants in the street - but amazing ambiances and many with roof top patios - the set menu lunches are not a bad price for 15-30 soles and the food although not stellar is decent - its more about the atmosphere and soaking up the sun while taking in the beautiful architecture of the city from the top!! 
8. The menu places here are ok - in Arequipa the Chinese food and rotisserie chicken are better!! And from the more local dishes, Aji de la Galina, Papas a la Huancaina, and Alpaca steaks!! 

LAKE TITICACA

1. This is where to come have fresh lake trout - fried or grilled - its spectacular 
2. Make sure to shop around