kja

I am looking forward to spending the month of May in Peru and am also looking forward to savoring some delicious foods, particularly over late evening meals. I’ve taken copious notes from guidebooks, prior trip reports, and planning threads (including mine), and hesitated to post yet another thread, but crellston encouraged me to start a new thread -- and far be it from me to ignore advice from crellston! – so here goes:

For restaurants, I’m looking for

• sit-down meals (not street food) that I can enjoy with some wine or beer, generally in the evening -- as a rule, the later the better! (I don’t usually eat a mid-day meal and, in constrast, I love dining late.)
• I strongly prefer traditional offerings and/ or locally sourced foods.
• I’m open to anything from simple local fare to an occasional splurge for haute cuisine, and will try to ensure a range of experiences across my time in Peru, tilting to the low end but definitely including some high end experiences. That said, I’m not willing to spend more than $150 US for a meal (food, beverages, tax, and service) unless there is a really, really, REALLY good reason – so, for example, Central is not something I’ll consider except, perhaps, for an appetizer and drink at its bar.

Please don’t limit yourselves to restaurant recommendations: Instead, also mention any specific regional dishes or ingredients or anything else that I should be sure to consider, including local wines and other beverages that I would do well to sample. Or that I would do well to avoid! And please tell me what you think of cuy: Some sources say its too bony to be worth the effort, others say it's well worth the effort....

Despite my seeming rejection of street food options (above), if there's something you think I really should try, do say so!

Here are the places where I will be staying and so expect to dine, in alphabetical order. Note that I think all most of my lodgings offer a breakfast buffet, and some of the places where I expect to stay are also places where I expect to dine (e.g., the Kentitambo in Leymebamba and La Casa de Mamayacchi in the Colca Canyon).

Aguas Calientes
Arequipa
Ayacucho
Chachapoyas
Chiclayo
Colca Canyon
Cusco
Leymebamba
Lima
Ollantaytambo
Pisac
Puno
Trujillo

For the prior planning threads for my trip, see:
Help! Travel times are wreaking havoc on my plans for Peru and Bolivia !
Preliminary thoughts -- Peru and a bit of Bolivia?

BTW: I believe the norm for sit-down meals is to tip about 10% or perhaps a bit more if the service is truly exceptional – correct?

Thanks so much!

mlgb

In Lima I eat ceviche nearly every day, which tends to be a mid-day meal. Most recent favorite was El Cevichano inside Surquillo Market No 1. Punto Azul is okay but the portions are huge..too much for a single diner. I didn't like Canta Rana the one time I went (not fresh) but others like it.

My typical dinner was a turkey (pavo) sandwich grabbed from Monstruos on the walk back from the Metropolitano. https://www.facebook.com/MonstruosPeru/

There are two places across the street from 3 B...one is a steak place that crellston likes (La Cuadra de Salvador). I like Sofa Cafe which has an weekday afternoon "Lonche" deal and good wifi if you have problems with 3B. Small sandwich, drink (Pisco Sour or coffee) and dessert.

Dowtown Barranco has Isolina which specializes in takes on traditional criollo recipes I was a little underwhelmed but it's on one of those Lists. It might work for your interests. Tends to be popular. I went at lunch with a reservation.

I skip a lot of the street carts in Lima but there are a few street carts that I try to hit up..the Yuquitas one on the way to the Metropolitano Station on the S. side of N. Pierola, and Picarones Mary in Park Kennedy in Miraflores. I figure deep-fried is not a health problem.
Much to the dismay of Elizabeth at 3B, I even had street cart ceviche once...and survived!

I am just as likely to pop into something I'm passing by at lunch time if the menu looks good...it is hard to get bad food in Lima no matter the price point.

Be sure to ask the 3B staff which restaurants their guests are liking lately..they pop up and disappear like crazy!

Here is a post I made about restaurant reservation resources

Lima Foodie Resource(s)


Arequipa..Had no good luck with anything that was recommended from any tourist source... I'd recommend the downstairs comedor at the market. For lunch there was a restaurant that catered to office workers that I liked on Mercaderes. If you go to Yanahuara try the 'queso helado' from Charito.

In Chachapoyas the one recommended for tourists is Cafe Fusiones. I didn't like Real Cecina. I did like Panaderia San Jose near the plaza, hope it has recovered from its rather sad state on my most recent visit.

In Cusco I liked Greens Organic. In Ollantaytambo I think it's either pizza or eating at your hotel!

In Pisac try the bread from one of the Colonial Hornos. I ate at Ulrike's a while ago..not sure if it's still good but I liked it then.

In Chiclayo I like La Romana which is very traditional..good ceviche. Fiesta is the famous one which also has a branch in Trujillo (and maybe Lima). Although there are some other traditional foods in the North, it's a great place for seafood.

In Ayacucho you will probably want to eat at Via Via.

Leymabamba..your hotel.

kja

@ mlgb: Thank you for these recommendations – and particularly your words of caution about some places. I, too, love ceviche, and so am definitely looking forward to indulging with some frequency. Your post on restaurant resources provides a wealth of information – much appreciated!

crellston

A few random thoughts:

The food in Peru can be heavy on the carbs. Quite usual to get several types of corn and potatoes accompanying each dish.

Staple dishes include Ceviche, great potato dishes like Causas and Papa Rellena. Ali de Gallina ( chicken stew). Anticuchos ( grilled meat kebabs) - I always seek out the original beef heart - delicious. There used to be an old lady with a street cart near Parque Kennedy which was so good you would queue for ages! Lomo Saltado - soup6 marinated beef and onions with fries

Barranco - awash with places to eat. busy at night, quiet during the day. . Canta Rana was our "local". Very friendly, packed with locals - excellent ceviche Lomo de Saltado.
La Cuadra delSalvador opposite 3B does great steaks and other stuff. The best place to sample Pisco Sours or my fav. Chilcanos both made with Pisco of which they have dozens of varieties. When they ask which one, appear undecided and they will let you sample a few!

Punto Azul - I was a little disappointed last time. Portion sizes had reduced and service had declined ( maybe a bad day?) still good food.
La Vista in te JW Marriott in Larcomar has a great blow out buffet if there on a Sunday. Good for trying out a few dishes.
La Lucha Sangueria - near Parque Kennedy in Miraflores 20 mins walk from 3B. Amazing sandwiches!
El Cortijo - another good, old school steakhouse in Barranco
Barranco social club ( or something like that ) on the main drag in Barranco has great Menu Del Dias on week days (9 soles)

Cusco
we loved Encantasqa. Fallen Angel was "unusual" . Chez Maggie has some novel Peruvian style pizza ( guinea pig , llama, trouts etc,

Nortons Bar on the Plaza is a great place for a sundowner on the balcony. Greens organic. Lots of places around San Blas. Molinos market stalls have great ceviche. Some decent places in the main markets ( the names escape me at te moment.)
Chicha Por Gaston Acurio - cheaper than Limaand good modern Peruvian cuisine.

must dash - will be back later!

sf7307

I've only been to Peru once, and it was four years ago (exactly), but for what it's worth with those qualifications. Note about us - we like good food, and nice places, but don't like long stretched-out meals (sitting at a meal for four hours would drive us insane):

• Ollantaytambo - the restaurant at the Hotel El Albuergue is very good. They grow their own vegetables right behind the hotel.
• Aguas Calientes - we ate dinner at the dining room at the Inkaterra, and it was excellent. Lunch at the Cafe Inkaterra was also really good.
• Lima - the restaurant at the Museo Larco is very very good.

kja

@ crellston: Awesome suggestions – thanks so much! I must admit that I hadn’t seen beef heart in my future, but I can imagine giving it a try.

@ sf7307: I agree that 4 hours would be too much for me for a single meal – I almost always find that about 1.5 hours suits my needs quite nicely. Thanks for these recommendations, particularly for the one in Ollantaytambo – mlgb had me a bit worried about having to resort to pizza! (Nothing wrong with pizza, but I really try to go for local foods, and have only eaten pizza abroad once – in Napoli.)

crellston

Ollantaytambo- there is a lot of pizza there but it isn’t t only option. We volunteered for the organisation tha runs Hearts Cafe many years ago. Good, honest food and te original owner Sonia was instrumental in rais8ng food hygiene standard in area dramatically. excellent, well cooked food but not esp. Peruvian.

Uchucuta on the road to the ruins is a good place to try Cuy. Restaurants tend to open and close early and can get very busy. There are lots to choose from in and around the plaza

Chachapoyas - we had a decent experience at La Tushpa - mostly meat and fish as I recall but v. Good quality.

Arequipa - I can’t find my notes on the places we ate at in the city but many of te better places seemed to be out of te centre in Cayma/ Yanahuara where we rented a house. Mama Cocha was especially good. Acurio operates another branch if Chicha there.

Auyucucho - Nino a great place to rest out anticuchos! We stayed at Via Via and we ate there too which was ok as I recall.

I have never had much of a problem with "street food" but with so many "hole in the wall" restaurants in Peru, it isn’t really necessary to resort to stalls for "authentic" Peruvian food. Markets are a great place for eating. We would start most days with a visit to one of the ladies at the fruit section of the market pick a variety of fruit and get them to whizz up a smoothie or juice in there blender. A pint of juice for maybe 3 soles! Some market stalls were much cleaner than others and the food much better in some places than others. In the markets we seek out the whole roast pig chancho Asado.

Incidentally, kja, as you previously expressed an interest in Madidi NP, you may be interest to see a few photos I posted on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/bolivia/

mlgb

I didn't mean to worry you about pizza. If you eat meat a better option is spit-roasted chicken, which I often resort to in small towns that don't have much else. Perhaps I remembered wrong which hotel you were looking at in Olly. When I said "your hotel", I meant El Albergue at the Train station. You may want to book a reservation when you arrive.

My first visit I ate at Hearts cafe and it was the nice place crellston remembers. The second time it had gone all touristy and the service was chaos..
There are probably dozens more places than there used to be in Olly. I had a decent grilled trout at a pizza place on the plaza on the most recent visit (since I almost also never resort to pizza). And it's true that restaurants closed early..there were few options when I returned on the evening train.

Ayacucho might also be a good place to try cuy. You would need to ask around though.

As far as other items to look for, by region

In the Andes look for soups, alpaca steak, quinoa, cuy and traditional breads cooked in a wood fired oven (each region likely to have a few specialties). Also potato dishes (I don't like the flavor of chuño but you may run into them around Puno.. I think they were an option at the trout places on the way to the Titcaca ferries). I do like ollucos and tarwi (which can be served as a ceviche in the Andes). Probably available only in street carts or market stalls. You'll also likely see quail eggs sold from street carts (with the little quail sometimes in the cart also). I saw those in Chachas.

Arequipa has some traditional dishes that I really liked, rocoto relleno, pastel de papa, and ocopa (with sauce flavored with huacatay herb). As well as a ceviche made with pejerrey that I had at the market. Also pig trotters! One way to seek those out is to look for local joints along streets leading to the market that offer an "Americano" plate...which isn't American. Every day has a traditional dish associated with it, often a soup. Arequipa is well known for chupe de camarones, although the version I had at the famous place in Yanahuara was sad... On weekends you might find traditional chicharrones or adobo served from street stalls. The Acurio empire has expanded to all major tourist cities such as Cusco and Arequipa so you might need to resort to Chicha or T'anta for dinner if you want that as a big meal (local places are going to be in the outskirts or close after late lunch. Arequipa would also be a spot where Cuy (deep fried) is available but again you need to know the places to go, maybe in the market?

Many restaurants will offer dishes like Aji de Gallina (chicken breast in a sauce often made with packet seasonings) and Lomo Saltado (stir fried beef and tomato with french fries over rice). I get to eat these at home in our local Peruvian places so they aren't a priority for me to seek out. Also, Aji de Gallina seems to be a favorite meal for dinner served by lodgings, you may get it at Leymabamba for example.

Other dishes that I look for in Lima are causa (often serves as a trio), papa rellena and the hot drink emoliente.

A traditional dessert that I like is mazamorra morrada (purple corn pudding). I think Las Mesitas in Barranco had a version. The best I ever had was at the Sunday market in Huancayo for breakfast, in combination with rice pudding made with raw cane sugar. Other sweets are the cookies alfajores, figs in liquid raw sugar (higos en alimbar) plus the picarones that are best from the cart in P. Kennedy. Ice cream is fantastic all over Peru. I look for the local fruits like lucuma and regional specialties. In Lima there are a few gelato chains that are especially good.. 4D and Laritza. There is a 4D storefront near the Amano. I'm not sure where Laritza is now..they seem to have lost their spot at Larcomar.

When you are in Chiclayo or Trujillo try to have a coctel de algarrobina. I'm not a big drinker but the infusions of herbs and flowers in Pisco that crellston mentioned are interesting..and you may as well try them across the street from 3B so you can stumble back!

Coffee..in Chachas hopefully Panaderia San Jose is back up and running..they had a real espresso machine and that is a great coffee region.

In Barranco, Tostaduria Bisetti http://cafebisetti.com/.
In Miraflores, Puku Puku although it looks like they've moved
https://www.facebook.com/pukupukucafe/

IIRC Via Via in Ayacucho also had an espresso machine and good coffee.

kja

Such wonderful information! Specific establishments to patronize or avoid, regional specialties, even warnings about restaurant hours – you folks ROCK!

BTW, I’m not averse to street food – and appreciate the recs! It’s just that if I eat breakfast – and I do when I travel – then I really don’t want to eat again until late in the evening, and by then, I want to sit and relax and enjoy a meal with wine or whatever suits the food. I don’t usually seek out sweets, but I love figs, and mazamorra morrada just moved quite far up my list of tasting priorities.

@ crellston – Thank you so much for the link to your stunning photos and very moving words about the Madidi! I think skipping it for this trip was the wisest choice, but it was difficult, and you have definitely inspired me to keep it high on my priority list for future travels.

@ mglb: Wow, as a potato lover, it never occurred to me that different potatoes would have such different tastes! I’m sure I would have thought the differences due to seasonings rather than the potatoes themselves, and will have to be sure to take notes. And that’s fascinating about the link between days of the week and local dishes – is that true throughout Peru, or specific to Arequipa?

IIRC, pigs trotters were among the ingredients used in some of the foods I had in northern Spain, so I’m going to use that as my excuse when I bypass them.

I’ll be at La Casa del Abuelo Riverside when in Ollantaytambo (unless someone wants to discourage that), and so will book a table at El Albergue.

And I’m glad to know that I can look forward to good coffee at Via Via and elsewhere.

Thanks again -- even if I'm now ridiculously hungry!

Bbult5

It sounds like you're doing trying to have your travels revolve around the food as much as possible -- there's no better place to do that than Peru!

I live in Lima so most of my experiences and knowledge revolve around the options here. Here goes --

Lima
- Fine Dining Places that Are Worth It in Lima -- I've only admittedly dined a handful of true Fine Dining places in Lima (it's harder when making soles). So far my favorites are Amaz in Miraflores (unique blend of Amazonian flavors with Lima flavors) and Osaka in San Isidro (great Japanese / Peruvian fusion).
- Best Ceviche - It's hard to find ceviches that really stand out. There's so many good cevicherias in Lima, but my thoughts on the best flavors are at the modest chain called Piscis. They have about 8 locations all away from tourist areas (the nearest might be in San Miguel), but their ceviche is so much better than other places that charge 3 times more. http://www.piscis.pe/
- Dining Experience w/ Great Atmosphere - Like another poster mentioned, the Museo Larco Restaurant is phenomenal for dinner. Good Peruvian classics for not too much, but a great garden atmosphere.
- Great Coffee/Sweets - If you love coffee, no one I've seen does coffee styles and tastes better than Origen Tostadores. They have a location near Pueblo Libre and a new one in Surquillo. Good for sweets too.
- Great Sandwiches - The best sandwiches I have found recently were at La Salsa Sangucheria, just south of Parque Kennedy on Benavides. Great simple sandwiches with an array of delicious Peruvian sauces.

Arequipa - Two of our favorites in Arequipa proper were Crepisimo for dinner (blending crepes with Peruvian flavors -- like the Lomo Saltado crepes). Crepisimo is also in a really neat local right near the Plaza. We also stumbled on La Casa de Trucha, a humble little place for lunch or dinner, that can't be beat if you like all sorts if you like trout (including a trout ceviche).

Chiclayo / Leymebamba - It's been awhile since I've been but I remember some killer plates of ceviche de pato (duck ceviche) and they also have many other plates with duck and even a whole Duck Festival every year. I can't recall the restaurants we stopped in a few years ago.

Cusco - I'm not the biggest fan of chains (though this is a Peruvian chain) but Gaston's Acurio's Chicha has some good traditional Cusco options, including my favorite -- Pachamanca. Also, a good dinner option is at Restaurant Inkazuela. They have some pretty creative takes on Cusco cooking and the prices are way lower than some fancier options in Cusco. If possible, find time to take in a cocktail a Limbus Reso Bar for a good view of the city. Last, for good local flavours and to see the variety of Cusco head to the San Pedro Market (my favorite thing is to sample some breads there).

I haven't had extra memorable in Sacred Valley or Aguas Calientes to recommend anything there but have had the Pachamanca experience at El Albergue and loved it. And sorry no recommendations for Puno or Trujillo either (two places I need to get back to). Enjoy the food - I'm sure you will!

kja

@ Bbult5: Thanks for your many recommendations! And thanks in particular for mentioning duck ceviche – I’ve been reading about it, but hadn’t heard anyone actually recommend it.

BTW – while I am hoping to take advantage of the many dining options I have while in Peru (and I’m sure I will eat well, particularly with all the wonderful suggestions on this thread!), food is actually secondary to my other priorities. My central goal in planning any trip is to maximize the diversity of my experiences. I believe this trip would feature a variety of different ancient ruins, a wide range of stunning scenery and encounters with nature, a nice mix of different towns and cities (colonial architecture, local villages, etc.), and exposure to an intriguing range of cultural experiences (festivals, foods, markets, textiles, etc.).

If you didn’t see it, here’s my “final” planning thread; post # 11 comes close to my "final" itinerary, except that I’ll stay 2 nights in Leymebamba and only one in Chahchapoyas and I'll spend 2 nights in Pisac rather than Ollantaytambo after visiting Machu Picchu. That thread also has a link to my initial thread, in which I give some information about myself and my interests.
Help! Travel times are wreaking havoc on my plans for Peru and Bolivia !
Feel free to offer any other suggestions you have for my trip on that thread!

Thanks again for the great ideas

mlgb

Not a big fan of the "duck ceviche". I do like the cabrito that is a traditional dish in Trujillo on weekends although it's another of those heavy dishes better eaten at lunchtime. Also the cilantro rice in the north is delish!

kja

@ mlgb: Interesting! My experience with goat has been mixed -- I think I enjoyed it only once of the 3 or 4 times I've tried it, BUT I enjoyed it enough that first time to give it a few more tries, and age and preparation obviously make a difference... Thanks again.

BTW, I think you've been to Caral? I'm sure I would find it fascinating and different than anything else I would see, but the more I think about spending 8 hours en route for an hour or two on site, the less inclined I am to try to visit (even if I have a garua-free day), particularly when it would mean giving up 1 of my 3 days in Lima. Any reactions?

mlgb

I forgot to come back and reply to your question re Caral. The total travel time of 6 to 8 hours (plus most likely a lunch break) does mean you are using up an entire day. I think it's a tough choice. Yes it's a fascinating site (the site plan more so than the ruins and the small museum which we actually didn't get to for some reason).

I was reluctant to give up a weekend day in Lima until I had visited multiple times and had found an online Peruvian version of a Groupon with a local tour company. Turned out I was the only who showed up at the meeting spot so it was a fun inexpensive day with the driver, and two guides, including practicing my Spanish at lunch. The driver was insane although quite good-looking.

Perhaps if you were able to go on a Monday when most of the other museums are closed, and had already manage to hit up the Amano, Larco and spend some time downtown and in Barranco. But that can be hard to do with only two full days even if you have a lot of energy.

BTW I would not give up a Lima day for Pachacamac although it's closer. Huaca Pucllana in Lima is okay but pales in comparison to the Moche pyramids in the north.

kja

@ mlgb: Thanks so much, once again! I’ve been playing around with ways to maximize my time in Lima, and the more I read, the more I want to see there. That makes me increasingly convinced that I’ll find the transit time to Caral more frustrating than relaxing, but waiting until I see how much of Lima I “fit in” is a really good idea. Ultimately, I’m sure there’s no bad decision, just a difficult one. It sounds like you hit the lucky jackpot for your trip – except that I thought you said you hit the garua en route? Shivers!!!

Thanks, too, for confirming the wisdom of my decision to skip Pachacamac and Huaca Pucllana. I so appreciate your attentions to my questions!

mlgb

Yes we had the fog in the morning, very scary with the crazy driver passing on curves (as they all do!)

kja

Argh!!! I'm glad you at least had a good-looking driver. But because I am terrified of some of the bus trips I expect to take on this trip -- I must admit that telling me that all the bus drivers are crazy is not helpful!!!

I'm fortunate to have very few anxiety triggers -- but being on a bus on a twisty, turning mountain road with little or no space before a drastic drop is literally among the things I most dread. Really. Seriously. From my core! I find the prospect of these bus rides sufficiently frightening that I am working every day to identify ways to manage my anxieties. I took out cancel-for-any-reason trip insurance because I don't know that I can board some of these buses, and I've spent a LOT of time identifying ways to get from place to place if I can't make myself do it. I know that sounds histrionic, but I am quite honestly speaking about things that terrify me!

I don't want anyone to lie to me about what my experiences might be, so I can only thank you for providing this input.

OTOH, if anyone has advice about how to manage my fears, I'd be happy to hear it!

mlgb

Good news is that a number of the highways are quite wide in all but a few spots. Major bus lines Linea, Movil, Cruz del Sur and 4M had careful drivers. Taxidatum was also very good.

I don't have the same fear, actually I'm more afraid as a pedestrian! At least they drive on the same side of the road, so your instincts on which way to look before crossing is correct..but look twice both ways !If you sit on the driver's side of the vehicle that is on the centerline of the road and not on the edge.

kja

Thanks for these heartening words, mlgb. I think all my main bus trips are with one of those lines, and I have a bunch of taxidatum reservations already on the books. They say that the best way to beat a fear is to face it, so maybe it’ll be a personal growth experience. IIRC, Kathie mentioned, in her trip report, that her father sometimes drove nervous tourists in mountainous areas, and used to tell them to look up and watch for falling rocks. I might try that!

And I'll be careful when crossing roads -- I appreciate the warning!

crellston

Hi kja. Sorry to hear you have concerns re bus travel in Peru. Like mlgb, I make a point of sticking to the mainstream long established companies ( I would add Ormeño to that list). On longer trips those companies carry additional driver and rotate the driving so as to avoid driver fatigue. They also monitor buses by GPS remotely and speeds are limited and displayed in the passaneger cabin. They also routinely breathalyse all staff before embarkation.

You can mitigate th twists and turns of some routes by opting for the lower deck which is usually VIP/SUITE/EJECUTIVO class. Around 12 lie flat reclining seats in a 2-1 configuration. All are good but I favour the aisle s3at of the two, Halfway back.

We have spent over six month travelling in Peru, almost exclusively by bus and have never experienced any issues using those companies above and have felt perfectly at ease. (If only I could say the same of our time in Colombia - the driving there was so bad we decided to change our plans and fly all the longer distance.

Taxidatum drivers were excellent, very careful, good drivers - although I shal have to ask my wife if they met mlgb’s key requiremen5 of being good looking

PS. If travelling longer distances, take your own snacks. Although they do serve some on board it is not great!