After visiting the different gastronomic offers of Cusco during the last 3 months, we wanted to highlight the 10 best restaurants in Cusco that elevate your traveling experience through flavor. This is not a list of the best restaurants in Cusco that necessarily includes the most luxurious or famous restaurants, but those with new products, delicious flavors and a creative proposal for 2019. The list of the best restaurants in Cusco is below.
Pisco Museum
Paying homage to its name, the Pisco Museum is a source of knowledge of this grape distillate. With hundreds of varieties of Peruvian piscos, here you can have a fun class of pisco sour behind the bar, as well as a tasting of different types of piscos while listening to explanations about their origin and characteristics. As for food, we recommend their lamb meat tapas, as well as the very fresh Muchame, a herb chimichurri with olive oil on avocado slices and duck prosciutto. In the background you have to try the Coal Avocado, with a surprising presentation and flavor.
Heidi Farm
The oldest restaurant on this list. Karl-Heinz is a German farmer who came to Cusco 20 years ago, set up his dairy farm and wanted to publicize his products in a restaurant. Together with his mistress they created the Heidi Farm, in honor of one of Karl’s mules. Under the cook direction of his wife, Granja Heidi works with the most excellent natural products, achieving a perfect mix between French-German food with Peruvian touches and ingredients. You can order vegetarian dishes and also with meat, such as the delicious dry lamb, perhaps the best cut of meat of all the restaurants in Cusco. At the end of your lunch or dinner, you can order the «Mate de la Felicidad», a secret formula of 7 herbs that rejoices the heart and soul.
Green point
If you think that by being vegan you are sacrificing flavor, Green Point is evidence that this thought is far from reality. With typical dishes transformed into vegan, such as causa, ceviches and sushis, Green Point stands as the best and most varied free option of any animal product in Cusco. La Causa is a true gastronomic and vegan miracle: made with Andean chips, stuffed with mixed vegetables in avocado mayonnaise. It is accompanied by grilled oyster mushrooms in an anticuchera sauce with ají panca, and on the side a delicious passion fruit sauce that adds exoticism and creativity to the flavor. The restaurant also holds famous cooking classes that seek to expand the knowledge of the vegan and raw diet.
Nuna raymi
With a relaxed atmosphere and fresh and bright decoration, Nuna Raymi is typical Peruvian food with a creative and novel touch. Its alpaca anticuchos make your mouth water just when you think of them, an unmissable flavor that you can only try in this restaurant in Cusco. They also do demonstrations of their drinks, making delicious pisco sours of different flavors such as passion fruit, aguaymanto and chicha. At the end of your meal, the sommelier passes by with an emollient cart (cover photo) delivering herbal infusions with properties of lemon verbena, yacon, aloe leaf, plantain, among others.
Coffee Museum
A large space with earth tones and elegant decoration, the Coffee Museum not only has the best coffee drink in Cusco, but also has deliciously presented and tasty breakfasts and dishes. With unparalleled attention, here you start your day enjoying from the first bite. You can sit in their comfortable armchairs on the first or second floor, or enjoy the view of the Plaza de Armas and Plaza Regocijo from your balcony. We recommend the Chilcano de Café, with pisco and lemon juice, as well as the delicious «El Lomazo», grilled alpaca with chimichurri accompanied with rustic puree, bacon and a coffee reduction. After eating you can walk through its neighboring exhibition that tells the history of coffee in Peru.
Cicciolina
Cicciolina is a restaurant and tapas bar located in the heart of Cusco. Its food is the result of an Italian-Peruvian fusion and is served in an elegant and relaxed setting. The experience of dining in this place has been meticulously studied to include tasty wines, luxurious service, aromas and irresistible flavors. The Andean mushroom risotto, duck prosciutto and alpaca tartar are among the best dishes on the menu.
The Rabona
Hidden in the narrow Calle Herrajes, La Rabona offers the best sandwiches and the best chocolate cake in Cusco. Based on pure organic products, their paninis are an absolute delight first thing in the morning. We recommend the Capresse panini and the Hummus panini, the latter with avocado, cherry tomatoes and seed sprouts. The best thing is that at very good prices the portions are quite strong, to the point that a single sandwich easily satisfies two.
Inka Grill
It was one of the first restaurants in Cusco and has one of the best locations, right on the corner of the majestic Plaza de Armas. Its specialty is New Andean food and international cuisine, offering delicious creations using fresh ingredients such as: trout, alpaca, quinoa and Andean cheese. Its menu reinvents international dishes giving rise to creations such as the highly recommended quinoa risotto. Inka Grill encompasses 15 years of gastronomic experience in an excellent location in the heart of the city with a cozy and friendly atmosphere. A place that you cannot miss.
Le Soleil
Tired of Andean food? How about French food for dinner? Le Soleil is the perfect alternative if you are looking for an elegant restaurant with French flavors and an extensive wine list. If you are celebrating a special occasion, the confit duck, rillettes and a creème brulee are waiting for you and your partner. With a subtle and romantic decoration style, be dazzled by a sparkling champagne or a traditional Bordeaux wine. We recommend you try the 7-course menu, the orange duck and the ratatouille baked in the capital of the Inca empire, but with the elegance of Paris.
Limo
A restaurant with an unbeatable view over the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, located on the second floor of a typical colonial house. A chic, contemporary place with an outstanding variety of piscos. Have you never had Pisco before? It is the flagship liquor of Peru! It is a kind of grape brandy that offers intriguing flavors when mixed with exotic fruits from Latin America. A good place to relax and admire the view. And about the food? La Cocina specializes in Peruvian-Asian seafood from seafood dishes, such as fantastic dishes such as sushi (which you will only taste in Peru) and tiraditos (a kind of sashimi with an electrifying flavor). Limo is a mandatory stop for foodies and lovers of Peruvian food.
Bonus:
Pachapapa
This rustic restaurant is located in the bohemian district of San Blas and specializes in traditional gourmet Andean food. The place is perfect to eat on a sunny day while you sit on the wooden stools in its open patio. If it’s a little cold, don’t worry, the patio is kept warm with heaters and a huge clay oven. We recommend the typical dishes of Cusco such as baked trout or alpaca anticucho. If you are feeling particularly adventurous in a culinary way, pre-order their specialty: baked guinea pig with red pepper sauce. Discover the purest traditional flavors in a charming atmosphere!
In Cusco there are two places you must visit before Machu Picchu: hike to rainbow mountain peru and the humantay lake full day tour. Also, if you are in good shape, you must hike the inca trail to machu picchu or the choquequirao trek peru.
