Cusco City has plenty of superb gastronomical experiences! Here you will find international cuisine, the amazing Peruvian food, typical dishes from Cusco tradition, vegan/vegetarian restaurants, Chinese food (they are called chifas and are all around town), Peruvian drinks, tap beer and if you want, a lot of pizza and even fast food chains.
We suggest you book a hotel located in Cusco City downtown, because the best restaurants are within this area. Of course, your chosen hotel does have a restaurant and room service. However, we also suggest you really take the chance to go for a lunch and/or dinner out. The city is beautiful, quiet, romantic and our best restaurants do fit in all this context.
Our best restaurants in Cusco City do follow biosafety measures against covid-19, food, drinks and desserts are fresh and delicious, and prices are convenient. Most of them offer lovely views of town, top-quality attention and service. Really, you can’t visit Cusco City and pass on the chance to enjoy our exquisite gastronomical variety!
Next we’re going to explore a list of the top, best restaurants in Cusco City where you can have a really delicious, yummy eating out experience!
Inka Grill Restaurant
It is real close to the Main Square of Cusco City (called Plaza de Armas, in Spanish), in downtown. There visitors can find both international and Peruvian food, great wines and top attention. About Peruvian food, they offer very typical ones, like trout, quinoa (which is served as soup or can also be a main course), Andean cheese (delicious!) and the real alpaca steak you’ll only find fresh in Cusco City. Also, Peruvian drinks like pisco sour and chicha (corn-based national beverage), local and foreign wines.
Cicciolina
Really trendy among best restaurants in Cusco City downtown. It’s an elegant, warm place, which is usually with many clients, in a lively, festive environment. They specialize in Peruvian food and national drinks (especially the pisco sour). One highlight is the llama steak, yes the furry camel that populates the Andean hills… its meat has been eaten long before the Spanish invasion in the 16th century a.D. Again, Cusco City and region are the only places in the world where you’ll find the real deal. But of course they also have a long list of national typical, yummy dishes.
Peru stands out for its top seafood. You should really try our typical marine dishes in one of our best restaurants! Check the following suggestions:
Ceviche Seafood Kitchen
First, let’s explain what ceviche is. It’s a long national tradition, it is raw fish in small chunks, cooked for hours only by a lot of lemon juice. On the side, it comes with sweet potato, lettuce, onion, corn, algae and can be spicy or not. It’s really a heavenly dish. This best restaurant is close to the Main Square (Plaza de Armas), the attention is top. You can also find there the whole range of typical Peruvian seafood, food and drinks.
Mr. Ceviche
A little far from the Main Square but still in Cusco City downtown, on Tullumayo avenue, we find this among the best restaurants, which offers a variety of ceviches, seafood, Peruvian food and also vegetarian dishes. All kinds of beverages are also available.
Now is time to talk about an old tradition within best restaurants in Cusco City, the picanterías or chicherías. They follow the ancient tradition of corn, a sacred vegetable in the Andean worldview, which was left to ferment and became a beverage called chicha. In time, the picanterías began adding typical Cusco culinary delights, like the stuffed chili (rocoto relleno), and a variety of presentations of the guinea pig (cuy), very traditional in the Andes, whose meat tastes somewhat like chicken, is high-protein and low-cholesterol.
When you go to a picantería, be prepared for a really large lunch or dinner. One of my favorites in these restaurants is a thick soup called adobo, which is based on chili and has a big chunk of pork inside, you should eat it with a piece of bread. Recommended! There are so many picanterías in Cusco City, but you can ask our staff and they will send you to the best one, closest to the hotel.
Now, finally, a miscellaneous of best restaurants you can find and enjoy in Cusco City:
- There are many very good pizza places, most of them downtown
- Also around downtown you can find several vegan and vegetarian restaurants
- Lastly, if you cannot live without fast food, at our Main Square you will find a KFC and a McDonald’s. They can also be found in the Real Plaza, our town’s mall.
This is our quick guide for the best restaurants in Cusco City. Really, don’t miss the chance to enjoy our splendid gastronomy to the fullest! It’s unforgettable!
