You can sit in Yakumama’s balcony, enjoying a well chosen glass of wine to accompany their beef loin and mushrooms while watching life unfold on the plaza where almost everyone goes at some time. Or you can look at the top of the Cathedral to seek the Buddha supposedly hidden in its facade.
At night you can sit with a beer on the balcony of Norton Rats as the sparkling lights of Cuzco’s hillside neighborhoods merge with the sky. It is as if you were in a bubble traveling among unknown galaxies, yet enjoy the comfort of a good brew and finger food.
These are just four of the city’s offerings. Although one can tire of the barkers on the main square, each competing to entice visitor’s to their menu and up their stairs with a free Pisco sour, nevertheless Cuzco has many marvels–opera singing waiters; inventive, original cuisine; well thought out bars; and rustic, traditional fare. Despite being tired from your trek to Machu Picchu or your tour of the sacred valley or the city’s museums, refreshing possibilities are just a few steps away.
Furthermore, every month new restaurants are added to the list as entrepreneurs from Lima, Cusco, and abroad compete to bring even more variety and more quality to Cuzco’s food market. Return visitors will be pleased with old favorites, such as Jack’s Cafe with its breakfasts that draw long lines every morning or Trotamundos above the plaza and its sandwiches and coffee.
Since we first started gathering information for our data base until now, we have seen maybe a twenty percent turnover. This is, of course, a measure of a difficult year, with the world economic crisis which, among other things, impacts tourism. But it is also a sign of Cuzco’s very dynamic restaurant scene.
This diversity and the constant change are a challenge as well. No guide book can keep up with the array since they only publish, at the most, once a year. Tourists can stay with the tried and true, or be pioneers in exploring other paths and other foods. Cuzco has ordinary and safe, unusual and inventive, some better left uneaten, but also fresh and exciting fare.
To help travelers find their way to the food they want, we offer this search engine and its accompanying articles. As they say in Spanish, “buen provecho”, may you have fun and enjoy.
