38 Best Restaurants in The North Coast and Northern Highlands, Peru

Skip the first floor and head upstairs to the terrace for great views of the beach at Huanchaco's largest and most popular restaurant. Enjoy Huanchaquero specialties, including cangrejo reventado (baked crab stuffed with egg) and cebichede mococho (algae cebiche). Only open 11–5:30, this open-air eatery serves lunch and sunset drinks from a special wine list or cocktail menu.

This attractive restaurant has an extensive international menu offering traditional rice and meat dishes, as well European-inspired salads, sandwiches, and entrées mixing local and imported ingredients. Whether you choose the Thai salad or lomo saltado (stir-fried beef and potatoes), expect to savor your meal. Relax in the serene dining room, and don't miss dessert—along with, well, a cappuccino.

A great hangout and meeting spot for travelers, this eclectic café with cheery yellow walls and wood-beamed ceilings works with local farming co-ops and has a commitment to organic principles and fair trade. The menu is small, but the quality is good. Try the juanes (an egg, rice, herb, and spice mixture, topped with chicken and tied into a bijao leaf), sandwiches, or any of the desserts.

This beautiful café sits inside the Casa Ganoza Chopitea, which was constructed around 1735 and is one of the best-preserved colonial mansions in Trujillo. The interior has original woodwork and frescoes, and the exterior features a balcony and a unique polychrome facade featuring a male and a female lion (which is why it is sometimes referred to as Casona de los Leones). There's decent coffee, though the food is quite simple (sandwiches, pizza, pasta, empanadas). The atmosphere is really why you are here.

An eclectic mix of Indian curries, Mexican burritos, and Thai favorites makes this cozy dining room a magnet for tourists seeking international edibles. The spicy concoctions are belly warming; a big beer selection helps put out the flames. The restaurant also bottles its own hot sauces.

This cute coffeehouse serves as a nice break from seafood if you find yourself spending too much time indulging in Huanchaco's cebicherías. The Dutch-and-Peruvian-owned café sources its coffee and other organic ingredients from local and regional producers. You can grab wraps, sandwiches, pastries, pies, crêpes, and other light bites here as well.

With a breezy terrace upstairs and a cozy bistro downstairs, this French eatery covers a lot of bases. There are couscous and fondue, as well as hard-to-find local dishes such as grilled alpaca. Don't miss the sumptuous dessert crepes and good wine selection. Added plus: after three decades in Peru, chef and owner Patrick Bertrand now offers homemade goodies that you can take with you, including liquors, jams, mustards, granola, and more.

Half a century's worth of tradition has gone into this Trujillo standby. Bustling at lunch- and dinnertime, it's a fun place to eat that specializes in regional cuisine—and does it well. Start with an industrial-size portion of spicy cebiche de lenguado (sole marinated in citrus), followed by rice smothered with camarones (shrimp) or mariscos (shellfish). There are additional locations near the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna in the village of Moche, as well as in Huanchaco.

The best restaurant in Casma, this local favorite serves just about every type of seafood imaginable. The arroz chaufa con mariscos (shellfish with Chinese-style fried rice) is especially good, but if you're not in the mood for seafood, try the cebiche de pato. This isn't traditional cebiche, but cooked duck, served with rice, yucca, and beans. Don't be put off by the cement floor—the restaurant lacks polish, but the cook knows his stuff.

A friendly staff serves a wide range of Peruvian and international specialties from 7 am to midnight daily at this centrally located eatery. Pollo a la brasa, sandwiches, grilled meats, arroz con pato (duck with rice): it's all there. There's also an excellent breakfast menu, free Wi-Fi, big corner windows for people-watching, and a playground, Hebrónlandia, in the back. With all the kids' options on the menu, families could easily spend half a day here.

Exotic flavors such as beer, avocado, and lucuma (a popular Peruvian fruit) make this ice-cream shop something special. Ask for a "macho" (two scoops) cone, and then stroll around the town's pretty Plaza de Armas.

In one corner of the Mercado Central, amid stalls selling charqui (dehydrated meat) and rainbow-colored displays of quinoa, you'll find a lunchtime crowd of people lining up for cebiche frito, a locally famous fried version of cebiche. The fish here comes battered and topped with a spicy mayo, along with leche de tigre and all the usual cebiche fixings. Patience here is key: remember that authentic local traditions are sometimes worth the wait.

Despite the bland decor, this restaurant serves delicious grilled meats, and specializes in parrilladas, with an extensive menu that includes every imaginable part of the cow. The anticuchos and ubre are well-prepared house specials. If this sounds unappetizing, you can always get grilled steak or head to the chifa (Chinese) restaurant next door, run by the same people.

A good choice for carnivores, La Tushpa features juicy grilled steaks with homemade chimichurri and other sauces. There are also pizzas and other items from the on-site bakery. Though the place feels institutional, the restaurant is more welcoming than most in the region, thanks to its friendly waitstaff. Ask to see the owner's orchard garden, which he keeps above the restaurant.