36 Best Restaurants in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru

Museum eateries don't routinely warrant a mention, but this small, glass-enclosed, elegant café inside the courtyard of the Museo de Arte Precolombino is actually one of the city's top restaurants. It has top prices to boot, but it's still a bargain compared with what this quality meal would cost in New York or Los Angeles. Of its novel and exciting twists on traditional Peruvian cuisine, try the chicken estofado (stew) with goat cheese and raisins or the pork adobo on a bed of sweet potato mousseline à l'orange. The dessert presentation is so clever that you may not want to ruin it by eating it—but you'll be glad you did.  The menu is prix-fixe after 6 (S/225), and you can choose one each from any of the appetizers, main dishes, and desserts; between 3 and 6, only dessert and coffee are served.

Spacious and airy, furnished with large wooden tables and chairs, this restaurant has the unmistakable air of a tourist-friendly Andean establishment. The menu ranges from traditional Peruvian grilled meats and fish to slightly edgier dishes like Andean ravioli (filled with alpaca). You'll also find foreigner-friendly staples like wood-oven pizza and Asian-fusion plates.

You could easily just feast on tasty appetizers at this upscale, minimalist-design spot, but you'd be missing out on the real highlight—an entrée cooked at your table on a heated volcanic stone. Choice, fresh selections of beef, alpaca, fish, chicken, and shrimp are brought to your table seared on the outside, allowing you to complete cooking them to your personal preference. Unlike other table-side cooking techniques, there's no smoke or strong odor to follow you home.

German transplant Ulrike Simic and company dish up food all day long, making this the perfect refueling stop during a day of market shopping and sightseeing. Breakfast gets underway before the market does, at 8. They've got good à la carte soups and pizzas, too, and yummy brownies, muffins, cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.