59 Best Restaurants in Peru

Scrumptious breakfasts can be had all day at this bright, busy, American-style café with Aussie roots, where you can order granola and yogurt, large fluffy pancakes, or a grand "brekkie" with bacon and eggs. Also on the menu are gourmet sandwiches, fresh salads, and a variety of other satisfying dishes. Everything is prepared in-house, including the delicious breads, and the coffee and hot chocolate are excellent. If you come during high season, you may have to line up to get a table; this jumping spot stays open well into the night.

If you're looking for something healthy, with plenty of choices for vegetarians, Kaia is the best bet in Urubamba for lunch or an early dinner (it closes at 6). With fresh salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, and all sorts of snacks to choose from, you'll easily satisfy your post-hike hunger. There is often live music here on the weekends, and the playground will entertain kids while parents linger.

For a quick bite, it's hard to go wrong with the flavorful Franco-Peruvian crepes served on the ground floor of this backpacker hostel; with both savory and sweet to choose from, they're the perfect meal or pick-me-up any time of day. The prix-fixe lunch is a delicious deal, and there's a great tea selection for an afternoon break.

With its flagstone path and leafy lucuma tree dappling a quiet patio with shade, this green café is an oasis. The gourmet teas and coffees, artisanal sandwiches, and fruity milk shakes rejuvenate even the most worn-out traveler.

This is a great spot to regroup, caffeinate, and make use of the Wi-Fi after a hard morning's sightseeing. The coffee is quality, there's a huge range of mouthwatering cakes, and you can also grab breakfast, sandwiches, and slices.

Paris's loss is Aguas Calientes's gain with the authentic French pastries served here, as well as coffee, sandwiches on house artisanal bread, quiches, and more. Eat in or take some of the delicious choices to go—the excellent boxed-lunch options are perfect for enjoying in Machu Picchu, and the restaurant opens at 5 am so you can pick them up on the way to the bus.

This large café has a mix of Peruvian-, American-, and Argentinian-style coffee, all prepared with proper Italian coffee machines, and cakes and tortas. 

This pleasant garden café beside Hostería Suiza has a vegetarian-friendly vibe, with lots of quinoa and salads on offer. Dishes on the eclectic menu are all made from scratch by the British owner, and range from Thai curries and falafel to pastas and crepes. There are even peanut-butter-and-banana milk shakes.

Peru's sandwiches haven't yet attained the iconic status of Mexico's tortas or Louisiana's po' boys, but the revolution is coming. You can see what the fuss is about at this wildly successful Lima chain, which has branches all over the city, and whose Parque Kennedy outpost is inevitably thronged by nighttime partygoers looking to chow down. Here it pays to stick with the classics: chicharrón or lechón a la leña (wood-fired ham) both come heaped with zarza criolla, and the accompanying fries made with huayra potatoes are a revelation. Makes you wonder how the McDonald's up the street stays open.

With interesting and fresh organic ingredients topping its delicious pizzas and focaccias, this popular courtyard restaurant is a fun and relaxing place to have dinner or just get an espresso and a quick snack. It also offers gluten-free and vegan options, as well as a wide variety of craft beers. Brunch is served 11–3, while the wood-fired pizzas start at 5.

You'll smell the coffee brewing from this cozy, dimly lit spot set amid the stone lanes of Ollantaytambo's old Inca town. Besides offering up excellent local brews from Vilcabamba, Latente cooks up simple brunch options like galletas de palta (avocado croquettes) and is a perfect spot for sitting down with a laptop or a book and meeting other travelers.

This tastefully restored rubber-boom-era mansion is well worth a visit—if not for a meal, at least for a drink or much-needed espresso—with sidewalk tables on the malecón and plenty more inside. The French-inspired menu features basic bistro fare (think crepes, fish sautéed in butter, or chicken cordon bleu) and international favorites like hamburgers and pastas, as well as lighter salads and sandwiches. Try the doncella al ajillo (Amazon catfish fillet sautéed with garlic) or the tenderloin Chateaubriand.

This no-frills vegan restaurant, one of the few such options in Puno, is actually decent, and the inexpensive set-lunch menu is a great value. The options are many and varied, with dishes like soups, quinoa, and falafel.

This riverside bar and grill on the way to the train station has a welcoming red wooden floor and serves a range of comfort classics, from burgers to lasagnas, plus a selection of craft beer. The well-stocked bar extends out onto the curb. Be sure to take advantage of the the three-for-two deal on pisco sours and cuba libres by showing proof of your Machu Picchu visit. 

It’s easy to relax and catch up on digital work while having coffee, cakes, and pizzas in this large sillar hall furnished with wooden tables. It's right next to Centro Cultural Peruano Norteamericano.

Feel like you've stepped back to the bohemian Paris of the 1960s at this retro bar and lounge beside the Museo del Juguete. With its creaky floors, dark-wood bar, floor-to-ceiling glass cabinets, and cushioned leather seats, it's a relaxed café in the afternoon and a hopping nightspot with live jazz in the early evening.

This hip corner spot with strong espressos, iced coffee, cakes, and sandwiches is a good bet for people-watching and getting some online work done. Come during happy hour, when the place becomes a hive of traveler activity.

Hip bakery and café on a corner of the Plaza Regocijo where travelers can find a taste of home comforts. Take a break from Andino food with sourdough bread, patisserie, healthy vegetarian breakfasts, coffee, and pastas. All ingredients are sourced from a farm in the Sacred Valley that employs local Indigenous people.

This specialty coffee roastery tucked inside a traditional courtyard serves perfectly crafted coffee and tea drinks, tasty pizzas, vegan-friendly shakshuka breakfasts, and a variety of excellent tapas. In the evenings, come to sample the inventive cocktails infused with local ingredients.

With its attractive rooftop patio dotted with greenery and plants, this vegan bistro tucked inside the courtyard of a traditional home is a perfect choice for a quick meal or spending a few hours away from the plaza. It dishes up a bit of everything from plant-based burgers to vegan salchipapas, and offers a selection of local craft beers.

Enter this cozy, luminous café near the plaza and find the loaves of bread, empanadas, and cakes from Ricos Pan bakery. Beyond, a large loftlike room is a perfect place to sit, sip coffee, and work on your laptop.

This simple café offers a good selection of local brews, such as pungent Tunki coffee, plus flavored iced coffees, lattes, and the like. It's just off the southeastern corner of the Plaza de Armas.

Sandwiches are among the lesser-known glories of Peruvian cuisine, but if folks continue to throng this interior patio café like they do now, it's only a matter of time before word gets out. Burgers here are among Peru's best, but even tastier is the sandwich de lechón al cilindro, made from pork slow-roasted inside a barrel. Added plus: the owners are northern hospitality incarnate.

Take a break at this cute coffee shop by the side of the train tracks and away from the main tourist avenue. The selection of gelatos, espressos, burgers, and finger foods is ideal for a break after visiting the ruins.

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.