4 Best Restaurants in Trujillo, The North Coast and Northern Highlands

Had César Vallejo, the great Peruvian poet whose visage gazes out from the photos adorning this popular eatery, been able to order from the kitchen while living in his apartment upstairs, he might not have been so melancholy. The hearty norteño dishes here are the most comforting of comfort foods: stewed goat, duck, pork, and cuy (guinea pig), along with a bevy of belly-warming soups and small plates. The chefs running this decades-old establishment may not be poets, but their recipes show them to be artists all the same. If it's too crowded, there are others branches nearby at Jirón Orbegoso 303 and Avenida España 736.

There's a reason why this 30-year-old criollo eatery is consistently mobbed by hungry locals at lunchtime: its innovative cooking is some of the best in northern Peru. From shellfish and goat to duck and causas, the menu goes on and on. Locals swear by the meat-and-rice norteño staples, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a weak spot here. Come hungry.

Inventive twists on classic seafood dishes make this one of Trujillo's best restaurants. The exhaustive (and exhausting) menu runs from risottos and tiraditos to chicharrones and rice plates, making choosing very difficult. Shrimp lovers will find something unusual in the langostinos Mister Berry, which are bathed in a coconut-and-mango chutney, while the crunchy causa of crab and shrimp is wrapped in a light, tempuralike shell. The drink list alone occupies six whole pages.

Seco de cabrito is the star of the menu at this wildly popular Trujillo institution, and no wonder: the version here is among the best you'll find. Colorfully woven decorations and marinera music add to the atmosphere. There are also excellent cebiches and tiraditos, but before calling for dinner reservations, be advised: they serve only lunch.