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Trujillo serves up delicious fresh seafood and a variety of excellent meat dishes. Try the cebiche made with fish or shellfish; causa, a casserole made of mashed potatoes and layers of fillings; tasty cabrito al horno (roast kid) or seco de cabrito (stewed kid); or shámbar, a bean stew tinged with mint.
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.
With its wooden balconies overlooking the street and rustic-chic interior, this steak house gets high marks for ambience as well as flavor. Vegetarians have a few pastas to choose from, but the main reason to go are the rib eyes and filets mignons. There's also an extensive, if pricey, drink list.
