6 Best Restaurants in The Southern Coast, Peru

Almost completely hidden in a small B&B down a dusty side street between Ica and Huacachina, this criollo restaurant still manages to draw a stream of customers. On the phenomenal menu, all the Peruvian national classics are present, but even better are the hard-to-find Southern Coast favorites like carapulcra with sopa seca (nutty pork-and-potato stew with green pasta), fish with pecan sauce, and beef with butter-bean tacu tacu. The attached guesthouse is so lovely that many diners end up staying the night. You won't find better eats anywhere in southern Peru.

Restaurantes populares—dining halls for ordinary folks—offer some of Peru's best eats, and no place better epitomizes this than this wildly popular seafood joint occupying a tiny stall on Paracas's boardwalk. Jhosselyn, the chef, dishes up dangerously fresh jaleas (fried seafood with pickled onions), scallops, and rice plates, with a creamy leche de tigre (cebiche broth) that's out of this world. Particularly impressive are the chupe de pescado and chupe de cangrejo (fish and crab soups, respectively). Visitors to Paracas frequently end up eating every meal here: it's that good.

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.

A range of Peruvian classics is on offer at this well-loved local hangout. The chicharrones are a perennial winner, and there are also pastas, sandwiches, and excellent meats from the grill. The menú lunches are filling and a steal at S/25.

In a resort where mediocre tourist fare is the norm, this Peruvian eatery stands out. Here, after a long day on the dunes, you can replenish your system with a host of seafood options, as well as chicharrones and a few local specialties like seco de res con pallares (beef stew with butter beans). Prices are a bit high, but worth it.

This restaurante marino is a cut above other Cerro Azul establishments, with excellent chaufa de mariscos (seafood fried rice) and pulpo a la parrilla (grilled octopus). Try the tacu tacu a lo macho, a heap of pan-fried rice and beans topped with shellfish in a spicy sauce.