Planning a trip to Peru? Nowadays, the Andean country is a synonym for good cuisine and delightful dishes. Not in vain, Lima is considered the gastronomy capital of South America. This is due to its placement for years in a row as the best gastronomic destination in this part of America. The best restaurants in Peru are in its capital. Of course, they are also in the top ten of the best restaurants in the world. Both rankings were elaborated by the prestigious British culinary magazine “The 50 Best”.
In this form, Peruvian gastronomy has earned a place next to laureate cuisines such as Italian, French, Japanese, or Chinese. It is common to hear families, couples, or groups of friends nowadays say during an outing: What do we eat now? Italian, French, Chinese, or Peruvian food?
Accompany us in discovering the very best restaurants in Andean and explaining why these are considered the best!
- Astrid & Gaston – Lima
- La Mar Cevicheria – Lima
- Central – Lima
- Maido – Lima
- Chicha – Cusco
- Pachapapa – Cusco
- Cicciolina – Cusco
- Zig Zag – Arequipa
- La Santitos – Piura
- Al Frio y al Fuego – Iquitos
1. Astrid & Gaston – Lima
| Address | Paz Soldan 290 Avenue, San Isidro, Lima 27 – Peru |
| Hours of attention | Tuesday to Saturday from 13:00 – 15:30 pm / 19:00 – 23:00 pm. Sundays from 11:00 am – 16:00 pm |
Astrid & Gaston is one of the best restaurants in Lima. Probably the best way to understand this restaurant is to learn more about its creators. These famous Peruvian chefs are Astrid Gutsche and Gaston Acurio.
Acurio left law school in the third grade in Peru. After, he followed his true passion: cooking. While studying at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, he met Astrid, a Frenchwoman. They moved to Peru to open a French restaurant.
However, they couldn’t deny the unique spices, products, and techniques that Peru offered. In this form, they replaced French ingredients with Peruvian ones.
Astrid & Gaston’s dining experience can enrich your soul because it is filled with sublime and daring flavors perfect to whet your appetite. The menu at Astrid & Gaston changes every six months. It features new effects and add-ons for color, flavor, and texture.
2. La Mar Cevicheria – Lima
| Address | La Mar 770 Avenue, Miraflores, Lima, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Thursday from 12:00 pm -17:00 pm. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12:00 pm – 17:30 pm |
To show the fame of the well-known Peruvian Chef Gaston Acurio, we present his second most famous restaurant. It has locations in Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Miami, and San Francisco. We talk about “La Mar” or “The sea” in English, and yes, it is a Cevicheria. It is a restaurant that offers Peruvian seafood dishes, marine food, and the national dish, Ceviche, the most famous meal in Peru.
This Cevicheria has a modern and elegant design. It features bamboo ceilings and dividers. The best of all! You can enjoy both a great meal and a beautiful view.
The restaurant also has a modern bar. Here, guests can enjoy traditional Peruvian drinks, the national drink, Pisco Sour, and the bar’s specialty, “Cholopolitan”.
The house’s specialty is the Peruvian Ceviche, which is pieces of fresh fish marinated in lemon juice and served with sliced onion, lettuce, toasted corn, and sweet potato. In addition, the Muchame of Fortune has capers, tomatoes, olive oil, avocados, and olive oil, among other Peruvian marine dishes.
3. Central – Lima
| Address | Pedro de Osma 301 Avenue, Barranco, Lima, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Saturday from 12:45 – 13:45 pm / 19:00 – 20:30 pm |
Central is considered by many to be the best restaurant worldwide and a Michelin star, and we don’t exaggerate. It is inspired by the great biodiversity of Peru, which is why Central’s tasting menu is made up of ingredients found at different altitudes and ecosystems throughout the country in a 12-times menu, from the Pacific coast to the high Andes and the Amazon.
There, you can learn about the culture, geography, and, of course, the tasty food of Peru in each dish. A peculiar feature is that each dish is named after the elevation where the ingredients were found. To be clear, if you see dishes named after a negative number, they may be Peruvian superfood dishes with ingredients grown under the sea level.
A plate with thousands of meters: it comes from the Andes and has the name of a positive number. In addition, Central has a cozy, minimalist, and elegant atmosphere. It will make your culinary tour more unique and special. Without a doubt, it is an experience you will not want to miss! Please note that reservations are required at least 6 months in advance.
For all these reasons, Central is the world’s best restaurant in Peru.
4. Maido – Lima
| Address | San Martin 399 Street, Miraflores – Lima, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Saturday from 13:00 – 21:30 pm. Sunday: Closed |
Maido of the prestigious chef Mitsuharu Tsumura is one of the best Nikkei cuisines in Peru. By the way, Nikkei means fusion food between Peruvian and Japanese gastronomy. Tsumaru was born in Peru to Japanese parents and studied Culinary Arts and Food and Beverage Administration at Johnson & Wales University, United States.
After, he traveled to Osaka – Japan, the town of his parents, to specialize in Japanese cuisine. Finally, he returned to Peru to work as chef de parte, sous chef, and then manager of Food and Beverage at the Sheraton hotel in Lima. In this form, he became independent and founded the fine-dining “Maido” in 2009.
Undoubtedly, nowadays, Maido, which means “Welcome” in Japanese, is a Peruvian flag restaurant with amazing dishes, including the best representatives of Nikkei Cuisine. This type of cuisine reflects the influence of Japan on Peruvian gastronomy.
Sushi and Tiradito is its main dish, made with fresh ingredients from the sea, and uses Peruvian flavors and Japanese cooking techniques to achieve its distinguished flavor.
5. Chicha – Cusco
| Address | Plaza Regocijo 261, Cusco 05184, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Sunday from 12:00 pm – 21:30 pm |
Chicha is the first restaurant of the famous Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio in the ancient Inca capital, Cusco. Returning to Chicha, the restaurant takes the name of a Cusco traditional drink made since Inca times. This beverage consists of macerated corn, and its flavor is similar to barley beer, with a unique bitterness that combines with the sweetness of the corn.
Its name shows the purpose of the restaurant to rescue native ingredients from the Andes. In this form, Chicha restaurant offers tasty and unforgettable dishes belonging to Novo Andean cuisine.
The bottom plates are represented by Lamb in Cusco Curry, Orange Guinea Pig, or the Grand Pachamanca a la Olla, which are only some examples of the great variety of Chicha.
On the other hand, the restaurant offers pasta, pizzas, sandwiches, and desserts. Definitely, Chicha is our first recommendation for a restaurant in Cusco.
6. Pachapapa – Cusco
| Address | Carmen Bajo 120, San Blas, Cusco 08003, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Sunday from 12:00 – 22:00 pm |
The famous Pachapapa is specialized in high-quality traditional Cusquenean cuisine. It offers a Zen and cozy atmosphere in a whitewashed courtyard warmed by outdoor heaters and a huge clay oven.
It feels like you have stepped into a Cusquenean`s house. As if you were in a traditional Cusco restaurant. The Picanterias were the Cusco traditional restaurant par excellence. Completely beautiful!
While the Pachapapa menu offers truly Peru’s native cuisine. We can mention the oven-roasted guinea pig served with local herbs and spices. Another popular dish is Anticucho de alpaca, skewers of tender alpaca meat macerated in local spices. At Pachapapa, you will love the authentic taste of Peruvian-Andean cuisine.
The main square of the most cosmopolitan Cusco neighborhood, San Blas, hosts the Pachapapa. Therefore, you can take advantage during your visit to this quaint neighborhood, to taste the local delights of Pachapapa.
7. Cicciolina – Cusco
| Address | Palacio Street 110, Cusco 08002, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Sunday 12:00 – 21:30 pm |
The most famous Italian cuisine in the world is present in the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco. This European cuisine is found with the rising star the Peruvian, and both combine in the menu of Cicciolina.
Some great examples are shrimp with coconut, tender pumpkin ravioli, and osso buco with pumpkin ravioli. The osso buco is topped with local cheese and a hint of Andean mint. Another option is prawns with quinoa, among others. Without mentioning the chicken, duck, beef, alpaca, seafood, and handmade pasta.
The restaurant is a remembrance of an Italian Tuscan house, with handmade pasta and dry spices hanging from the rustic lacquered wooden beams of the ceilings, wooden shelves, and painted adobe walls that support blackboards, contemporary paintings, and old cabinets.
All these by candlelight. Of course, Cicciolina is located on the second floor of an ancient Cusquenean mansion. Just one block distance from the main square. Definitely, there, you will feel like you are in an Italian house in the middle of Cusco!
8. Zig Zag – Arequipa
| Address | C. Zela 210, Arequipa’s fence 04001, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Sunday from 12:00 – 22:00 pm |
Alpandina cuisine. What do the Peruvian Andes and the Swiss Alps have in common? The answer is easy: both are Mountain ranges that influence their surrounding town and countries. One of the first people who noticed this fact was a Swiss, the owner of the Zig Zag restaurant, the chef Michel Hediger.
In this form, a strong fact that shared Peru and Switzerland could not be forgotten. Thus, a form to remember this communion was the Alpandina cuisine developed in the Zig Zag restaurant. Justly, this restaurant is located over the slope of Misti Andean volcano, at Arequipa, Peruvian city. It occupies an ancient Arequipean mansion of two floors, made of Sillar, a characteristic local white stone.
Without mentioning the black metal circular staircase that connects its first and second floor was designed by the same Gustave Eiffel!
The dishes served there are tasty local foods. Some are even Peruvian street foods. They are all cooked using advanced techniques from the Alps and Andean cuisine. And, the most representative dish is a selection of meats served on a unique volcanic stone grill with various sauces.
9. La Santitos – Piura
| Address | Libertad Street 1001, Piura 20001, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00 am – 23:00 pm. Monday and Tuesday from 11:00 am – 22:00 pm. Sunday from 11:00 am – 21:00 pm |
If you are in your relaxing time, enjoying the most beautiful Peruvian beaches located in the north of Peru, don’t forget to pass through Piura, the most important city north of Peru. There is the traditional restaurant La Santitos, one block away from the main square.
The restaurant atmosphere is reminiscent of ancient lodges of the city (Picanteria, local name) where workers and fishermen could pay for a plate of food in local at noon and share a unique table to eat.
The menu is varied and shows the best of traditional Peruvian cuisine that gave rise to the Lima Creole cuisine. Dishes like Lomo Saltado, Peruvian ceviche, dry cabrito, pork rinds, and Tacu Tacus are the house specialties. In addition to its lemonade, desserts, and its homemade chicha. It is definitely one of the best restaurants in Peru.
Please don’t expect 5-fork level service here. As we said before, this is a restaurant for the consumption of the local population.
10. Al Frio y al Fuego – Iquitos
| Address | La Marina Nº134 Avenue, Iquitos, Loreto, Peru |
| Hours of attention | Monday to Sunday from 12:00 – 18:00 pm |
It is not a coincidence that an Amazonian restaurant has been awarded 7 times by the prestigious magazine Summon. Al Frio y al Fuego (to cold and fire) restaurant is the best in the largest Amazon city in Peru, Iquitos. Its name is due to the variety of dishes that it offers.
From cold foods like a fresh and delicious ceviche of Doncella (“Maid” in English, a delicious fish from the Amazon River) to a tasty grilled Paiche (hot). As you can see, its menu is made up of fresh from the river Amazonian ingredients. In this sense, you can enjoy barbecue, seafood, cocktails, and dessert, among other delights on board.
Yes, you read very well, “On Board”. Al Frio y al Fuego restaurant is floating in the middle of the Amazon River, which is adrift. An island of wood, even with a pool, is included! Therefore, eating in a restaurant is a totally exclusive experience inside the Peruvian Amazon.
“ONE CAN NOT THINK WELL, LOVE WELL, SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL”
It is definitely Peruvian geography that makes it one of the emerging gastronomic places in the world. Therefore, you must buy your air ticket right now. And come here to discover the breadth of Peruvian cuisine in all its rich and colorful glory.
Dare to know the best restaurants in Peru during your next stay. Together with the experts from Machu Travel Peru, we hope we have been of help. If you want to know more about our gastronomic tours, do not hesitate to ask our team of advisers.
