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What to Eat in Cusco

Written by the Peruvify team in Lima, from the catalog of 205 dishes, drinks, desserts and fruits. Last updated .

What to eat in Cusco, also spelled Cuzco, starts smaller than the altitude posters suggest. The city sits at about 3,400 meters. Have soup, choclo with cheese, or mate de coca the day you arrive. Save cuy, chicharrón and a pachamanca in the Sacred Valley for when you have slept. This is not the city for a ceviche tour.

The day you land

Walk slowly, eat a bowl, drink water you trust. Mate de coca is the hotel tea. It is legal in Peru. It will not cure altitude sickness, and you should not fly home with the leaves. If your head is pounding, a heavy fried pork lunch is a bad experiment.

The spelling Cuzco is still all over tickets and older books. The city and the food are Cusco. Same plaza, same corn.

What to order once you are steady

These are Andean plates you can actually find around Cusco and the valley, not a Lima menu with a new headline.

  • Caldo de Gallina #56

    CommonAndes (Sierra)

    Hen broth with noodles, egg and potato. This is the correct first meal. It is gentle, hot and salty.

    Hen broth with noodles, egg and potato.

    Ingredients: Chicken, Noodles, Egg, Potato.

  • Mate de Coca #133

    CommonAndes (Sierra)

    Coca leaf tea. One cup while you sit still. Not a cocktail, and not a reason to skip water.

    Coca leaf tea for the altitude.

    Ingredients: Coca leaf.

  • Choclo con Queso #84

    CommonAndes (Sierra)

    A cob of giant Andean corn and a slice of fresh cheese. Street food, and one of the best vegetarian orders in the city.

    Giant Andean corn with fresh cheese.

    Ingredients: Corn, Fresh cheese.

  • Sopa de Quinua #58

    CommonAndes (Sierra)

    Quinoa, potato, carrot and cheese. Another easy bowl, and a better idea than a grill on hour two.

    Warm quinoa and vegetable soup.

    Ingredients: Quinoa, Potato, Carrot, Cheese.

  • Kapchi de Habas #65

    EpicAndes (Sierra)

    Fava beans and cheese with huacatay, the Andean herb. A Cusco stew, not a garnish.

    Cusco fava bean and cheese stew.

    Ingredients: Fava beans, Fresh cheese, Milk, Huacatay.

  • Lomo de Alpaca #57

    RareAndes (Sierra)

    Alpaca loin. Lean, and closer to a steak than cuy is. Order it when you want meat that is not fried pork.

    Grilled alpaca loin.

    Ingredients: Alpaca, Potato, Quinoa.

  • Trucha Frita #55

    CommonAndes (Sierra)

    Pan-fried trout. The sensible fish in a mountain city. Common on Sacred Valley menus.

    Pan-fried Lake Titicaca trout.

    Ingredients: Trout, Potato, Rice.

  • Chicharrón Cusqueño #59

    RareAndes (Sierra)

    Large pieces of fried pork with hominy and mint. Eat this after a night of sleep, not off the plane.

    Big fried pork chunks with mote and mint.

    Ingredients: Pork, Hominy, Mint, Potato.

  • Cuy al Horno #48

    EpicAndes (Sierra)

    Oven-roasted guinea pig, the Cusco preparation. It is an ordinary local dish and a fair thing to refuse. Ask for the quinoa soup instead. Nobody serious will argue.

    Oven-roasted guinea pig, Cusco style.

    Ingredients: Guinea pig, Huacatay, Potato.

  • Pachamanca #49

    LegendaryAndes (Sierra)

    A pit of hot stones with meats and potatoes, more valley than main-square snack. Go with people. It is a meal for a table, often cooked outside town.

    Meats and tubers cooked underground on hot stones.

    Ingredients: Pork, Lamb, Potato, Sweet potato, Huacatay, Fava beans.

A short ride out of town

  • Pan Chuta #125

    RareAndes (Sierra)

    Pan chuta is the huge round loaf from Oropesa, a short trip from Cusco. Buy the bread. Eat it the same day.

    Giant round bread from Oropesa.

    Ingredients: Flour, Anise, Butter.

  • Chocolate Caliente Cusqueño #150

    RareAndes (Sierra)

    Thick hot chocolate with cinnamon. Cold mornings, after the bread, before you pretend you need another fried plate.

    Thick hot chocolate with cinnamon.

    Ingredients: Cacao, Milk, Cinnamon.

  • Frutillada #134

    RareAndes (Sierra)

    Frutillada is strawberry chicha from Cusco. It is fermented, so it is not the purple soft drink. Ask which chicha you are being handed.

    Strawberry chicha from Cusco.

    Ingredients: Strawberry, Chicha de jora.

What to stop hunting here

Ceviche on a Cusco tourist menu is a cargo dish. Eat it in Lima or another coastal city. Rocoto relleno is the pride of Arequipa, even if a Cusco restaurant has learned the recipe.

Chiri uchu is the Corpus Christi platter: guinea pig, chicken, fish roe, seaweed and corn. It is seasonal. If you are not in the city for that festival, do not believe a random Tuesday special with the same name.

Vegetarians can eat well if they aim at the corn, the quinoa, the squash stew and the cheese. The full filter is the vegetarian guide. Say sin carne. Then repeat it, because a festive Andean plate likes to add pork.

Questions

What should I eat on my first day in Cusco?

Soup, choclo with cheese, or a simple quinoa bowl, plus water and mate de coca if you want it. Skip fried pork, long pisco rounds and a huge cuy lunch until the next day.

Do I have to eat cuy?

No. Cuy is guinea pig, and it is normal food here. Refusing it is also normal. You are not missing the Andes if you eat the corn, the potatoes and the soups.

Is Cusco the same as Cuzco?

Yes. Cuzco is an older Spanish spelling you will still see on signs and in search boxes. The city is Cusco. This page uses that spelling, and the address keeps Cuzco so both searches land.

Can I eat vegetarian in Cusco?

Yes. Choclo with cheese, sopa de quinua, locro de zapallo and kapchi de habas are the straight orders. Avoid the mixed feasts, which add meat by tradition. Check the vegetarian list for the ingredient rule.

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