5 Best Restaurants in The North Coast and Northern Highlands, Peru

Equal parts funky and friendly, this café offers light snacks, hot and cold beverages, free Wi-Fi, and a seemingly endless supply of newspapers and books in English. Warm up by the fireplace on a cold night, or sit on the outdoor terrace with your laptop and sip a fresh-pressed cup of tea.

A great hangout and meeting spot for travelers, this eclectic café with cheery yellow walls and wood-beamed ceilings works with local farming co-ops and has a commitment to organic principles and fair trade. The menu is small, but the quality is good. Try the juanes (an egg, rice, herb, and spice mixture, topped with chicken and tied into a bijao leaf), sandwiches, or any of the desserts.

This beautiful café sits inside the Casa Ganoza Chopitea, which was constructed around 1735 and is one of the best-preserved colonial mansions in Trujillo. The interior has original woodwork and frescoes, and the exterior features a balcony and a unique polychrome facade featuring a male and a female lion (which is why it is sometimes referred to as Casona de los Leones). There's decent coffee, though the food is quite simple (sandwiches, pizza, pasta, empanadas). The atmosphere is really why you are here.

This cute coffeehouse serves as a nice break from seafood if you find yourself spending too much time indulging in Huanchaco's cebicherías. The Dutch-and-Peruvian-owned café sources its coffee and other organic ingredients from local and regional producers. You can grab wraps, sandwiches, pastries, pies, crêpes, and other light bites here as well.

Exotic flavors such as beer, avocado, and lucuma (a popular Peruvian fruit) make this ice-cream shop something special. Ask for a "macho" (two scoops) cone, and then stroll around the town's pretty Plaza de Armas.