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

Café Andino

$ Fodor's choice

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.

Don Cuy

$ Fodor's choice
To experience the Andean delicacies that huarasinos eat on special occasions, take a 10-minute taxi ride outside downtown to this excellent restaurante campestre (country restaurant beneath a trellised arbor). Here you'll find pachamanca (meats and vegetables cooked over coals in a pit), pork cooked in a cylindrical box, and yes, cuy, or guinea pig (it's actually scrumptious). The decor and service are hospitality personified, and the grilling is some of the most exquisite in the city.

Fiesta Gourmet

$$ Fodor's choice

This exquisite eatery is one of Peru's not-to-be-missed culinary experiences. In 1983, the Solis family began serving modern interpretations of comida norteña (northern Peruvian cuisine) out of their home. The business exploded, leading to a chain of top-shelf restaurants all over Peru. Here, under the aegis of renowned chef Hector Solis, you can try a sumptuous cabrito (kid goat) and arroz con pato (duck with rice), as well as dozens of other local specialties and a long list of trendy pisco-based cocktails.

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Fiesta Gourmet

$$ Fodor's choice

Born in Chiclayo decades ago, the Fiesta group is widely considered the preeminent dining choice for those looking for modern interpretations of Peru's northern coastal cuisine such as arroz con pato (duck with rice) or suckling goat. This location, a sleek multilevel modern bistro in Vista Alegre, has become the city's top choice for fine dining. Try the creative dishes like grouper cebiche, served hot, and innovative cocktails, nearly all of which utilize pisco. This place is highly recommended.

Jama

$ Fodor's choice
With this intimate, five-table bistro, Peruvian cocina del autor comes to Huaraz. Young chef Junior Reymundo doesn't just provide exquisite takes on Peruvian classics: he tells stories. The first chapter might be a cebiche de mango, followed by washga gora, a soup of Andean vegetables. Or the narrative might start with an ají de gallina (nutty chicken stew) like none you've ever had before, with a denouement of exotic mountain fruits. The menu rotates, so you can enjoy this gifted cuisinier's culinary poems every day. It's simply exquisite.

La Sirena D'Juan

$$ Fodor's choice

Chef Juan Seminario rides his motorcycle to local markets every day to find the fish and produce that make this narrow restaurant the rival of many top eateries in Lima. This means Mediterranean and Asian elements find their way into dishes such as a Nikkei-style tiradito (sashimi-style fish with a spicy sauce) and house-made pastas.

La Toscana

$$$$ Fodor's choice
Dining at this closed-door, reservations-only private house is like partaking of a sumptuous family meal in an Italian villa. There are no menus, no sign outside—instead, the owner, Sheyla, comes to your table; asks what you'd like to eat; and then heads to her kitchen to whip up fresh, organic dishes such as melon-and-prosciutto salad, wood-fired pizzas, and fusilli with mushroom ragù. She'll even send her private car to pick you up at your hotel, gratis.
Italian Dinner $$$$ Fodor's Choice
Manzana W Lt. 3-B Semi-Rustica, Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru
949-650–496
www.la-toscana-trattoria.com
Known For
  • personalized attention
  • unique, private-home setting for a maximum of eight guests
  • high-quality ingredients imported from Europe
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: No lunch. Closed Sun.

Picanteria La Santitos

$ Fodor's choice

Ask anyone in Piura the best place in town to go for typical dishes, and they'll tell you to come here. Two dining rooms—one air-conditioned, one not—with cracked white walls and waitresses in flowing peasant dresses form the backdrop for regional dishes like tamales verdes (green tamales) and seco de chavelo (fried green bananas and pork). Wash everything down with algarrobina, a pisco-based cocktail flavored with the syrup from the area's algarrobo trees.

Peruvian Lunch $ Fodor's Choice
La Libertad 1001, Piura, Piura, Peru
074-309–475
www.lasantitos.com
Known For
  • offbeat regional food
  • countrified atmosphere
  • consistently high quality
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, Credit cards accepted

Restaurant Romano Rincón Criollo

$$ Fodor's choice
There's a reason why this 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 (stuffed mashed-potato-sandwiches), the menu just 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.

Taberna Calixto

$ Fodor's choice
Sandwiches are among the lesser-known glories of Peruvian cuisine, but if folks continue to throng this sunny patio café like they do now, it's only a matter of time before word gets out. Burgers here are among Peru's best, but even tastier is the sandwich de lechón al cilindro, made from pork slow-roasted inside a barrel. Added plus: the owners are northern hospitality incarnate.