3 Best Restaurants in The Southern Coast, Peru

This 40-year-old Pisco institution hosts pool parties and dancing on weekends, but it's the seafood specialties like whole fried chita (rockfish) and sudado de choros (shellfish stew) that keep the crowds coming. Roast goat, grilled meats, and sopa seca (noodles in basil sauce) round out the extensive menu. On any given afternoon, the place is packed with jovial Peruvian families celebrating together.

Locals recommend this restaurant on the outskirts of town as the best around; judging from the lunchtime crowds, they can't be too far wrong. The three brothers who run the kitchen cook up modern regional Peruvian cuisine such as sole fillets rolled with bacon and served with passion-fruit dipping sauce or fish stuffed with spinach and sautéed in a pisco-and-pecan broth. Portions are enormous, so order a few dishes to share.