Singular Culinary Experiences in the Sacred Valley - IDEAS South America Travel

Posted on 23 May, 2022
By c2001574
In Peru
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Singular Culinary Experiences in the Sacred Valley

BEST PLACES TO EAT IN SACRED VALLEY IN PERU

Most tourists in Peru go straight from Cuzco to Machu Picchu without stopping. They miss what’s in between: the Sacred Valley where chefs take food and adventure to new heights. In the Sacred Valley chefs pick the region’s purple corn, local herbs (at an elevation of 11,000 feet above sea level) and 4,000 varieties of potato by the Andes mountains. Here, the earthy flavors are wholly different from ceviche, the coastal food for which Peru is globally known.

As you tour the sacred valley and explore Inca sites and local markets, take note of these places to eat in the Sacred Valley and elevate your Andean experience. It will be the highlight of your trip. Yummy!!!

Restaurants in Ollantaytambo

Chuncho

Located in the main square, it has a menu based on the flavors, ingredients and traditions of Ollantaytambo in the Urubamba valley and the Cusco region.
It mainly uses organic ingredients from its farm attached to the El Albergue hotel, while its bar makes the best cocktails in the region, using its own cañazo (a regional liquor made from sugar cane), whiskey and herbal liqueurs. The restaurant has phone charging stations built into the tables and a redesigned bar made from an old truck.

Phone: +51 979 797 638
Address: Chaupi Calle, Ollantaytambo 08676, Perú

El Albergue Restaurant & Café Mayu

Josefina Rimachi's hands are worth gold. The cook who gave temple to the menu of El Albergue Restaurant and who now runs the Chuncho stove, the successful traditional food proposal that Joaquín Randall inaugurated in 2018 in his native Ollantaytambo.
You will find a fusion menu with international dishes (homemade pastas, Ollanta’s best burger and a great brunch) with touches of the Andes (alpaca steak, tacu tacu). It’s a good place to set up a pachamanca lunch at their farm and you can also pick up coffee that they roast on-site, have a local beer while waiting for a train, or pick up a lunch box for Machu Picchu.

Phone: +51 84 204014
Address: Estación de Tren, Av. Ferrocarril 1, Ollantaytambo 08675, Perú

Pachar Taproom - Cervecería del Valle Sagrado

Just outside of Ollantaytambo, this tap room from the region’s best brewery has a menu of draft beers that are produced in the back (ask about a tour), like a red ale made with the seeds of the airampo cactus fruit and an American style pale ale, among others. They have a pub menu with dishes like yogurt fried chicken livers, a BBQ platter, and a few burgers.

Phone: 997-452-050
Address: Carretera Urubamba-Ollantaytambo

Places to eat in Urubamba

El Huacatay

Pío Vásquez's farm-to-table restaurant in an adobe building in Urubamba, which little by little has become one of the most creative cuisines in the region. It is not only a place where each dish is an experience for the senses, but also a refuge where the atmosphere and aesthetics are part of the charm.

Phone: +51 84 201790
Address: Jiron Arica 620, Urubamba, Valle Sagrado de los Incas.

Mercado Municipal

The products are more localized at Urubamba’s primary produce market than in Cusco’s Mercado San Pedro. Much of the produce is grown or foraged for in the Sacred Valley and tends to be highly seasonal, so – aside of the standard tubers, corn, and chiles – you might see things here you rarely see elsewhere, like a wild curcubit called acocha or the red berry called capulí.

Address: Jiron Comercio Jiron Sucre, Urubamba Peru
Phone: +51 984 804

Mercado Municipal

The products are more localized at Urubamba’s primary produce market than in Cusco’s Mercado San Pedro. Much of the produce is grown or foraged for in the Sacred Valley and tends to be highly seasonal, so – aside of the standard tubers, corn, and chiles – you might see things here you rarely see elsewhere, like a wild curcubit called acocha or the red berry called capulí.

Address: Jiron Comercio Jiron Sucre, Urubamba Peru
Phone: +51 984 804

Where to eat in Moray

MIL restaurant (Chef Virgilio Martinez)

The experience focuses on eating at 11,700 ft. above sea level. But Mil, Virgilio Martínez's space overlooking the archaeological complex of the Moray terraces, is much more: it is an interpretation center based on complicity with two Andean communities, whose knowledge of the area and the products and their field work become inspiration and 'mise en place' to develop a tasting menu based on high altitude ecosystems.

Each plate and drink pairing aims to tell the stories of the roots, tubers, legumes, fruits and aromatic herbs and the cultures that help bring them to life. Their 8-course tasting menu includes all ingredients Virgilio has discovered at an elevation of 11,706 feet above sea level.

You can learn about Chef Virgilio Martínez and watch on Netflix's Chef Table or National Geographic’s Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, and you’ll start to get the jest of his unbridled passion for native Peruvian ingredients.

Good to know: As for September 2021, the restaurant is not open to the public on a regular basis, as they used to. They will only be attending to special requests.

Phone: 51 926 948 088
Reservations: reservas@milcentro.pe

Restaurant in Pisac

Hornos Coloniales

In one corner of the main square in Pisac and elsewhere in the city there are several colonial-style clay ovens, such as the Horno Colonial San Francisco, which dates back to 1830. Most bake empanadas and breads, although several also cook guinea pig ( guinea pig) and potatoes in the ovens.

Pumachayoc Horno Colonial

This is the only "colonial oven" or traditional oven in Pisac that mixes its own artisan flours that come from the surrounding Andean communities.

Run by Ernestina, her son Federico, and daughter-in-law Scarlet, this is a family business with a love for local culture and traditions. The focus is on organic produce made with local ingredients and the house specialty is empanada, a type of puff pastry that is filled with a selection of sweet and savory fillings cooked in a traditional clay oven.

Good to know: You can also take an empanadas class which is a fun activity for both adults and families traveling with children.
Address: Av. Federico Zamalloa S/N, Pisac
Phone: (+51) 84 203 120

Restaurants in Aguas Calientes

Chullpi

The sister restaurant of the Cusco restaurant of the same name by José Luján Vargas. The menu is quite similar, the Chullpi Machu Picchu is a modern and minimalist restaurant that is known for the delicious food it serves. Situated in an off-the-beaten-path location and bequeathing visitors with views of the train tracks, this restaurant is a one-of-a-kind place to enjoy a satisfying and enjoyable meal. Excellent service and very reasonable prices.

Address: Avenida Imperio de los Incas 140.
Phone: +51 84 211350

Café Inkaterra

The relaxed atmosphere of this upscale hotel restaurant makes it one of the best establishments in the city. Both an experience and a destination, Café Inkaterra offers an intimate setting overlooking the Vilcanota River. It is the ideal place for travelers to relax, away from the crowds, after visiting the ancient Citadel of Machu Picchu and waiting for their train after check out. The prices are almost the same as in other restaurants in the city, but the quality of the Andean novo menu is quite good. Dishes jump between perfectly prepared Peruvian classics like lomo saltado (sautéed beef and potatoes) and casual international dishes like lasagna or burgers. The tea comes from the property's plantation.

Phone: 084/211-122
Address: Km 10, Línea Férrea Cusco-Quillabamba

Go beyond the plate to experience the day-to-day life of the local communities and explore this peaceful corner of the Andes with colonial towns and isolated weaving villages. Check our Culinary Tours in Peru.

Contact us to start planning your own dream trip today!

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