The 10 Best Restaurants In Plaza de Armas, Cusco

Limo restaurant is a high-end venue in the northeastern corner of the Plaza de Armas, and boasts the most spectacular views of the square from its street-side dining rooms. The slick, minimalist décor contrasts pleasantly with what’s left of the building’s colonial architecture, and modern art adorns the walls. It offers a varied menu of Peruvian food (with some Japanese dishes thrown in for good measure), and doubles up as a Pisco bar; Peru’s trademark grape brandy refashioned into a number of exciting cocktails.

Flanking the Plaza Regocijo, just east of the Plaza de Armas, is Chicha restaurant, which offers a hearty range of classic Peruvian dishes. With modern furnishings and a relaxed atmosphere, Chicha will please even the most fussy of diners. The menu can be tricky to decipher at times, but the options are broad and tempting, some of the highlights include the chicharrón (deep fried pork belly) and the grilled octopus.

Just a few minutes north of the Plaza de Armas up Calle Plateros, is the Jardin Secreto Restaurant Bar. A decent menu of local food, this is a great place to sample some Peruvian guinea pig, and the prices are very reasonable. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the indoor garden is the perfect spot to spend an evening, with live music played every night from 8pm. It caters for vegetarians very well too.

Just five minutes from the Plaza de Armas, tucked into the courtyard of the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, is the fantastically stylish MAP Café. The restaurant is contained within a glass cube structure that seats 50 people, and it another exemplary venue for the culinary delights of novoandina. Elegant, romantic, and a well-judged mixture of the old and the modern, MAP Café is a quiet space that promises a memorable evening.

Bembos is a Peruvian fast food restaurant with a prime location in the Plaza de Armas, adjacent to its Western counterparts McDonalds and KFC. An excellent joint to feast on some juicy burgers and greasy chips if you need a break from traditional Peruvian grub, but want to resist the pull of the American mega-chains. Cheep, cheerful, and with some Peruvian touches here and there, Bembos is definitely worth a visit if you’re on a budget and short on time.

Half a block from the Plaza de Armas on the second floor of a beautiful colonial-era building is Greens Organic, a trendy organic deli which offers only the best local produce. Light, airy, and tastefully furnished, Greens makes for a terrific breakfast venue (their range of fresh juices is exceptional), or a relaxing place to read or work in the afternoon. Their steamed local trout is famous citywide.