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Peru and Ecuador Restaurant Recommendations Please

Hello, all wise and knowing travelers!

We will be spending 2 weeks in Peru and Ecuador in May/June and are looking for restaurant recommendations. Our accommodations are set by the travel company, but we have many dinners on our own. Any recommendations for meals in these locations? We like local, off the beaten path, funky restaurants and have eaten at many Rick recommended places in Europe, but this is our first foray to South America and is uncharted territory for us.

Paracas 2 dinners

Lima 2 dinners

Cusco 4 dinners

Urubamba 1 dinner

Quito 3 dinners

HUGE thank you to all.

Ellen

Posted by
8322 posts

TripAdvisor has never failed me.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g294316-Lima_Lima_Region.html

Use the map feature in TA to find your location and then look for nearby restaurants.

We are going to Peru for 4 days prior to our cruise from Chile to San Diego. Also, have one day in Lima from the port.
We have been to Lima before for one day.

The food there is very different and wonderful. I suggest the Miraflores area of Lima.

We will be in Cuzco from 19-22 March and looking for good places to eat as well.

We visited Equador a few years ago and they have a lot of tuna there because of all the tuna fleets that go out from there. It is great.

Posted by
380 posts

Where are you staying in Quito? If it's Old Town, that's not where most locals live. The Carolina neighborhood is a more "normal, regular" neighborhood. There is a mall across from the southwest corner of Carolina Park. It has a food court with lots of inexpensive and local dishes. There is a Republica of Cocao where you can get free samples of chocolates.
Visit the nearby MegaMaxi (like a Walmart) to see all the interesting fruits. Cleaner and you won't get ripped off here as in the mercados. Good place to buy coffee and cocoa to bring home.
On the "high-end" side is Zazu, the food is very good. Lunch tasting menu for two without drinks was $163. Inexpensive by American standards, especially if you have gone to French Laundry in California. They have a sister restaurant, ZFood, that specializes in seafood. Equally wonderful. These are not touristy restaurants, but filled with locals. There's also ZBar, which we did not go to.
If you come across a Cyrano bakery, try the beef empanadas. Their other products are really good too.
Just in case no one has told you yet, in both countries, do not drink the tap water. Carry some toilet paper with you. Put the TP into the can not into the bowl. The sun is very strong at high altitude. Bring hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, wear long sleeves shirts.
Have fun and enjoy.

Posted by
7206 posts

In Quito, one night we ate at Pim’s at the Panecillo. It was very nice. We also ate in a restaurant in Quicentro mall. Those are the only ones I can remember.
In Urubamba we ate at the Sol Y Luna resort. There’s not much in that town. The market is interesting to walk through.
In Lima we stayed in Miraflores and ate at an Italian restaurant; nothing memorable about it. In Cusco, we ate where our tour had it set up, but don’t remember its name.