9 Best Restaurants in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru

Everyone seems to know everyone at this second-floor eatery, part lively tapas bar, part sit-down, candlelit restaurant. The tapas are delicious and varied, while the main dishes offer fabulous Mediterranean cuisine with twists from the Andes. You can order off the restaurant menu in the tapas bar, but not the other way around.

Reservations are very strongly encouraged.

More a wine bar than a restaurant, La Cantina has walls lined with Italian vintages that are poured by a friendly and attentive staff, creating a setting that invites both sampling and lingering. For your meal, there are delicious pizzas with wafer-thin crusts and high-quality ingredients, plus meats and cheeses from the Old Country and a killer tiramisu for dessert. If the location in the center is full, there's another in the Magisterio neighborhood.

Start with a drink made from one of the many house-made pisco infusions, and then move on to the Peruvian fusion that is Batata's specialty, in particular, mouthwatering alpaca steaks. With a rooftop terrace and a cozy interior dining room, the vibe here is in the sweet spot between upscale-but-friendly and romantic. The wine list is continuously improving, and you may be able to get in a wine or pisco tasting if you ask ahead of time.

The restaurant also offers cooking classes that include a trip to the local market for the freshest ingredients.

The menu at this restaurant, which is modeled after a typical open-air quinta, with wooden tables scattered around a large patio, gets its influences from all over Peru, and the waiters are happy to explain what makes each traditional dish special. For a special treat, go for the underground-oven-baked pachamanca, in which different types of meats are slow roasted together with potatoes and aromatic herbs. This dish, as well as the cuy, has to be ordered 24 hours in advance, so plan ahead.