Eating Out

The food in Peru is as diverse as are its different climates, and eating out can be an adventure in itself.  The coast (costa), the mountains (sierra), and the jungle (selva) are three distinct geographic areas found in Peru, and each offers its own unique flavors.  There are many foods and drinks that can be found all over the country, as they tend to take on a national flavor, but they generally started in one of the different climates and later made their way into the other parts of Peru.

Perhaps the best known dishes on the coast (costa) are the fish dishes.  Ceviche de pescado (uncooked fish with limon marinade, coriander, aji, and garlic) is the national dish of Peru and very popular across the country, but none is fresher than in the coastal cities.  Also escabeche (cooked fish eaten cold), as well as sea bass, octopus, mussels, shrimps, and crabs are very popular and plentiful on the coast.  Sauces are more popular in cooking on the coast than other parts of the country.  The influence Italian cooking has had in the food of Peru is evident in soups and pastas in the traditional Peruano dishes, but also in the form of pizza.  Where else in the world are you going to find a street of pizzas than in Miraflores on Lima's Calle de las Pizzas.

Peru is famous for potatos (papas), with over 5000 registered varieties.  Potatos come from the mountains (sierra), including sweet potatoes which are a must, cooked and served cold with ceviche.  Also from the sierra, cuy (Guinea pig) is cut up and cooked in stews or gutted, flattened and cooked barbecue style on the grill.  Rabbit dishes are popular, and even llama can be found on the menu in Cusco.  Travelers will find that food in the mountains will include many more fresh vegetables and spices than the coast.

In the jungle (selva), the natural foods are tropical fruits and river fish, both of which are available in abundance.  As with everywhere in peru, so are chicken, beef, and pork.  Every meal has meat -- even for breakfast.  When asked what is the most common food in Peru, one native of the Amazon Rainforest said, "arroz con pollo" (chicken with rice).  Chickens are raised in larger numbers in Peru than twice the number of all other forms of livestock combined.  Amazingly enough, in the hot climate of the Amazon Rainforest, soup is very popular, especially for breakfast.  Every meal is served with rice and often potatoes as well.  Fresh juice is available anywhere in the jungle, as are any tropical fruits one can imagine. 

However, lettuce does not grow in the jungle because of the heat, so those who are used to lettuce when they hear the word salad will find that "ensalada" generally includes anything but lettuce.  Avacados and tomatos (generally considered to be fruits in Peru), onions, cucumbers, carrots, and numerous other vegitables, according to what is available on any given day, will be arranged on a plate, sometimes very artistically, often marinated in limon (the Peruvian limon looks like the lime that is known in North American with a flavor somewhere beteen a lemon and a lime). 

One Peruana from the selva said, "All women here know how to cook."  The food is generally very good and fresh in the rainforest, even in this place where restaurants don't always even have kitchens -- they might as easily cook on a grill on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.  What better way to know if you want to eat at any given place when you can walk by and look at (and smell) what is on the menu without even looking at one.

Peruvian food is delicious.  It's very flavorful and a lot of various spices and seasonings are used.  If you have not heard of "aji" (pronounced "ah-HEE"), it is simply the Peruvian name for a chili pepper -- many different varieties of aji grow abundantly in both the jungle and the mountains.  Don't be afraid to try anything but perhaps try it before asking what it is because the name may be off-putting.  Anticucho, barbecued beef heart on a stick, is very popular everywhere in Peru.  It is also made with chicken and seafood.  Lomo saltado is made of beef, onions and french fries -- served with rice -- and it is available all over Peru, and it is a good example of the Asian influence in food in Peru.  Chinese food (chifa) is especially popular in Lima, but excellent Chinese restaurants can be found in all parts of Peru.

Ice cream is very popular in Peru, and one can find a number of flavors that would only come from a country as diverse as this.  Most desserts in Peru are very sweet.  Churros, deep fried and covered with sugar, are a good example.  Also arroz con leche (rice pudding) as well as geletin and flan can be found in many restaurants.

Nothing written about food and dining in Peru would be complete without a mention of the national drink of Peru.  Pisco sour is perhaps more famous in Peru than any foods.  Pisco is an area where the first vinyards were planted in South America, so the name of the traditional Peruvian brandy (Pisco) and the drink from which it is made (Pisco sour) originate in that area.  Recently Chile officials have approached Peruvian vinyards about co-promoting Pisco, but Peruvians have strongly pretested any claims on the origion of the drink.  Even the working class in Chile reconize that Pisco originated in Peru.  Many sweet wines come from the Ica area, but wines from Chile and Argentina are also abundant in Peruvian restaurants. 

A drink that every visitor must try is chicha morada, a drink made from purple maiz (corn).  And of course, one must also try the national softdrink from Peru, Inca Kola, a thick yellow bubblegum flavored soda pop that doesn't have as much kick/carbonation as say a Mt. Dew from North America.  Coca-Cola is also available almost everywhere in Peru.  But don't expect ice, because ice is not generally served in drinks in Peru.  Some restaurants might have a small amount of ice to give to patrons if they ask for it, but it is not something that is customarily served there.  Be careful about using ice in South America though, because it is almost always made from local water.  Even in the warmer climates of the rainforest, soda is often served cool without ice, and frequently at room temperature right in the bottle with a straw.

Now a word to the fast-food afficianados: outside of Lima, there isn't fast food --as North Americans know it.  McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut can be found in Lima and are very much like their North American versions.  KFC offers yucca chips as well as papas fritas (french fries).  However, travelers in the Andes Mountains or the Amazon Jungle or further up the coast of the Pacific Ocean who get a craving for a Big Mac are are out of luck, because none of the North American franchises operate outside of Lima.

As with travel in any third-world country -- don't drink the water.  Tap water is off limits.  It is always best to drink bottled drinks, including water.  Even ice-cubes can make a traveller sick.  Always assume that ice is made from tap water.  Only the bold traveler will eat from the small restaurants and stands with home style native cooking.  If it is possible, get a recommendation from other tourists before eating at these home-grown establishments.  Recommendations from locals can be misleading, because people who have always lived in Peru have resistances against many illnesses that will strike travelers, so local recommendations are not always reliable.

Tipping in restaurants is not something that is big with the locals in Peru.  If they leave a tip at all, it will likely be one sol, regardless of the price of the meal or number in the dining party.  Tourists should tip no more than 10 percent.  It is not necessary to tip more -- and it is not a good idea to show off ones wealth.  In a small Lima restaurant with local food, a Peruvian customer was overheard telling her gringo dining partner that he should not leave a tip there.  The woman who waited on them, cooked the food, and brought the check is also the owner, she explained.  In that case, the customer said, the person does not expect to be tipped.  The gringo left a tip anyway as he is accustomed to doing, which his Peruana partner told him was extravagant and totally unnecessary.