Food & drink
in Peru

Seafood

Peru is famous for its delicious seafood and also has some of the most unique seafood dishes in South America. Along the coast you have restaurants serving fresh seasonal fish that many will not have tried. These dishes are prepared in a myriad of ways, from Arroz con Mariscos, colourful rice with vast portions of scallops, shrimp and chilli to Parihuela, a spicy comforting fish stew.

The national dish is the world-famous ceviche, a room temperature dish of acid-cooked fish, seafood or black shellfish, marinated in lime juice, chillies, salt, onions and coriander and served with sweet potato, corn and onions

Is Peru suitable for vegetarians/vegans?

Sometimes vegetarians or vegans may worry about what they can eat when visiting Peru. Although meat and seafood dishes are prominent, travelling in South America as a vegetarian is much easier than it once was.

Peru has some delicious dishes to suit vegetarian or vegan diets. Salads are of course widely available, including huevos de la rusa (egg salad) and tomato salad. Stuffed avocado, called palta rellena, is a tasty snack and papas a la Huancaina are potatoes served cold with a spicy cheese sauce. For dessert, try some fresh cheese served with honey, coconut, manjarblanco (caramel) or jaleas (blackberry and elderberry preserves.

Lima especially has some of the best restaurants in the world, and these are fast catering for vegetarian and vegan diets.

Drinks in Peru

One of the most popular local drinks is the Pisco Sour, a refreshing alcoholic cocktail of lemon juice, Pisco liqueur, egg white and syrup. Peru is also known for its beer and popular brews include Pilsen, Cristal and Cusqueña. In the Amazon region, look out for fresh fruit juices such as aguajina and cocona, chuchuhuasi which is alcoholic, as well as uvachado, a fermented grape-based drink, and chapo, prepared with banana and/or milk.

Locals like to go for a drink at small cafes known as chicherías, to drink a fermented maize and fruit ‘corn beer’ called chicha. The cafes can be tricky for visitors to find, since they’re not always oriented to tourists and are often signposted with nothing more than a pole outside the door, bearing a red flag or marker. Once a meeting place for students, artists and bohemians, chicherías these days attract a more cosmopolitan crowd including locals visiting after work for a beverage and spicy nibbles that are often sold with the drink. If you’d like to try a chicha, buy a large ‘caporales’ glass, find some wriggle room at one of the traditional long communal tables, and enjoy the background hum of chatter, laughter and music as you sip your foamy brew.

Food and drinks of Peru

When you think of Peru, what cuisine do you associate with it? Heavy on the meats and veg? Or does it perhaps resemble Mexican cuisine? After visiting Lima which is known as the culinary capital of South America, we shortlisted some of our favourite and most fascinating drinks, ingredients and dishes we recommend trying for yourself when visiting this Andean treasure of a country.