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One of my biggest surprises when visiting the Sacred Valley in Peru was the exceptionally high quality of the food. Again and again, I enjoyed high-end restaurant food and presentation, but for surprisingly low prices.
Ollantaytambo, my favorite town in the Sacred Valley, is home to only a few thousand people. It is most famous for its impressive ruins, considered the most important ruins in the Cusco region after Machu Picchu, and as a transfer point to Machu Picchu itself. To learn more about the town itself, see my guide to what to do in Ollantaytambo.
Besides all the ruin-hopping, I had some truly memorable meals in Ollantaytambo. In this article, I’ll introduce my five favorite Ollantaytambo restaurants (plus two bonus recommendations at the end). I carefully chose what to eat in Ollantaytambo through lots of research and review reading, and of course on-the-ground testing, or should I say, tasting!
Please note that I am pescatarian, so you’ll be seeing lots of fish/ceviche and vegetarian food pictures in this article.
Also don’t miss my similar 5 must-try restaurants in Pisac, another Sacred Valley town famous for its ruins, and 15 must-try restaurants in Cusco!
Table of Contents
Amanto – Cocina Sagrada
My single favorite meal in Ollantaytambo, and one of my best in all of Peru, was at Amanto – Cocina Sagrada. There’s a cute story behind the name, a love story from Inca times, but I’ll let you read that yourself on the menu.
This relatively humble eatery is located at the southeastern corner of the Plaza de Armas (main square) in Ollantaytambo. Although it doesn’t have a balcony like several others, the tables in the corner have plaza views through the window.
I went for the restaurant’s signature dish, Causa Acevichada. It combines two classic local dishes, causas (stuffed yellow potato patties) and ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice). The causas came encrusted in quinoa, with a crispy exterior. It was garnished with grilled chili peppers and edible flowers.
I must say this was my first meal in Peru that really blew me away. It’s a perfect example of 5-star restaurant food at an unbelievably reasonable price. So how much was it? Only 37 soles, or 10 USD!
Yes, if you’re a backpacker traveling on a budget in Peru, that may seem like a lot. You can get a regular ceviche in a local restaurant for only 10 soles. But if you want one to write home about, then try this one!
Besides the dish I ordered, the menu features dishes like alpaca carpaccio, quinoa encrusted shrimp, and Andean potatoes stuffed with avocado in a balsamic reduction. Their desserts also look outstanding.
Besides the meal, I enjoyed a few cocktails at Amanto. Peruvians take their cocktails seriously, so I had numerous exceptional ones throughout the country. But here was no exception. Since this was early on in my trip, I decided to try Peru’s two most famous cocktails, a pisco sour and a chilcano (pisco with ginger ale and lime).
This restaurant is relatively new, hence they don’t have as many reviews as some others in town. But as long as they continue to put out this level of quality, you can expect them to gain recognition as one of the top restaurants in Ollantaytambo.
Chuncho
Chuncho is another relatively new but exceptional addition to Ollantaytambo’s dining scene. It is operated by El Abergue Hotel & Restaurant (see next entry), but in a more convenient location on the Plaza de Armas.
Chuncho’s menu highlights healthy local ingredients from the Sacred Valley and Cusco region, many of which are grown organically right there in the gardens at El Albergue. The word “Chuncho” means “native” or “wild” in the Quechua language. The 2F restaurant has a kind of upscale country ranch vibe going on, with some outdoor seating facing the plaza.
Here I broke my streak of almost always ordering fish dishes. To truly get a taste for their local produce, I went for the locro de zapallo (pumpkin stew), which came with green beans, corn, and Andean cheese, served with wheat grain. While that may sound almost too healthy for some, I can sincerely say the stew tasted anything but boring.
Also on the menu are items such as cuy (guinea pig) and alpaca, duck slow cooked in chicha (local corn beer), and dehydrated potatoes with cheese.
Besides the healthful food, Chuncho really shines with its cocktails. Most are made with spirits crafted at El Albergue’s own Destilería Andina. The distillery, which is on the El Albergue grounds, produces a sugar cane spirit called Caña Alta, as well as Matacuy, a spirit infused with herbs.
I highly recommend the Saqra cocktail, made with Caña Alta Verde, pomegranate, lime, ginger beer, salt from the Inca salt mines in Maras, and molle peppercorns as garnish. I also enjoyed Matacuy on the rocks, which is the best way to truly taste this complex spirit.
Besides the 2F restaurant-bar, you can also sample these spirits in the small shop on the first floor or by visiting the distillery in El Albergue Hotel.
El Albergue
El Albergue has long been the most well-known restaurant in Ollantaytambo. It is a run by the hotel of the same name, which is beside the Ollantaytambo train station, and the restaurant is right on the train station platform.
In terms of atmosphere, this restaurant is hands-down a winner. With romantic vibes and large windows facing the train station platform, it really feels like you’re eating right in a train station (because you are!), with trains constantly passing by en route to Machu Picchu.
If you’re going to Machu Picchu soon after, like I was, then this is especially fun, because you’ll truly feel like you’re on the way there. It’s also a top choice in town for a date.
However, I was a little disappointed when it took an entire hour for my meal to come out, even though they weren’t full. I had three drinks in the time I spent waiting for the food. Perhaps I just caught them on a bad day.
I went for a very traditional dish, caihua rellena, or stuffed gourd. It didn’t blow me away, but I don’t want to write off the whole menu just because I didn’t love this one dish. Maybe I just expected more after such a long wait.
Like Chuncho, the menu here features healthy and local organic ingredient-focused dishes, but totally different than what’s available at Chuncho. If I could, I’ve love to go back and try some of their other dishes.
On the plus side, their cocktails are phenomenal, including several of the same ones served at Chuncho. They also feature lots of Caña Alta and Matacuy, made at their very own Destilería Andina on the hotel grounds nearby.
They also have Sacred Valley Brewery beers on tap, which you can never go wrong with.
From the Plaza de Armas in Ollantaytambo, it’s a 10-minute downhill walk to the restaurant. You’ll have to enter the train station area. The guards will ask to see a train ticket, but if you tell them you’re going to El Albergue restaurant, they’ll let you through.
This is the only restaurant in this article where I would say a reservation is recommended. They are only open for lunch and dinner.
Apu Veronica
Apu Veronica is one restaurant I often saw recommended before my trip, and then my guesthouse hosts also recommended it (I absolutely loved Kamma Guesthouse, by the way!)
Apu Veronica refers to Mount Veronica, which was sacred to the Incas, and is even visible from some places around Ollantaytambo. “Apu” is an Inca/Quechua word meaning mountain god, as they believed that mountains are literally gods.
This second-floor restaurant is down the road from the Plaza de Armas, heading towards the Ollantaytambo ruins. It is just past the bridge you have to cross, on the left.
The restaurant gave me pretty standard tourist-restaurant vibes, but it is run by a friendly and welcoming local family. They clearly put their heart into their food, and I guess that’s why they have long been considered one of the best and most reliable restaurants in Ollantaytambo.
If you scroll through some reviews, you’ll see that the presentation on certain dishes is stunning. I decided to go for a vegetarian version of ceviche (ceviche de hongos ostra). It is made with oyster mushrooms, but in the same sauce usually used for the fish version. Instead of the usual hunks of sweet potato, it came with sweet potato chips.
I was quite pleased to note that my meal was served on a stone plate shaped like the famous 12-angled stone in Cusco (see an image of the real thing in my Cusco things to do guide).
There are more than the usual number of vegetarian dishes on the menu, so I would say Apu Veronika is a good choice for vegetarians in Ollantaytambo. For meat-eaters, there is also stone grilled beef/lamb/alpaca/trout, alpaca anticuchos, and much more.
Mawic
The final Ollantaytambo restaurant that I loved was Mawic. It is located just two minutes’ walk down the road that continues on to El Albergue and Ollantaytambo train station.
This casual eatery has large windows facing lush surroundings of a small river valley formed by the Rio Patacancha, which you can hear flowing outside.
Whenever I read restaurant reviews and note people saying “this was my best meal in Peru”, I have to add this restaurant to my “to-try” list. This was the case with Mawic.
I went for my classic order of ceviche. As often happens in Peru, I was quite impressed with the work of art they brought out to my table. This ceviche came with fried bananas, dark corn kernels, corn on the cob, and little balls of seaweed.
Not only were the toppings unique, but the fish itself tasted especially fresh. If you’re wondering how they can get fresh fish in the Andes, all the fish used for making ceviche in the Sacred Valley is trout from local rivers.
Mawik’s menu features a variety of other fairly typical local dishes. But peruse the pictures in the reviews, and you’ll see that most are served with a little more color and pizazz than they are elsewhere.
This restaurant is a hidden gem that needs more business. Like many places in town, they were hit hard by COVID and then the Peru protests in early 2023. The staff were exceptionally friendly, and they asked that I tell my friends about them (they didn’t know I’d be writing this).
A few More Notable Places to Eat in Ollantaytambo
Here’s a few more Ollantaytambo restaurants that didn’t quite make my top five but are worth mentioning.
Sunshine Café
I highly recommend the friendly Sunshine Café just outside the Ollantaytambo ruins. I put them in my notable mentions section because I didn’t actually eat there. I only stopped in for an iced coffee after visiting the ruins.
The highlight here was the fact that the second-floor seating area, as well as rooftop, has views of the ruins. Even without the views, the interior is super cozy. I would say it’s the best café I saw while in town.
They do serve food, too, with a large menu of brunch-style foods like sandwiches, wraps, paninis, tex-mex, and so on. Much of the menu is vegetarian.
Sacred Valley Brewery
While the Sacred Valley Brewery taproom is Ollantaytambo is unfortunately now closed, you can still visit the main brewery in Pachar village (I didn’t include this in my top-5 because it’s not actually in Ollantaytambo).
This is the headquarters of Sacred Valley Brewery, where the beers is actually brewed before being sent out to their taprooms in Pisac, Cusco, and Lima. You can peer into the room where the beer is made, or choose a spot in their spacious outdoor seating area.
Besides sampling every beer they had on tap (I personally recommend their Inti Punku IPA), I also enjoyed a plate or tiraditos here, or raw fish slices in sauce. They came with corn, sweet potato, yuca, and salad. Besides this rather traditional dish, most of the menu items are more pub-style, like chorizo and cheese platter, corn chips, calzones, and sandwiches.
Sacred Valley Brewery is just 10 minutes’ drive (or 1 hr 15 minutes’ walk) east of Ollantaytambo. You can take any Cusco or Urubamba-bound colectivo to get there.
If you walk like I did, from Ollantaytambo, cross Puente Inka (Inca Bridge) at the south end of town the follow the road on the south side of the river to get there. This is a lovely walk along an original Inca trail through a rural area, with small ruins along the way.
To find out how to make this into a half-day trip with more cool ruins, see the final section of my Ollantaytambo guide.
Well, that brings us to the end of my Ollantaytambo restaurants guide. Of course I didn’t try every restaurant in town, so please let me know below if I missed one that you really enjoyed!
