What to Eat in Cusco: Lomo Saltado, Cuy al Horno, Chiri Uchu and San Pedro Market

Cusco’s kitchen draws directly on the biodiversity of the surrounding Andes, where farmers cultivate hundreds of native potato varieties, giant white Urubamba maize (choclo), quinoa, kiwicha, and aromatic mountain herbs such as huacatay (Andean black mint) and muña. Over the centuries, these pre-Columbian staples merged with Spanish wood-fired roasting techniques and Chinese-Peruvian (Chifa) wok cooking, creating a highland food culture that ranges from hearty market broths to refined Andean tasting menus around Plaza de Armas and San Blas.

Lomo Saltado and Alpaca Grill Cuts

Across Cusco’s traditional picanterías and contemporary bistros, lomo saltado remains the most ordered hot dish: strips of beef tenderloin (or lean alpaca loin) seared over a high flame with red onions, tomatoes, ají amarillo chilli, soy sauce, and vinegar, served alongside crispy native yellow potatoes and white rice. Grilled alpaca steak (lomo de alpaca) is prized across the Cusco region for its tender, low-fat red meat, often paired with quinotto (creamy quinoa risotto) or mashed native tubers.

Cuy al Horno (Wood-Roasted Guinea Pig)

Domesticated in the Andes thousands of years ago, cuy (guinea pig) is the classic celebratory roast of the Cusco highlands. Unlike Arequipa’s flattened fried cuy chactado, Cusco prepares cuy al horno: stuffed with fresh huacatay leaves, garlic, and cumin, then roasted whole in a clay wood oven until the skin turns crisp, served with baked potatoes, stuffed rocoto pepper (rocoto relleno), and corn.

Chiri Uchu (Cusco’s Corpus Christi Platter)

Recognised as the emblematic festival dish of Cusco during Corpus Christi in June, chiri uchu (Quechua for cold chilli) brings coast, highlands, and jungle onto a single cold plate: roasted cuy, boiled chicken, charqui (salted dried meat), chorizo, Andean cheese, toasted cancha corn, spongy cornmeal torreja, cochayuyo seaweed, and fish roe.

Choclo con Queso, Quinoa Soups and San Pedro Market Breads

On chilly evenings when temperatures dip near freezing, start with sopa de quinua (vegetable and quinoa broth) or chupe de olluco. Along street corners and in San Pedro Market, vendors serve steaming ears of giant-kernel Sacred Valley choclo paired with a thick slice of salty queso paria, as well as kapchi de setas (fava beans, potatoes, and mushrooms simmered in milk and queso fresco). Inside the market hall, entire aisles are devoted to large round loaves of slightly sweet pan chuta baked in the town of Oropesa, alongside hot mugs of purple-corn chicha morada and infusions of coca leaf (mate de coca).