Best Food and Drink Options in Ollantaytambo, Peru

Ollantaytambo is a beautiful little town in the Sacred Valley of Peru. Although Ollantaytambo has a bunch of different free hikes available, as well as the main ruins, there's more to this part of the Sacred Valley than just views! Peru is a gastronomical hub, and you can certainly find local cuisine in Ollanta. If you're about to visit, or keen on visiting, here are the best food and drink options in Ollantaytambo, Peru (at least in my opinion). 

Food and Drink Options in Ollantaytambo

Since Ollantaytambo is a tourist town, there's quite a bit of variety of foods, and a lot of different restaurants attempting to make foreign food. My word of thumb in almost any country is that their local cuisine is much better than locals attempting to make foreign cuisine. However, there are also some tasty options in Ollanta such as wood-fired pizza that are designed for the tourist in mind! 

To be completely honest, food in Ollantaytambo is not to die for. If you're coming from Lima or Arequipa, for example, it's best to dial down your expectations a little because Ollantaytambo is not the food capital of Peru. However, there are certainly some very good restaurants that will leave you more than satisfied, as well as a market where you can buy some goods to cook yourself. 

For drinks, juice and coffee are readily available. The juice is generally room temperature and pulpy, made with fresh fruit, and very good. If you're looking for liquor, pisco sour, as well as drinks like the cuba libre, are very easy to find. The local Cusqueña beer can be bought in bottles at any corner store and is also served at most restaurants. Craft beer and/or beer on tap is harder to find, but doable (keep reading!).

Best Local Food: Restaurant Sergio

Located just off of the main plaza area, Restaurant Sergio offers menu del dia options for 6 soles ($2): you receive tea, soup, a main course meal, and sometimes jell-o for desert. This place does close earlier than most other restaurants, though, and since it’s just a small little shop the closing hours vary. It seemed to always be open until at least 8:00 p.m.

Location: Just off the plaza, across from the local market, which is right past where all of the vans park. 

Additional Options: The Corner is a good local restaurant as well; it serves up similar-style meals as Restaurant Sergio. Restaurant Mary is another option, although we didn’t like their food nearly as much as Sergio’s. 

Best Fried Chicken: La Pollería

La Pollería was surprisingly good. You can get fried chicken and French fries, and there’s also an incredibly delicious self-service salad bar. Occasionally there was also a woman that would set up a mobile stand in the plaza and sell some bomb-ass fried chicken, too.

Location: La Pollería is located just off of the plaza, near where the vans park and where the local market is and near Restaurant Sergio. 

Best Wood-Fired Pizza: Inti Killa

Most places in Ollantaytambo offer wood-fired pizza, but we found that Inti Killa had by far the best. You can get a large pizza with some free garlic bread (not the best garlic bread, but hey it’s free) for 30 soles. Like most places in Ollantay, they also have happy hour specials on their alcoholic drinks, so pizza with pisco sour is always a good option. 

Location: Inti Killa is also near the plaza, on the main street heading up to the large Ollantaytambo ruins. 

Best Tourist Restaurant: Apu Veronica

Apu Veronica is by and large the best “tourist restaurant” option. Ramone and I didn’t go here until our last week in Ollantaytambo: I got some delicious fajitas. The drinks were also very good. Prices are slightly higher than other options in the area, but are still more than reasonable. If you want to treat yourself to some nice options that aren’t your typical menu del dia, then this restaurant is your best option. The locals we talked to also said that this restaurant is the only tourist-focused restaurant that they’d recommend. I find that a little harsh, but that was their opinion. 

Location: Apu Veronica is very close to the main Ollantaytambo ruins, a couple stops before the ChocoMuseo.

Best Coffee Shop: Café Expresso

We really loved the vibe of Café Expresso. The ladies were wonderful, and there’s both indoor and outdoor seating. The espresso and juices are also very good. Café Expresso serves decent breakfast, too: their pancakes are really good, but not exactly pancakes (as stated, they’re more thick crepes). This one is located right in the plaza, so it’s an easy spot to see. Coffee Tree, which is right next to Café Expresso, also had decent coffee, as well as an overly zealous young man trying to sell us things. 

Location: Right in the plaza!

Additional Options: Café del Abuelo and Orishas are also good coffee shops. While we were there there was a South African that worked at Café del Abuelo, so if he’s still there there’s an English speaker for you. 

Best Bar: El Ganso

Looking for a bar to chill at in Ollantaytambo? Go to El Ganso’s bar! There really aren’t any other bar options, so there isn’t a lot of competition, but I think even if there was this quirky little spot would win. There’s an upstairs with a pole that you can slide down, jenga, card games, and a large screen TV where you can put on music videos. The owner is funny, chatty, and makes good alcoholic drinks. Bottled beer is also available. The prices are reasonable, and the local clientele is also willing to learn and play new games with anyone and everyone there. We had a blast teaching some Peruvians how to play the card game 99.

Location: On side street Calle Horno. Find the GlobalNet ATM in the plaza and go down that street; El Ganso's will be on the right-hand side. 

Best Beer: La Cervecería del Valle Sagrado

Technically this brewery isn’t located in Ollantaytambo, it’s in Pachar, but it’s a very short van ride away (or you can walk it). Ramone and I are major crafft beer fans, so we were so excited when we found out that there's a brewery in the Sacred Valley not far from Ollantaytambo! The owner is incredibly knowledgeable, has a wide selection of beers, and offers very nicely priced flights and half liters. The food is also surprisingly good as well. 

Location: In Pachar. Either get a van from Ollantaytambo and get off in Pachar, or you can take a nice 2 hour stroll to Pachar. Cross the Incan Bridge, make a left, and continue ont he flat trail until you get to the rail center of Pachar. Then cross and get back on to the main road; the brewery will be on the right. 

Additional Options: Within the town of Ollantaytambo, beer options are limited. Tawachaki Café, however, has one beer on tap! Yay! They serve the beer with toasted corn kernels, which are absolutely insanely delicious. ChocoMuseo (where Ramone and I worked) also has a nice variety of bottled craft beers. Of course, you can also buy local beer from most of the corner shops for cheaper than drinking at a restaurant. 

Word of advice: Don’t go to the English Pub located in the plaza! While we were there none of their beers on tap worked, so it was only bottled, and they were ridiculously priced. 

Best Pop-Up Option: The Stall with Guinea Pig

There was a big pop-up food thing (for lack of a better term) that happened in mid-January in Ollantaytambo. I'm still not sure why this happened, but there were a bunch of local vendors stationed throughout the plaza selling delicious home-made food items for very cheap. Ramone and I chose to try guinea pig, a common food item in the highlands of Peru, and it did not disappoint! Although not very meaty, it was well-cooked, and served with fish eggs, a fried dough thing, a chunk of cheese, seaweed (I think), corn, and bread. 

You can also find guinea pig in most restaurants in Ollanta, although I can't vouch for how good it'll taste. 

Shopping for Food

If you’d like to do some of your own cooking, there is a local market that mainly sells produce and meat. It’s located near the plaza, right next to the spot where all of the public transit vans stop and wait. The outer area is where the fresh fruit and veggies are sold, and then as you go farther back you can buy some locally made cheese (so good!!) and then finally arrive at the stinky meat section. Basic items like eggs, oil, etc can also be found here, or at corner stores as well. Produce is very cheap. There’s also a nice, small little bakery almost directly across from the market that sells really good bread, along with other options such as empanadas and sweets. You can generally get a bag of individual bread rolls for 3-6 soles, or $1-2. 

Well, there ya have it, folks! My best food and drink options located within the small town of Ollantaytambo (and one option in Pachar...). Now you're all set to try some delicious food in between those crazy hikes you're about to do. Don't forget to pin this post for future reference!