La Chomba Ajha Wasi - Cusco

Excellent service and delicious food, the staff is delighted. He has a great time and will definitely be the next time we visit Cusco.

For our last night in Cusco I really wanted to have a local experience, and the place to visit was a traditional “picedgeria” that serves hefty portions of food and drinks to the locals. We visited one called La Chomba, not too far outside the...tourist trains – but on the inside it was like another world. We were the only tourists in sight, and the menu and communication with the waiters was only in Spanish! All about this picanteria, from its salty, hearty “meat potatoes” plates to its alcoholic beverages and casual atmosphere fed with wooden benches, was very similar to a German or Eastern European beer hall. To drink, we ordered the fruitillada, a fermented drink of purple maize (chicha de jora, flavored with strawberry. We had heard so much about this light, slightly alcoholic drink on all our tours, and it was great to finally have the chance to try it! For dinner we started with the choclo con queso or Peruvian corn (with its distinctive giant seeds served with a block of local cheese. And for our main, I could not help but order the cuy al horno, or roasted whole guinea pigs! Centuries ago the Inkas had guinea pigs because they were one of the only pets at the time, and this heritage and tradition still live today! The texture and the salty taste of the meat as well as the crispy skin reminded me of a lot of pork, and the guinea pig was served with sides of pasta (unnotic, whole deep-fried potatoes (underboiled, and rocoto relleno (my favorite!) a spicy pepper filled with a mixture of ground beef and vegetables and then deep-fried a puffy!

I went to a late lunch with my Cusqueño friend when I asked for authentic Peruvian food. It is a meat and potato restaurant that serves various types of meat (bef, pork, cows) with carbs (potatoes, noodles, Moraya dried white potatoes) and...salve (caldos). It is a rustic restaurant where the families come to share large meals together. Serving portions are huge one plate would be sufficient for two people. Everyone at the restaurant asked for bags to take the left home. I didn't try it myself, but I saw many people drink Chicha de frutilla with cinnamon powder, which also comes in glasses that are about the size of a face. I tried Lechon (baked pig bell) with tamal. The food was just good, but I couldn't finish the whole plate and leave about half the food. My friend, who was a regular place, said that the restaurant did not increase prices in a while. Prices are very reasonable. The restaurant is not located in the tourist part of the historic centre, but near the Plaza de Armas. If you are tired from the tourist restaurants and want to try an ugly hearty local meal, you should check it.

When we arrived, everyone in the place was a local. 2 of us split an order of short ribs and frutilla the local corn beer. This place was the most authentic during our week here so far. Menu had tongue, goat, lamb brain, guinea...pig, chicken stew, tripe, to name a few. Helps a lot if you speak Spanish. Very inexpensive.

If you are in Cusco you must visit this place as everydish is 20 soles and the portions are too big for one person. Most important is how delicious it is.