MARE RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Distrito de Cusco

A new hidden gem has opened in Cusco and we couldn't have been more lucky to have stumbled upon it. By far the best food we've tasted lately (not only in Peru but around the world!), a proper culinary experience! Highly recommend to anyone who is in Cusco and tired of falling into overpriced restaurants or tourist traps.

We were greeted by the owner who told us the place opened just a couple days ago and we followed his recommendations for a fantastic 3 course menu that we shared between 2 people.

The portions were generous, the prices are great for the quality of food served here, with every dish striking the perfect balance of flavors, seasoning and high quality ingredients!

The cocktails, music and attentiveness of the staff were the cherry on top.

We started with the Causa Andina: a crunchy potato and quinoa fried disk topped with trout tartar and served over a delecious white sauce (you must try this one!)

The 2nd course was "A Lo Macho "which was probably our favourite and the biggest surprise of the evening. It is served with a delicious seafood broth and small (but generous) bittes of octopus and served with a side of mashed black corn patties covered by cheese sauce.

The last course was the Pulpo Anticuchero served over crunchy mashed corn. On this one what stood out was how tender it was and the great blend of flavours of the dish.

Overall we couldn't recommend this place high enough and wish the team the best luck to succeed and keep up the...

We randomly approached this small joint searching for some vegan friendly Peruvian food. At first the staff was very welcoming but had us sit at the small kitchen bar instead of inside where the tables are saying that it was full, and we requested that should a table inside open up—we would’ve liked to move inside given that the bar was by the front door and it was quite cold. Later my friend went to search for the bathroom and saw that there were actually many tables open inside. All but one table was occupied. So we then asked to move inside, they happily let us. We were given drink menus after we placed our food order and then no one asked for our drink orders at all. My friends entree was brought out with the appetizer we were planning to share despite the fact that we mentioned we wanted our entrees later. Our appetizer did not come as described either. Finally, when paying, they had incorrectly accounted the cost of our food.

The staff was polite overall, but our waiter was quite forgetful. The food was decent - they explained what...

This is a great restaurant. They serve Peruvian dishes with some very thoughtful and interesting twists. I had the octopus tartar, which was great. Good combinations and great flavors and balanced. Then the Lomo Saltado, which I found both great and interesting. Combination of the classic Lomo Saltado flavours (smoky and spicy) but made even better by serving it in somewhat bigger steak like pieces and with a sauce which also contained some sort of beef jus. Cool that the chef has the guts to serve it with Spaghetti (instead of fries and rice) with a Peruvian cheese sauce, kind of like a carbonara or Calcio e pepe pasta . Although I don't think cheese is the strong suit of Peruvian cuisine. The Mare Soda was also very nice, albeit a bit expensive for Peruvian standards (18 PEN). Also a fine dining experience in terms of good service (English speaking) (I was served by Rose) and a nice amuse. Portions were great, not too big as sometimes happens in Peru, but I still had a very full stomach after eating an entree and a...