What to Eat in Peru in 2026: The Best Food and Drink

Peru is currently considered the world's leading food destination, a designation earned by the extraordinary diversity of its ingredient base (3,000 varieties of potato, 55 varieties of corn, fish from both cold Pacific and warm Amazon waters) and by a generation of chefs who know exactly what to do with it. Ceviche — raw fish cured in tiger's milk (leche de tigre, a lime-chili-ginger marinade), topped with red onion, corn, and sweet potato — is the dish that defines Peruvian coastal cooking and is now imitated globally. Cuy (guinea pig, roasted or fried with cumin and potatoes) is the highland protein that visitors are dared to try and usually find unexpectedly delicious. The Lima restaurant scene, from Central (ranked No. 1 globally in 2023) to the cevicherías of Miraflores, is genuinely among the world's best. Pisco sour — pisco grape brandy, lime, sugar, egg white, and Angostura bitters — is the correct Peruvian cocktail, served before any serious meal. Take your time.