The town of Urubamba is not the kind of place you expect to find gourmet cuisine but it is exactly this that you will find at the Huacatay Restaurant Urubamba. This unassuming restaurant is tucked away on Jiron Arica Street in a colourful garden setting. For a more casual dining experience and on sunny days you can choose to sit in the colourful outdoor area while for those hankering for a more formal dining experience the colourful, elegant interior beckons.
Peruvian Chef Pio Vasquez de Velasco and his German wife Iris run this cozy restaurant which surprises every time with the quality and presentation of its dishes in this casual, warm setting. The menu is built around locally available fresh produce and has definite Peruvian, Asian and Mediteranean influences.
Appetizers included a trout tartare served with guacamole and a calamari sauce and the tender ‘Huacatay’ style alpaca carpaccio prepared with sacha tomato, coriander and sesame.
For mains we loved the breaded prawns served in a tangy orange and Andean mint sauce perfectly complemented by a vanilla infused potato mash and crispy avocado pieces and the pork ribs in a honey and mustard glaze served with grilled vegetables and spearmint and orange quinoa. The potato gnocchi served with chicken, chorizo and a barbeque and rosemary sauce was a little heavy but a good filling choice for a hungry eating companion!
If you have a little space left over at the end of your meal the fried chocolate cointreau truffles with candied orange are exquisite and the famous chocolate brownie is a must for all chocolate lovers.
Huacatay is the kind of restaurant where we recommend you take your time over your meal and share with friends. We left highly relaxed after an unpretentious and unexpected culinary experience that left our taste buds zinging.
