Paititi, Cusco

This is a friendly fairly up-market restaurant in the south east corner of the main square in Cusco, the Plaza de Armas. It serves traditional Peruvian cuisine (including cuy) and some international dishes too. I really wanted to try the cuy while in Peru (my motto when it comes to food is "try anything once - you might like it"); however having been rather ill for a couple of days I decided I just couldn't face it. A woman on the table next to us had it and seemed to enjoy it, though she was taken aback by its appearnce. The rest of the diners looked on amusement as she shrieked and her husband videoed her dinner!

The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated; the back wall is an old Inca wall and was once part of a palace. The service was good and some traditional musicians came in and played for a while. The only real drawback was that the tables were quite close together and a party at the table next to ours was a bit noisy.

Favorite Dish: I had the ceviche to start my meal and alpaca steak in blackberry sauce, which was excellent (and met my main priority to eat local food while travelling) while my husband enjoyed his favourite - pizza! We were given complementary pisco sours (of course, we were in Peru!) and garlic bread.

I encountered Patiti restaurant while walking along the Plaza de Armas after a long tour, hungry and looking for a good place to eat. The sound of music and of the people inside drew me in.

The décor of the restaurant is elegant. The back wall is mirrored and the side walls are a tasteful faux green marble. Of note is that some of the walls are actually part of an old Inca palace that once stood in the Plaza de Armas. The tables are covered in fine table clothes and have yellow cloth napkins.

The service in the restaurant is great. After you sit down you are given a free Pisco sour and some bread to have while you wait. Your water is always kept full and the main course was served relatively fast.

The menu at Patiti is varied, they serve both Peruvian and international food such as pasta. I had wanted to try cuy or guinea pig the previous day. However, in the afternoon at a Chiceria I went to I saw what these cute mouse like creatures looked like. I could not bring myself to eat a family pet even though the price for the dish was half what other places charge at around $8. I was actually surprised by the menu prices. I was going to pass the restaurant by since I thought it would be too expensive. However, the main dishes cost about $12. The main dish I ended up choosing to eat was Carapulcra which is a spicy pork stew. The dish was excellent and tasty and beautifully presented on the plate.

All the while, a traditional Peruvian band played Peruvian music. At different times during the day, different Peruvian groups stop by to play their music and sell their cd’s.

The bathroom was clean. However. you could hear noise from the sidewalk through the window which was distracting,

I am glad chance lead me to this restaurant and my frugalness did not dissuade me from entering.