After eating so well in Lima, we had high hopes for Arequipa’s food scene. We were not disappointed!

So, where and what to eat in the decidedly laid back white city of Arequipa?

Picanterias – Picanterias are traditional Arequipeñan restaurants serving robust meals. They are only open at lunchtime. The name indicates that the food is spicy, but this is not necessarily the case. We enjoyed a trio of hearty stews at a picanteria called ‘La Nueva Palomino’ and also a dish called Choclo con Queso, which is a boiled ear of giant corn served with a slice of local fresh cheese.

We noticed that picanterias and many other restaurants serve picadas (plates for sharing) dobles (plates of 2 dishes) and triples (plates of 3 dishes). This was right up our street as it allowed us to maximise the amount of things we could try at once! Peruvian food is generally served in large portions, so sometimes you are in danger of getting stuck with far too much of one thing to eat!

The food of picanterias is land-based, so lots of meat, soups and stews. A very famous dish is Rocoto Relleno, a rocoto pepper stuffed with a meat ragu – this pepper is definitely spicy! We had a mountainous triple at ‘El Super Adobo’ consisting of rocoto relleno, chiccharones (deep fried pork belly) and a mysterious pickled meat dish. The only plate we didn’t manage to try was the Chupe de Camarones (shrimp soup), which is apparently very typical of the area – oh well, looks like we will need to come back!

Cevicherias – The region of Arequipa is still very close to the sea, so it is still possible to eat good fresh ceviche. We enjoyed a cevicheria called ‘El Cebilliano’. The starter of 4 tigers milks (juices of the ceviches with various extracts of chillies) is still my number one culinary experience of our travels. The tigers milks were called Classic, El Cebilliano (amarillo chilli), del Infierno (red chilli) and Levanta Muertos (super spicy Raise the Dead!). We only managed half of the last one as rather than raising the dead it was threatening to take us to the other side! We also had a delicious sharing plate of fried fish, ceviche, tiradito (a type of ceviche) and octopus in black olive sauce.

Market food stalls – Arequipa has a characterful central market called San Camilo divided into sections for fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, meat, cheese, juices, food stalls and various other daily items (including magic stalls!). Some of these food stalls are actually quite well-known places to eat, not what you would normally associate with a market, and they serve some of the best stuff in town. We ate a mixture of ceviche and criolle dishes here like rocoto relleno, papa rellena (stuffed potatoes) and pastel de papa (potato gratin). The names of the stalls were Cevicheria Yolita and Yolas.

Queso Helado – Queso Helado is an artisanal ice-cream. It’s not actually made of cheese as the name would lead one to believe. It’s a creamy white ice-cream that tastes a bit like rice pudding, served with cinnamon on top.

Arequipeña beer & craft beers – Arequipa has its own lager called Arequipeña which is very cheap and refreshing. There is also a new boom in Peruvian craft beer. We sampled a few of these at Chaqchao chocolate and beer house, including beers made of purple corn, coffee and maracuya (passion fruit).

So, to conclude, you can certainly eat plentifully and well in Arequipa, just make sure that you are prepared for a large and leisurely lunch!