Central Bolivia Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Central Bolivia - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Central Bolivia - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
This is simply the best place to go for a taste of local Cruzeño cuisine. The cozy, traditional-feeling dining room is housed in a late-19th-century home with plenty of restored furniture, and the food is top notch—just like Grandma would have done it. The sopa de maní (peanut-and-potato soup) is rich and creamy, and the majadito con pato (a traditional dish of rice, duck, and fried plantain, topped with an egg) is a must. The menu changes daily and if you don't speak Spanish, it can be a little confusing, but soldier on through and eat whatever they bring you. You won't regret it.
At this Brazilian-style eatery, all the meat you can eat is carved at your table by waiters dressed as gauchos. The traditional Feijoada (bean stew with beef and pork) is considered the house specialty. There's also an excellent salad bar and a variety of pasta dishes. Reserve a table on Sunday; they are usually packed with diners enjoying great views of the city.
This informal and lively local favorite serves traditional Bolivian dishes—grilled meats and a fiery picante mixto (grilled chicken and beef tongue). Servings are large enough for two, so come with an appetite if you order local favorites like Pollo Borracho (chicken cooked in alcohol), pork in orange sauce, or grilled conejo (guinea pig). The pique lobo soup is extremely flavorful. Food is served outdoors on a shaded patio.
Nothing says Cochabamba like a giant plate of fried chicharron (deep-fried chunks of pork), and nobody does it like Doña Pola. From the depths of her enormous copper pans, she has been serving up these super-crispy portions of pig on weekends for more than 50 years, and it's no secret that she is simply the best in town—come early. Athough it seems expensive (prices have risen with fame), it's still not bad, considering that each portion will easily feed two or three people. Open only for lunch on weekends.
This chifa, or Chinese restaurant, has the kind of service usually found only in more expensive places. The food is tasty and the wines are reasonably priced. Start with the crispy spring rolls followed by one of their Ecuadoran shrimp dishes. Most selections, like sweet and sour chicken or pork, come with a side of rice or noodles.
Quiet and unassuming, this comfortable space is a very welcome addition to an otherwise uninspired coffee-shop scene in the city. Cowork cafe was created specifically with the out-of-office worker in mind, so it has nice areas to relax in and has great Wi-Fi. The coffee is delicious, and the "bagels" (perhaps not quite what you're used to) and quiches are decent.
Santa Cruz's sexiest dinner spot, and the place to be seen, Jardin de Asia isn't just a pretty face—it delivers with a constantly high level of service and a menu that is reminiscent of some of Lima's best Asian/fusion restaurants. The decor is stylish and the crowd dressy. This is no bargain, but it's worth splashing out to try some of the more interesting Amazonian/Andean-styled dishes. It's best at night, but they do offer a lunch menu for (Bs)70 if you want to try it out without breaking the bank.
This is a favorite local spot for a calm, candlelit evening of fresh Italian fare. The pastas are made daily—go for the spaghetti Cantonata or the lasagna. The atmosphere caters well to both couples on date night and special occasions.
Big and always busy, this restaurant is one of the best places to eat regional dishes. If variety is your spice, go straight for the buffet típico with a selection of 4 traditional dishes. Other popular selections include picante de gallina (spicy chicken) or chicharrón (boiled pork ribs seasoned with garlic, oregano, and lemon). Most plates are big enough for two. The kitchen and service are excellent. If you happen to stop by on a weekend, you'll be treated to live music. There are several branches, but the original is still the best.
Set in a centenarian, colonial-style building with a lovely interior patio, this German-style restaurant with local touches offers delicious food and a welcoming atmosphere. The menu is wide ranging, and besides the well-done German offerings, the fish is good (try the surubí) and the daily lunch specials are tasty, mostly international-style home cooking. For a treat, try the nudo de cerdo al horno (roasted pork knuckle, from the German dish Schweinshaxe).
The Turkish couple behind La Cocina have earned accolades from all corners with the simplest of recipes: make everything from scratch and make it with love. Their burgers are meaty and juicy, and the shawarma (sliced rotisserie lamb in pita bread), kofte (minced lamb meatball kebabs with a mint sauce), and gozleme (a hand-rolled and folded Turkish flatbread stuffed with ground beef or vegetables) hit the mark perfectly. There are some tasty vegetarian options, including falafel, and a few ventures into tasty Tex-Mex territory. The prices are reasonable, so grab a stool on the street at the window, order with abandon, and watch the Samaipata evening go by.
This upmarket restaurant specializes in Bolivian fare, prepared and served with a little more finesse than you might find elsewhere. The steaks are excellent, a good example of Bolivian beef well prepared, and although they also offer Argentine meat, the price difference isn't really worth it. There's a good list of local wines, and the opportunity to sample them shouldn't be missed. If you're having steak, pair it with La Concepcion Cabernet Sauvignon or the Tannat from Anajuez.
This late-night street-food option, with various stalls set up along the road selling local classics, is the place to get a taste of the famed Cochabambino gastronomy. Particularly worth trying is the silpancho (breaded steak cutlet, served with an egg on rice and fried potato, and topped with a tomato chili salsa) or even better, the aptly named trancapecho, which you could roughly translate as a chest blocker—the already carb-loaded beast of a silpancho put into a sandwich. Though it is street food, there is a really high turnaround, so it is generally safe, fresh, and always tasty. Ask any taxi driver and they'll get you straight here. The stalls are usually set up from 8 pm and keep serving until the early hours of the morning.
Barbecue beef is the order of the day at Los Hierros, and it's all made of the finest cuts. Other mouthwatering options include pork loin, shrimp kebab, salmon with capers, or catfish filet. Add one of their delicious salads to your plate, and if you're brave, an antipasto first. The grilled provolone is a great way to start your meal, and the wine list is huge. Request a table on the second-floor terrace.
A cultural space and pizza restaurant of the highest caliber, Muele is a great choice for a chilled Cochabamba evening. The music is usually pretty good—a smooth, sometimes jazzy rock—the crusts are thin, and the vibe is young and friendly. It's also an excellent choice for lunch, thanks to the sunny interior patio and a pizza and salad special for only (Bs)30. And to top it off, they make a fine cup of coffee with local Yungas beans. (They also have a little outlet in the airport, which makes for a great preflight caffeine hit.)
This great little bakery, complete with chalkboard specials and baguettes leaning against the walls, is the perfect place to cool your heels before a morning of sightseeing or to stock up for a picnic out of town. The coffee is excellent, and the croissants alone are worth a special stop. Don't miss the whole-wheat empanadas.
Thanks to its solid menu, excellent service, and fair prices, Paprika is vying fiercely for the top spot in the city offering a classy evening out. There is nothing revolutionary happening in the kitchen, but the trout in a creamy fennel sauce and surubí (similar to a catfish) in a spicy, nutty sauce are highly recommended. Their interpretation of the traditional pique macho (a monstrous plate dominated by chunks of beef and sausage, piled up with fries, boiled eggs, and a spicy chili sauce) is a treat. The service is excellent, and the prices are surprisingly fair. Reservations are recommended on the weekend.
Ostensibly a Japanese restaurant, Sens includes some surprisingly good sushi on its menu, but it gets into a bit of everything and does an excellent job of it. The starters are some of the best choices on the menu, and you could easily make a meal of them, matched with some of the excellent drinks from the bar. Go for the trio of cebiches, each with a different flavor, the salmon carpaccio, or the crumbed mozzarella with pesto and confit tomatoes, and you're off to a good start. The outdoor patio setting is gorgeous, particularly at night, with little loungelike alcoves around a wooden decked pool. The staff is extremely attentive, and although the bill will be steep, you'll walk away with a smile.
Set in a beautiful garden near the town square, this eatery offers excellent Bolivian and International food. The tapas-like Tablitas are great for sampling a variety of flavors. Vegetarian dishes are prepared with organic, locally grown ingredients and the lemonade is squeezed just before it reaches the table. Live music is occasionally featured on weekends.
Even though the decor is a little off the mark, and the furniture isn't as comfortable as it should be, Vinotek is a haven for wine lovers. The offerings include an excellent list of local wines and a fair number of imports from France and Argentina. The food menu—listed daily on a chalkboard—consists mostly of appetizers such as cheese platters (the tabla del campo is a winner), bruschetta, and pâté (try the titikaka trout pâté). They also stock one of Bolivia's best craft beers, Saya. Open Thursday through Saturday only.
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