3 Best Restaurants in La Paz, Bolivia

Not just a restaurant but an entire cultural experience, this is the one restaurant in La Paz you can’t miss. Run as a nonprofit initiative (as part of a project by Danish restaurateur Claus Meyer), Gustu is a training ground for underprivileged youths who want to enter the world of gastronomy. At the same time it serves a refined, modern, and 100% local tasting menu that fuses modern Scandinavian style with top-quality, responsibly sourced Bolivian ingredients. Sip tasty and inventive cocktails as you sit at the bar working your way through the superb snack menu. Knowledgeable, talented staff are on hand to guide you through a bewildering array of ingredients you've probably never heard of. Don’t hesitate to go for the full tasting menu. It will be a unique Bolivian experience and among the cheapest top-class, modern tasting menus you’ll find anywhere in the world.

This is exactly the kind of bar any wine lover would hope to find during their travels—friendly, cool, and with knowledgeable staff to get you into the best of Bolivian wine and craft beers. With daily two-for-one specials on select wines by the glass (weekdays from 5:30 to 7), great locally produced French- and Swiss-style cheeses, occasional live jazz, and even the odd quiz night, there really is no excuse not to stop by. The expanded tapas menu features modern Spanish/Bolivian flavors carefully chosen to pair with the local wines, which, if you’ve never tried any, are guaranteed to surprise you with their quality.

This small, trendy café is at the forefront of a budding coffee revolution in Bolivia. Baristas trained to high international standards are roasting, grinding, and brewing some of the country’s best beans and serving up cuppa after cuppa that would please even the most serious of coffee lovers. Go for the perfect espresso—no easy matter at 10,000 feet—but don't be surprised to find yourself lingering over the carrot cake or one of the simple but spectacular sourdough sandwiches. The bread is baked at the little in-house bakery, and a few loaves are always for sale—you just have to get there early enough to grab one.