8 Best Restaurants in La Paz, Bolivia

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.

The rather dashing llama with his curled French moustache on the sign above the door tells you just about everything you need to know about this whimsical but high-quality French restaurant that has quickly cemented its position as one of La Paz’s favorites. Visitors of all ages are seduced by the service and comfortable pricing, and the traditional French dishes are flawless—try the steak tartare or the filet with Roquefort. The whole friendly, tasty package is complemented by a great wine menu and desserts that leave patrons swooning. Particuarly loved are the crème brûlée and the chocolate mousse.

Colorful, funky Namas Te is the perfect place in Sopocachi to escape off the street and relax with a four-course vegetarian feast at a bargain price. Get here early, though, as the set lunch tends to run out quickly, or call and pre-order to make sure they keep a portion for you. Nothing too trendy here, just friendly service and tasty homemade food with plenty of options for vegans as well. If you miss the set lunch, try the pad thai with tofu or anything with their guacamole. Great juices and a nice selection of teas and infusions round out the experience perfectly.

Monster sausages, spaetzle, mustard, and brown bread with towering glasses of weisbier—you'll get the whole German experience at this popular restaurant, with branches in the center and the south of the city. Although the German food is the specialty, the llama meat dishes are also good. A great selection of international beers and the particularly popular in-house brewed beers are the stars here, and the restaurant often fills up and can get quite rowdy.

This is Spanish food with few frills; straightforward, tasty, abundant, and with decor that could have been cut-and-pasted directly from a typical madrileño (Madrid-style) haunt. The tortilla is just the right softness, and, as with so many other restaurants around the city, the daily lunch specials are a real bargain, but things really get serious at night. If you come with a group, go all out and order a 10-person paella, served at the table in a proper table-size pan that just begs for glorious, messy, communal feasting. Don’t shy away from the sangria, either. Come nightfall, there is plenty of good cheer, and there may be dancing.

Located on the second floor of Hotel Rosario, this cozy restaurant means "a place to gather and barter local products." In this case, the bartering means reasonable prices for high-quality cuisine, including almond-crusted trout with orange rice or grilled llama served with a creamy mustard sauce. The presentations are beautiful, if a touch late '90s, and the portions are just right. Romantics might want to sit in the candlelit brick room at the back. Bring your camera (and sweet tooth) for the chocolate mousse with sorbet—it's truly a work of art.

Go for the pho, stay for the whole range of authentic Vietnamese dishes that offer a nice break from the meat and starch offerings in the daily paceña diet. The decor is simple and the food, though not yet well known around the city, is tasty and light, perfect for those still getting used to the slow digestion of high-altitude dining. The soups are based on a beast of a broth, cooked for more than 15 hours with all the spices and flavors you expect from Vietnamese cuisine. Especially worthwhile is the lunch special, which gives you a little taste of everything. Don't hesitate to give the garlic and chili sauces a go. They’re superb, and the fried spring rolls are dangerously addictive—you've been warned!