Avocado
Avocado is one of the best places in Cusco for fast and healthy food.
Conveniently located only two blocks from the Plaza de Armas, Avocado is great for lunch if you only have an hour and need something quick and healthy. I’ve never had a bad meal there or had slow service.
I have been several times but this review is based on a lunch with three other people. We started with the avocado fries, which are slices of avocado, lightly breaded with panko, flash deep fried and served very hot with a cold tomato dip. It' sounds odd, but they’re really quite good. They’re not mushy nor does the inside of the avocado slice get cooked.
I had the Quinoa Super Salad, which is what I usually order when I’m really hungry but don’t want anything greasy. It’s very filling and a bit awkward to eat because they cram so much food into the bowl. The salad itself is great but I would serve it in a wider, shallower bowl.
The Avo & Egg is a great choice if you’re not super hungry and just want something to go with one of the smoothies. The bread is flavorful and thick and of course the avocado is just perfect.
The Chicken Wrap is always very fresh. I appreciate that the chicken is always hot and crispy but none of the veggies or the lettuce get hot or wilted.
The Avocado Burger is exactly that: A burger patty with an avocado in place of the bun. It’s great if you’re avoiding bread or if you just want to try something different. There is also an option for a beet-based burger patty but be sure that you carefully enunciate beet (or say betarraga) so that it doesn’t sound life beef.
Juice and smoothie options
The avocado and almond milk smoothie (that’s almond milk, not almonds and cow’s milk) is truly delicious. There is also always a juice of the day, which happened to be passion fruit when I was there. It was also very good.
The timeline: I went for lunch with a group and was pleased that we were able to get in and out in an hour
This is a small restaurant and they had to rearrange tables for us to sit together, even though we were only a group of four. The staff was very accommodating, cheerful and helpful.
3 min: We ordered the avocado fries.
7 min: We ordered our meals. I got the Quinoa Super Salad and daily juice. One friend ordered the Avocado Burger and the avocado and almond milk smoothie. Another ordered the Chicken Wrap with a Coke Zero and the third ordered the Avo & Egg with the same avocado and almond milk smoothie.
9 min: The avocado fries were served, very hot.
12 min: The drinks were served.
21 min: The food was served.
45 min: We finished eating and the plates were cleared.
50 min: We paid cash at the table and left.
How to get there
Avocado is on Calle Ruinas, across from Gato’s Market. This window is easy to find, but you have to go through the courtyard on the right to get to the door.
