La Bo’M
La Bohème, affectionately shortened to La Bo’m, is a French crêperie in picturesque San Blas.
Everything I’ve tried on the menu is fantastic, especially the savory crêpes. When I’m hungry I go for La del Huerto or La Super Mika’s. If I’m not super hungry, I go for La Rafa’s. I tried La Max’s but the béchamel with avocado and cheese was too creamy and rich for me.
The savory crêpes are a special Franco-Andean mix. I’ve looked for buckwheat flour in Cusco for years, just so I could make savory crêpes like I had in France. Finally, I had to ask Sarah, who owns La Bohème, where she gets the flour for her crêpes, since it looks and tastes to me pretty close to buckwheat flour. The secret: Cañihua. This is a grain similar to quinoa or kiwicha. Toasted cañihua flour has the same color, texture and almost the same taste as buckwheat flour. To get just the right consistency, it is mixed with regular wheat flour, although a gluten free option is available.
The smoothies are all great but first check what the “refresco del día” is that day. The refresco is always something creative and usually fruity. I’ve had everything from a simple lemongrass cold tea, to watermelon juice to an overdone ginger and mango mixture. It’s not always great but even when it’s not great it’s still good enough.
The décor is hippie-French, though everything is very definitely from Peru. The murals might have words in French, but the colors and patterns are very Peruvian.
La Super Mika’s with iced tea
La Mika’s is great but if you’re hungry ask for la Super Mika’s, which is just adding an egg to La Mika’s. The crêpe batter is always perfect and the egg is always just the right amount of cooked with a creamy yolk.
La Max’s
This really is the only thing I’ve had at La Bo’M that I didn’t completely love. I’m sure some people would like the béchamel but it was just too much for me. The cheese and avocado were plenty creamy already.
Tartar de trucha ahumada
This is listed as one of the tapas options, but it’s enough to be a light meal for one person. The smoked trout is delicious and the mix with avocado and hard boiled eggs is filling. The sour dough bread is always perfect!
Eating for charity
Another endearing thing about La Bohème is their commitment to the community. One of the “charity crêpes” that donates a part of the proceeds to a local charity is the Q’osqo Maki. Made with mango, passion fruit and dark chocolate syrup, the Q’osqo Maki doesn’t need any other reasons to order one - or three!
Q’osqo Maki
However, you also get to donate s/3 to a very worthy local organization that helps vulnerable children and adolescents. There is a laminated booklet about the organization on the wall under the chalkboard advertising the crêpe (above).
The owner of La Bohème, Sarah Tenenbaum, is from Marseilles in southern France.
She first opened a crêperie in San Blas in 2013, when she decided that Cusco needed a crêperie. Like many Cusco residents, she first came here as a tourist. Not long after, she quit her job as an architect in France and moved to live full time in Cusco. Before opening La Bohème, she often hosted crêpe nights at her San Blas apartment for friends. Her first location was small and in only two years she moved to the current location. Even then, she grew her business little by little, investing in more space and more choices along the way. Now there are over a dozen sitting areas, including window nooks and a bar outside looking over the rooftops of San Blas.
Sarah’s touch is on every little bit of La Bohème.
All of the paintings, which cover the walls inside and out, are done by Sarah. The details in the food also say a lot about who she is as a person. She works hard to make sure that all ingredients are as local as possible. Even the nutella is homemade, out of more sustainable ingredients. (If you haven’t read the label, Nutella has palm oil in it, so Sarah’s is a much more sustainable version). She also made the decision to use locally grown cañihua flour, rather than imported buckwheat flour in the savory crêpes. From the ingredients that she sources to the way she treats her employees, Sarah ensures that she is being as sustainable and responsible as possible.
How to get there?
From the San Blas plaza, walk up Calle Carmen Alto, almost to the end of the street. You’ll see the sign for La Bo’M in the street before you get to the door. Just inside, go upstairs for the restaurant or downstairs for the hostal. (Yes, you can eat and drink and sleep at La Bo’M!)
