Yaku: Cocina de Altura
Yaku highlights many Andean ingredients, especially ingredients that are unique to the Cusco region.
Yaku has just expanded into a former alpaca clothing shop, more than doubling their seating. I had lunch in their outdoor area, which is very popular as Peru is still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
There isn’t much ambiance at the outdoor patio, but it’s covered for the rainy season and has overhead heaters for chilly days. The decoration indoors is bright and colorful with large Peruvian textil art.
Yaku has some of the fastest service I’ve experienced in Cusco.
It took less than a minute to be seated and have menus set on the table.
5 minutes: The server took our order. I ordered the Veggie Quinoa Yakimeshi and a lemonade with mint. My dining companion ordered the ceviche and a lemonade.
11 minutes: Our drinks were served. The mint lemonade had just the right amount of mint and neither drink was too sweet.
17 minutes: Our meals were served both with great presentation. The server explained the dishes and that the flower garnishes were edible. The yakimeshi had great texture and flavor but was a significantly smaller amount of food than the ceviche. It really needed a side of some sort. The ceviche was delicious and perfect if you like spicy, which thankfully my dining companion does. The waiter should have asked how spicy they wanted it, since not everybody likes as much hot pepper as was mixed in with the ceviche. The topping of fried fish skin had a great crunchy texture and made a nice presentation.
43 minutes: We finished eating.
46 minutes: The plates were cleared. I do have an issue with one aspect of service in Cusco, which is by no means unique to Yaku. I finished before my dining companion and the server wanted to clear my plate immediately. In many other countries this would be very rude as it makes people who haven’t finished eating rush through the end of their meal, rather than enjoy it.
55 minutes: We asked for the bill.
57 minutes. The server brought the bill.
59 minutes: We paid with a card at the table and left right at the hour mark. The service was fast enough that if we had eaten quicker it would have been easy to have the meal in 45 minutes. This is a great place for lunch if you’re in a hurry but want good food.
How to get there
From the Plaza de Armas, walk through Calle del Medio to the Plaza Regocijo. Yaku is on the northwest corner of the park, across from the Cusco Municipal building.
