We stumbled upon Greens Organic Restaurant just half a block from Cusco‘s famous Plaza de Armas after already haven eaten one afternoon. At street level, it is just a bright green and glass door below the Greens logo and beside a small chalkboard sign with specials and a reminder to the reader to “nourish your spirit and soul as well as your body.”
Inside the door, potential customers can read through the impressive, but not overwhelming menu without being pestered before heading up the stairs and into the bright, clean space above to enjoy a delicious meal. Greens immediately moved to the top of our list of places we planned to eat before leaving the country.
When we returned a couple of weeks later, we arrived just before the lunch crowd and selected a table with couch seating in the corner as far from the balcony as we could get due to cooler than usual temperatures. The staff was friendly offering fantastic service.
More than half of the menu was vegetarian, featuring unique, flavorful options, and each menu item was marked with a color-coded asterisk denoting how organic that dish was (all 80-100%). We were in heaven!
After some serious consideration and narrowing down of options, we opted to start with an order of fried cheese and roast pumpkin soup and then to split a campesino sandwich featuring goat cheese, carmelized onions, vegetables, and a quinoa hummus.
The meals weren't huge, but we were satisfied by the time we'd finished and though it was most certainly a mistake, we opted to take the bill without trying one of their fabulous looking desserts or fresh juices. The sandwich was flavorful and tasty, and the rich, creamy soup was just what we needed on a cold afternoon.
But it was the fried cheese though that really impressed us. The plate came with six fried chunks atop a sweet soy syrup and topped with a spicy mango sauce. My mouth waters just thinking about them now!
There are a lot of restaurants in Cusco's centro and a fair number of vegetarian options at that, all catering to tourists and most with prices a decent amount higher than might be paid elsewhere in Peru.
Greens Organic falls into those categories, but the environment, service, quality of products, healthiness, variety of options, and absolute deliciousness make the restaurant stand out as a must visit for vegetarians in Cusco.
Details
- Address: Santa Catalina Angosta 135, Plaza de Armas
- Telephone: +51 84 254 753
- Foursqure; Facebook; Website
Brianna, who last remembers knowing what she wanted to be when she grew up at six (a radiologist) is feisty and energetic, bossy and exaggerated, loving and sincere. She's also one quarter of the crew that makes up Vangabonds, a blog about a slow journey from Canada to Argentina in a CR-V with her and her husband Ian at the helm, and their two dogs, Maya and Olmec tagging along. Go check out their blog and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. They won't bite!
