Deli Monasterio - Cusco

We thought making a trip to an Oriteal Express hotel would be one of finer dining moments in Peru but we were extremly disappointed. Bland tasting food that was simply overpriced however great wait staff but I would advise anyone who is not staying there to go somewhere else. Fortunately, it was a beautiful hotel with the restaurant sitting and overlooking a courtyard however the food could not redeem it.

As part of the package we booked at Hotel Monasterio, we were entitled to a meal at the Illariy restaurant. We opted to wait a few days after our arrival to book the restaurant in order to make sure the altitude had soaked in.The setting is absolutely wonderful with the restaurant facing the courtyard of the hotel. It is very romantic and serene.The menu is a mix of peruvian dishes and international fare. It's definately more modern than the setting would indicate.The wine list is limited and the prices go up quickly. We had a chat with the sommelier and apparently it's not so much because of hotel markup but rather that availability of good wine especially from europe is limited. We opted for a spanish wine from Ribera that was excellent.I had the tuna salad as an appetizer and the pieces of tuna were large and very tasty. I would say the size of the appetizer was even too big for me. Similar with the main course, I can't recall the exact name of the dish but it was something like jamaican steak. It was also really good but way too big. After the first two courses we opted against desert. We asked for our bottle of wine to be brought up to our room which was done promptly.The quality of the food and the preparation was overall excellent. It was however lacking a little something to be a realy 5* experience. The service and setting are wonderful. I would give it another shot and I would certainly recommend guests of the hotel to try it out.

The restaurant was a wonderful setting for a nice romantic evening, but the food was seriously lacking. The presentation was good as was the service, but I could have had a better meal for a far cheaper price at many location throughout the city. My advice would be to choose somewhere else. I’ve read that the Hotel Monasterio is the nicest hotel in Cusco, this I don’t question, but the same does not hold true for the restaurant.

Stopped by to pick up a sandwich for a day trip. I was delighted to find that they offered a veggie sandwich on whole wheat with no cheese. I try to eat mostly vegan, and while I find plenty of vegetarian sandwiches while traveling, I find very few vegan ones! I also got a vegetable empanadas which was delicious. No cheese in it, although I suspect they used some butter in the crust

We ate at a table downstairs. It may have been the early hour, but service bordered on neglectful. Would eat there again because what the service lacked was more than made up for by the empanadas.