If you are new to Iquitos and the Amazon, you are in for a real treat. The food in Iquitos is excellent. It is an exotic blend of Peruvian, Brazilian, and Colombian food with influences from the Andes and the Pacific Coast. Try the 'juane' and the 'tacacho'. If you want something cold most likely you will need it because of the heat there are excellent 'heladerias' ice cream shops like Shambo the main Shambo is in Grau avenue, close to 28 de Julio Square, and the second in the corner of Huallaga St. and Morona St., Giornata in Plaza de Armas, and La Favorita in Prospero St.
The Huasai, easy to find, half a block northwest of the Plaza de Armas, at Fitzcarrald # 131. One of the best values in Iquitos for lunch. $2.50 includes a pitcher of tropical fruit juice. It is very popular with local business people.
Kikiriki, easy to find at Napo # 159, one block north of the Plaza de Armas, away from the river. Good for chicken and anticucho, good value for around $2. Opens at 6:00PM.
Dawn on the Amazon - easy to find at the end of the boulevard on the corner of Nauta is the place to go to eat and meet. The food is excellent, it is right on the end of the boulevard with a beautiful view and it is the center to find out where to go in Iquitos. All the expats congregate each evening full of suggestions and great conversation. Dawn on the Amazon should be your first stop in Iquitos. Live music and lively conversation. Open at 7AM and closes at 10PM.
Visitors beware:
Do not eat endangered species. Some locals do so as tradition, but many "guides" pseudo-guides and restaurants will offer you to taste caiman, majás, turtles, deer and other "carne de monte" wild meat. Remember breeding farms for these species do not exist, so these animals come from natural environments.
It is advisable to steer clear from street vendors and the market places for your daily meals. Even though the food may look delicious and it really is! it is wise to stick to eating at professionally run restaurants. Eating in the street or at the market probably won't make you sick, but when it does, your vacation is ruined.
