Machu Picchu Restaurant

When I first arrived in Georgia, I lived right down the street from Michu Picchu (1994). It immediately became my favorite restaurant. The seafood fried rice was perfect and to die for. I revisited a few years back and the place just wasn’t the same.
Gonna miss ol’ Michu Picchu. Farewell old friend.

Machu Picchu was the first Peruvian restaurant that I went to when I first moved to Atlanta. I recently moved from Northern Virginia where there are Peruvian restaurants everywhere.
I’ve had their ceviche and lomo saltado. They were both good! I like how they offer to different size plates for their food. The prices are great also! Highly recommend this place.

Today I tried Machu Picchu for the first time, and it was okay… not bad but definitely not spectacular.
The staff was very friendly, it was really cute (and clean) inside, and service was quick. I also really love Inca Kola, so I was happy to be able to have that to drink :)
I ordered the Lomo Saltado. As a HUGE peruvian food fan, I was a little disappointed. I think that it lacked a little bit of flavor and the meat wasn’t the highest quality (a little tough). However, it is 1000 times better than Costa Verde, I must admit. Plus, it seemed to be a little over priced.

We were so happy to find this place. Great food, huge portions and very tasty! I am from Bolivia and the food is very authentic to our countries! Love to come back again!
And I LOVE my Inca Kola!

Great place for some cheap, authentic ceviche! No frills place but the service is great and the ceviche is simply delicious. Try the seafood ceviche appetizer! Citrusy goodness!

I came here first time with a coworker during lunch hour. It is very quiet with only two tables taken. The lunch menu is quite pricey at $ 9.95– you choose an appetizer, entrée, and iced tea. For appetizer, I chose boiled potato with some sauce over it. For entrée, I chose fried fish with rice and salad. Iced tea was okay. Appetizer was okay. Entrée was good– fish was crispy on outside and moist on inside. Portion was pretty good. Overall the food was overpriced. It would make sense for $ 7. My coworker told me she came last year when it was $ 7 so she was surprised the price went up to almost ten bucks. We won’t be back.

Machu Picchu is the only restaurant I’ve ever had Peruvian cuisine so I don’t have another point of reference or any comparisons — even so I don’t have a want or need for any place else but Machu Picchu.
I’ve visited Machu Picchu a few times over the years (for dinner) as its been a mainstay in Northeast Plaza ever since I can remember and I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed my meals here. Recently, I came in for their lunch service — first time — and I can’t believe I didn’t come in sooner! First of all, it’s one of, if not the best deal in town for lunch; $ 8.75 gets you your choice of appetizer (soup, empanada, or a papa a la huancaina — sliced boiled potatoes), an entrée — including sides, and an iced tea. What a bargain.
For my app, I went with a chicken empanada — YUM. I hadn’t had a really good empanada in so long, I was half-​expecting not to enjoy it, but let me assure you Machu Picchu knows what they’re doing! The crust was crisp, hearty, and it flaked off as I cut it in half — the chicken was still steaming inside. The chicken itself was moist, tender, and flavorful, basically everything it should be! I chose the ‘Milanesa de Pollo Con Arroz’ (fried chicken breast with rice) for my entrée, which also came with a side salad, and the chicken was quite a generous serving. The chicken again, was cooked very well — and I enjoy how Peruvian items feel so much lighter, not to mention the glorious hint of lime — YUM.
I also got to sample bits of the lentil soup and fried fish –I did enjoy the soup a lot more than I thought it would — it’s hearty and rich, but don’t let it sit too long as the texture ends up mushy; the fish was decent as well, but in comparison to the chicken, it wasn’t quite as good. I found it to be too heavily breaded. And if you’re wondering, the iced tea is good — it’s sweet, but I’d recommend going for the Inca Kola if you can!
For dessert, we split an Alfajores ($ 2 each), a Peruvian cookie that puts all cookies to shame, as they’re two shortbread cookies/​sweet biscuits sandwiched together by dulce de leche and a light dusting of powdered sugar. Yes, for real. So rich and sweet — but not too sweet, it was a great end to a lovely lunch!

Excellent food and service! The staff at this restaurant always treat us like family and are always glad to share their rich Peruvian culture. The food is fantastic, and from what my south American friends said, on point in authenticity.
Dinner takes a bit too cook, but it’s all fresh and the Pisco Sours are there to keep you occupied!

Dear me do I love Peruvian cuisine. It may very well be one of my favorite styles of food to consume on any given occasion and I’m so glad we visited Machu Picchu. Here’s why:
Pollo con arroz. This is definitely a «keep it simple, stupid» kind of dish and any Peruvian Chef with know-​how does this right. It’s amazing. Simple and delicious roasted chicken, served as a quarter bird, on top of deliciously flavorful rice. It’s a pretty rib-​sticking plate of food, too. I was surprised that I polished it off. So good.
They also serve an wonderfully crusty bread before your meal with some sort of chile or arbol dipping sauce. It has some serious zing to it, too! We left no man behind.
Cancha — Peruvian «popcorn» that is actually baked kernels. Super fun to eat the flavors are earthy. Definitely worth a shot if you fancy it.
Alfajores. Seriously one of my favorite sweet items on the planet. I’m not much of a dessert guy, but this is something I’ll never pass up. Shortbread cookies with dulce de leche in between. HEAVEN. I recently learned that these are most popular in a few South American countries — Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and a few others. It’s one of the most common snack items among children and adults. They are delicious and pretty hearty.
The service at Machu Picchu is just lovely. The woman who was our server had the brightest smile and attitude. She was so happy that I was excited about everything we were eating.
I can’t wait to go back.

Yes. I love rice and beans. And I really, REALLY love the Tacu-​Tacu dish from Machu Picchu. It is, as the inimitable Jeff Garlin would say, «A big bowl of wonderful.»
We sampled quite a few things, including fried yuca, cancha (Peruvian popcorn), bread and secret spicy sauce, alfajores, etc. The Mr went with Pollo con Arroz and I was absolutely satisfied with the Tacu-​Tacu.
Service was effervescent. The kind lady taking care of us was a pure delight.
The restaurant itself is situated in a typical strip mall full of ethnic restaurants and shopping. We were among a very small number of patrons on the weeknight we visited, but it didn’t bother us one bit.
Nearly everyone else present appeared to be a native Spanish speaker, too.
We will definitely return with hungry stomachs for delicious food (and a postré of alfajores).

Passed by this place several times and been wanting to try it. Got the Aji de Gallina and the Lomo Saltado a la Pobre. The dishes were pretty good portions. Some dishes have a large portion too which I assume can feed 2 people.
The Gallina dish was ok — too creamy and too much sauce. It needed something to cut the richness. Flavor was decent but I wouldn’t order it again.
The Lomo Pobre was very tasty. The fries were a little weird mixed in — could have done without. Otherwise a good dish.
Service was great. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly.
Décor was very old fashioned. Some of the decorations were cool. I assume from Peru. However the tablecloths on the tables outdated the restaurant.

Let me start off by saying the ethnic food scene in Atlanta is lacking. But this place is a rare gem in this city! The food is good and authentic! The décor is simple, yet clean and not dated. The service is good and the people are friendly!
My favorite dish is the Ceviche Mixto, which I always order with a side of white rice, so I can soak up all the yummy juices of the ceviche! The flavor and texture of the ceviche is perfect and the portion size of the large is good. I also like the Cancha (corn/​hominy) as an appetizer to munch on while I wait for my meal. A must to wash it all down with is an Inka Kola, the soda of Peru! I wish they had more Lucama desserts, as I love Lucama, but they do have a lucama smoothie that is very good!
All and all I really like this place! It is a ways out of the way for me, so I can’t come as much as I’d like. But maybe that’s good, because it’s always a treat I look forward to!

Food was REALLY GOOD, what brings it down to 3 stars is that the service was horrible. I’ve only been here once, and it appears to be a family restaurant and way understaffed. On this first visit we noticed the restaurant was ½ full already, however most available seating were with tables that were not cleaned off yet. There is no hostess so you have to seat yourself. We sat at a table that still needed to be cleaned, but we were ok with that. After 10 minutes of sitting a waitress finally comes to our table and gives us menus and attempts to leave without taking the dirty dishes from our table. My husband has to call her back to remove them. She picked them up and it took her another 20 minutes to come back. No joke, my husband actually went back home (we live 5 minutes away) to take his allergy medicine and came back thinking I at least ordered the food. NOPE I did not.
Here is what we ordered:
Sangria — very good. We ordered a pitcher and the waitress brings us 2 glasses. We asked for a pitcher and she had no idea what a pitcher meant. She had to bring another waitress to ask us what we wanted and the 2^nd waitress immediately understood. Hello it’s on the menu! Our waitress must of been very new, that is the only explanation for her horrible service.
Pisco Sour — surprising tasty. This is a drink with egg whites in it, which I thought sounded very odd. But my husband grew up with a Peruvian friend so he had it before and convinced me to try it. It doesn’t taste eggy, the egg white just makes it frothy. All though we had to remind the waitress 2 times about this drink before she actually brought our drinks.
We ordered Appetizers — although they served it to us at the same time as our entrees. We did not send the anything back because service is so bad you have to take what you can get.
1. Mixed Seafood Ceviche, although we ordered the Shrimp Ceviche and got the mixed seafood instead, we were VERY HAPPY with it. Reminds me of home Ceviche, a nice big portion and perfect flavors.
2. I don’t know the name of the it, but it was boiled potatoes with a spicy cheese sauce. Very good!
Entrees:
Lomo — very good!
Seco (beef stew) — tasty although I wish is was hotter temperature wise, and more tender. However this was my first time eating Seco, so maybe it’s not supposed to be too tender.
And last but not least for dessert we ordered the Peruvian donut.
Total bill came to about $ 96. Not bad for all the food and drinks we ordered.
I’ll come back. Hopefully the service will be better next time.

I have been to Peru twice so I have had my fair share of Peruvian cuisine. I chose to go to this restaurant because I was craving the food since Peru is one of the top gastronomical locations in the world. I invited some friends and we all sampled off of each other’s plates so I can say that the ceviche (fish dish with onion and lime), arroz chaufa (a Chinese-​Peruvian fusion food), Lomo Saltado and the Tallarines Verdes (a pesto pasta dish-​Italian-​Peruvian fusion food) were delicious. They also served cancha (a dried corn kernel snack) and bread with aji (pepper) sauce. In addition, they keep Inca Kola (a popular soda in Peru) in stock. I was in heaven. I LOVE this place. Nothing I had disappointed me. I will definitely be returning.
I have read a lot of complaints on here about the service and the décor, but the service I had was great and the décor while not the most wonderful in the world by American standards was similar to the décor you would see if you went to an actual restaurant in Peru in the same price range.

I’ve never had sit-​down Peruvian food before, besides the unforgettable pupusas served at farmer’s markets on the West Coast, but Machu Picchu has made me a firm believer in Peruvian food!
Located on Buford Highway, which is considered ground zero for Atlanta’s ethnic eats, the restaurant is located in an unassuming strip mall.
The décor has seen better days and is a little cheesy, but the food is the star. The standout dish was the gut bomb called Lomo Saltado a lo Pobre, a generous serving of stir fried sirloin steak with onions and tomatoes — get this — served over fries! An over-​easy egg adds to the gluttony. Might as well go all the way, right?
All the entrees are big enough for two, and perfect for sharing. I also found it interesting that Machu Picchu also serves pasta — with a twist. The Tallarin Verde is a Peruvian version of pesto and linguine.
Not to be missed is the Inca Kola or Golden cola and definitely lives up to its namesake. Think of it as mello yello amped up. It’s a nuclear gold color.
If you’re in the mood to try something different, definitely give Macchu Piccu a try!

Machu Picchu, Peru is known as «The Lost City of the Incas». After today’s meal, I was wishing it had never been found.
Three of us went for a late lunch, and with Panahar closed, Machu Picchu seemed like a great option. I like Peruvian food, and the thought of Papas a la Huancaina is enough to initiate Pavlovian drooling on my part. Papas a la Huancaina are potatoes served cold with an amazing sauce of cheese, milk and «aji amarillo», a spicy yellow Peruvian pepper. Machu Picchu’s version was bland, bland, bland. A thinly sliced quarter of a boiled egg topped the blandness. My friend ordered a steak empanada and instead received chicken. I ordered a rice dish, which was almost impossibly blander than the potatoes. The chicken dishes consisted of bland chicken on top of bland potatoes covered with the same bland sauce. One of my friends asked me directly if Peruvians don’t like spices.
Service was surprisingly poor seeing as there was only one other table seated. While the servers were very friendly, glasses were empty, bread was never refilled, and no one cared to check in during the meal. Not being the type to leave defeated, we ordered a flan for dessert, it was just okay.
On the car ride backed we agreed that while not bad, the food was just not good. At $ 12-​$ 20 per person, there was no way any of us would be convinced into returning.
Interestingly, a tasteless burp escaped me and I realized that Machu Picchu can be rearranged to Machu Hiccup.
On the way out, I snapped a quick picture of the llama placed at the door, adding a smile to my face and an extra half star to my review. (see llama picture)
*****End of review. The following is a silly llama joke. Read at your own risk*********
A devout Peruvian cowboy lost his favorite Bible while he was mending fences.
Three weeks later, a llama walked up to him carrying the Bible in its mouth.
The cowboy couldn’t believe his eyes.
He took the precious book out of the llama’s mouth, raised his eyes heavenward and exclaimed, «It’s a miracle!»
«Not really,» said the llama. «Your name is written inside the cover.»

I have never had Peruvian food before, so this was an interesting experience. I’m giving this place an extra star for service. They were attentive and accommodating to a large group, although they said they didn’t receive a reservation from anyone.
I thought it was interesting how there’s pasta on the menu. But my Peruvian friend later explained to me it’s because a lot of Italians immigrated to Peru. Interesting…
Tom E. ordered a green pasta dish that looked pretty enticing.
There’s a motley of food to chose from. The menu is divided into types of meats and traditional foods. I also tried Inca Cola and Purple Corn juice. The Inca Cola tasted almost like a Vietnamese energy drink. It’s very similar to red bull. The purple corn juice is interesting. It’s pretty saccharine and a new, unique taste for me.
I tried the anticucho, beef heart kabobs. It was good and tender. I ordered seco de carne, a traditional beef stew dish. I got a lot of beef so I am content.
I only know of one other Peruvian restaurant in the Atlanta and surrounding area and it’s in Duluth. I think it’s cool we have a Peruvian restaurant in town.

I may or may not be behind on all of reviews, as I reactivated FB (damn!), so I will do my best to play some catch up. With that being said, last week I had the pleasure to go to one of Daniel B’s awesome UYE’s that he craft-​fully (is that a word?) created. There is a reason they call him the «Wizard»!
Machu Picchu is one of those places that unless you don’t know the exact location, you may spend a while looking for it. It is in a smaller strip in the front of a large shopping center, facing AWAY from traffic (as if I didn’t get there late enough). The parking lot is large enough it can be used as a backup runway for Peachtree-​Dekalb Airport, I wish I were kidding.
My buddies and I (I decided to bring my best friends, who indeed are twins) walked in, and thankfully, the crew was already situated. Thankfully, we were the only patrons at the time, so adding another table was no problem.
The atmosphere was decent– it stayed native to Peru, and had some cool things on the walls. The colors almost reminded me of Tuscany though. Maybe this is a fusion restaurant? The good news though, the place was spotless, a nice thing to know for a place that has been around for about 20 years.
The menu had about 70 or so items, along with some beer and wine. I ended up getting Inca Kola, my new favorite drink (you know the shit they sell in the ethnic aisles at the grocery store?) — it is Coke’s answer to a South American cream soda, and it’s yellow. And it has caffeine. This is my new gamer fuel! I won’t deny it, I ordered 2 when it became time to order drinks.
For food, I ordered some noodles with pesto, a fried potato, and a steak. When people asked me what I ordered, I said, «Spaghetti». They looked at me like I was crazy, as we were at a Peruvian restaurant, but I assured them: A) It was a legit choice B) It is actually considered «traditional». Hell, I was getting excited!
The food came out in spurts, which didn’t bother me. While we were waiting, they had some bread with some cold n spicy stuff to put on it– I liked it!
My food came, and damn, was there a lot! It was all green and purdy with a nice size steak (thin sliced, but large in area, almost like a thick slice of ham). The pasta was seasoned well, and so was the steak. I was glad to know that. Although the steak was cooked all the way through, the seasoning made up for it. I left full.
My buddy ordered a cream of caramel dessert (as the flan was sold out) — and lemme tell you, that shtuff looked fantastic! I think he took it in 3 bites.
All in all, I had a great time here, and for one server, she did well (thanks, Wendy!). I will def have to come back and try some other things, as you could come here for a month straight and get something different everyday!
PS, touch the llama, as it is good luck– don’t worry, it doesn’t bite!

Went to Machu Picchu with 12 other Unilocalers two nights ago for this month’s Buford Highway UYE (
). Machu Picchu is a Peruvian restaurant located north of the North Druid Hills intersection in the Northeast Plaza Shopping Center. This shopping center is also where Panahar Bangladeshi Cuisine, FunTime Bowl, and a Goodwill store are located. This restaurant has been in Atlanta since the early 90s.
On a Tuesday night, the 13 of us took over the empty restaurant. The space is bigger and nicer than I thought it’d be. Our large group only took up a fraction of the tables. The interior is adorned with Incan artwork, metalwork, and artifact decorations with a pretty casual atmosphere overall.
The menu has over 60 Peruvian dishes with entrees ranging in price from about $ 9 to $ 19 each. Peruvian cuisine heavily features corn, potatoes, and chilis. Most of the offerings at Machu Picchu include soups, seafood, meats (chicken & beef), and pasta (!) dishes. There are a lot of similarities to other Latin American cuisine. The foods I tried included:
Entrada /​Appetizers:
Toast with Salsa de Huancaina — Peruvian sauce
Anticucho — beef heart kabobs
Platos Criollos /​Traditional Dishes:
Aji de Gallina — shredded chicken in creamy blend of cheese, garlic, and Peruvian peppers, served with rice
Seco de Carne — beef stew in homemade cilantro sauce, served with rice
Extras:
Yuca Frita — fried yuca «fries»
Bebidas /​Drinks:
Chicha Morada — purple corn juice
Inca Kola — Peruvian golden cola
The yellow Salsa de Huancaina sauce, named after a city in Peru, is a national tradition. It’s made out of yellow peppers, salt and black pepper, egg, cheese, milk/​cream, oil, onion, and garlic. It’s spicy and has a unique taste of its own. Machu Picchu’s version is a little on the thicker side. It went great with almost everything — bread/​toast, yuca, chicken, etc.
The Anticucho (beef heart kabobs) were delicious. Highlight of the meal. One order came with two kabobs, each kabob having three nice size chunks of beef heart. The beef heart was surprisingly tender and flavorful. I was expecting a chewier or more rubbery consistency, but these hearts had the texture of and tasted more like extra savory steak than anything. Definitely try some. This app is also served with a small side of yuca and Huancaina sauce.
The Aji de Gallina reminded me of chicken pot pie with its hearty shreds of chicken and light-​colored creamy sauce. This entrée was served with some boiled egg, potato, and white rice on the side. The rice complemented this gravy-​heavy dish well. Satisfying and flavorful, I’d classify this dish as Peruvian comfort food and would order it again.
The Seco de Carne was OK. This is definitely a «meat and potatoes» type dish with its steak, potato, and white rice. The olive green gravy was light, contained peas, and had subtle cilantro flavor. I thought some of the slices of beef were chewy, despite being thin cuts and soaked in stew. I’m guessing it was flank.
Thanks to new Elite Joy W. for joining us and recommending some of these dishes (she had just traveled to Peru for mission work). Other dishes ordered at the table looked fabulous. This included Tom E’s Tallarines Verdes con Bistec (spaghetti in homemade Peruvian pesto sauce with grilled steak) and Fate Z’s Parihuela (seafood soup). Portion sizes were generous.
The Yuca Frita was freshly fried, thick, crispy on the outside, and steaming hot and exceptionally soft inside.
Several people ordered the Chicha Morada (purple corn juice), though not everyone liked it. I liked it, but can see how it might be an acquired taste. The drink contains spices like cinnamon and clove, which gives it a noticeable aftertaste and aroma.
Everyone seemed to like the Inca Kola (Coke product). Inca Kola has a super sweet and fruity flavor. Its flavor can be described as drinking bubblegum or lollipop-​flavored soda. Its color looks radioactive.
Service was very good. Our server, Wendy, separated checks for us (among singles and couples) without a problem. The food came out from the kitchen in a reasonable amount of time. Pretty good considering our large group. I did make reservations in advance.
In the end, I don’t know of many Peruvian restaurants in Atlanta, but Machu Picchu seems like a decent one. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Update: Went again for my first Unofficial Unilocal Event (UYE) hosted by Daniel B and it was really fun meeting other Unilocalers and watching the Peruvian-​food virgins try anticuchos (beef heart) for the first time. They were delicious by the way.
The food this time at Machu Picchu was significantly better, perhaps because they knew it was a Unilocal event and stepped up their game.
I ordered the Arroz con Pollo and OH MY LAND it was heavenly. Everyone who tried it said they were going to order it next time. The yucca fries were also amazingly moist this time around compared to the dried ones we tried last time. Also, the chicken empanada was superb… better than the beef empanada.
One of the guys down the table also ordered the spaghetti with pesto and steak. Not sure if I would order pasta at a Peruvian restaurant, but I will say that it looked fantastic. So if you aren’t much of an adventurer, there’s still pasta.