Where to eat in Huacachina (and when to go to Ica city)

The short answer on where to eat in Huacachina: in the oasis itself, pick places with a short menu, a kitchen you can see and people actually eating, and use it for the practical stuff (a light lunch before the dunes, something quick afterwards). For real Ica food, take a taxi or mototaxi to Ica city, about five kilometres away, and look for where the people who work there eat. We're not going to name places. Restaurants change owners, cooks and quality faster than any guide can keep up with. What we can give you is the judgement, and that doesn't go out of date.

We've spent more than twelve years watching travellers eat before and after the dunes. We know what works and what ends in a wasted afternoon.

Huacachina restaurants or Ica city: where to eat and when

Huacachina is a small village around a lagoon, about five kilometres from Ica (Wikipedia). Almost everything served in the oasis is aimed at visitors: terraces facing the water, long menus, pizza, burgers, a few Peruvian plates. The food's fine, and for some moments it's exactly what you need.

The oasis works when you want to eat without moving because the dunes are that same afternoon, when you want a slow breakfast looking at the lagoon, when you come back from the tour with sand in your ears and just need food, or when you're staying there and would rather not take a taxi at night.

Ica city works for everything else: carapulcra with sopa seca, chupe de pallares and the other local dishes; the set lunch (menú) that workers eat, which is usually the most honest food around; the market, if you want to see and taste what locals eat; and tejas and chocotejas on every corner.

Our take: if you only get one "proper" meal on your trip, have it in Ica city. The ride is short and you'll taste the difference straight away.

How to pick a good place to eat in the oasis

Names won't help you much. What works is stopping at the door for a moment and having a proper look.

The first thing we check is the menu. A kitchen that does ten things does them better than one offering sixty, and a huge laminated menu with photos in four languages usually means a freezer. Then, whether people are eating: at lunchtime a full room beats an empty one with a pretty terrace, and if there are Peruvians at the tables, even better. If you can hear the griddle and smell chilli, that's a good sign. The bathroom matters too, because it tells you a lot about the parts you can't see. And water and drinks should come in sealed bottles, opened at the table.

What makes us walk on:

• The tout at the door following you with a menu. It's not always bad food, but persistence has nothing to do with quality.
• A lukewarm buffet. Hot food should be hot and cold food cold, one of the basic rules in the CDC's advice for travellers (CDC, safe food and water).
• Juices or drinks with ice of unknown origin.
• Ceviche at dinner. Here we eat ceviche at lunchtime, with the day's fish; if it's pushed as the house special in the evening, we'd think twice.

One more thing: the terrace with the best lagoon view is rarely the one with the best kitchen. Have your coffee there if you like, and eat lunch somewhere else.

Where do locals eat in Ica?

People from Ica don't have lunch in the oasis. They eat in town, at menú places, neighbourhood picanterías and the market.

If you want to eat like a local, ask your taxi or mototaxi driver, but ask the right question. "Where can I eat well?" gets you taken wherever suits them. Try "where do you have lunch?" and watch the answer change.

Mind the time of day, too. Set-lunch places fill up at midday and many run out of dishes by mid-afternoon; turn up late and you get whatever's left.

Order the speciality, not the menu. Lots of places in Ica do a couple of dishes really well and the rest out of obligation. If the sign outside says carapulcra or chupe, order that.

And the market, with some sense: food cooked to order, a stall with a queue, no pre-cut fruit and no ice. More on that in our guide to eating street food in Ica without getting sick.

What to eat before and after a Huacachina dune buggy tour

This is where choosing where to eat stops being a matter of taste and becomes a matter of safety.

Before the tour. Something light, somewhere close, no rush. Nothing greasy or very spicy, and no alcohol. The NHS advises against heavy meals and alcohol before travel if you're prone to motion sickness (NHS on motion sickness). On our UTV tour you drive yourself, in a 4-point harness and helmet, with the guide in front. Before we set off we check helmet, harness and footwear person by person, and turning up to that moment with a churning stomach or a couple of beers in you is a bad idea: you don't take in the briefing properly, and on sand your attention is what keeps you safe. The full protocol is on our safety page. If you get queasy easily, also read what to eat before a dune tour.

The classic mistake: the group that has a big lunch with beers on an oasis terrace and climbs into the vehicle mid-digestion. By the second dune someone asks to stop. We stop, of course. But that person misses the best part.

After the tour. Now you can go for it. You come back properly hungry, a bit sunburnt around the edges and sandy everywhere. That's the moment for carapulcra, for pisco (you're in pisco country) and for a long table where everyone argues about who screamed on the big drop. If you're staying in the oasis and don't want to move, fine. If you've still got the energy, dinner in Ica city is usually worth the taxi.

If you're doing the zorb at 4:30 pm, eat lightly beforehand. Spinning inside a ball on a full stomach doesn't end well.

Meals aren't included in our tours. That part of the day is yours, which is why we'd rather hand you the criteria than a list.

What you can ask us on WhatsApp

We don't recommend specific restaurants in writing, because they change. But we can help you lay out the day so meals land at the right moment: lunch before or after the tour, whether you're better off staying in Huacachina or Ica city, how much slack to leave between things.

Message us on +51 967 564 701 with the date, how many of you there are, ages, where you're staying, whether anyone gets motion sick or has a delicate stomach, and whether you want to add zorbing or sandboarding (sandboarding is arranged separately). We'll reply with a plan that makes sense.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to eat in Huacachina or in Ica city? For convenience the oasis is fine: you eat next to where you're staying. For real Ica food, the city wins, and it's a short taxi or mototaxi ride away.

What local dishes should I try near Huacachina? Carapulcra with sopa seca, chupe de pallares verdes (green lima bean soup) and, for dessert, tejas and chocotejas. You'll find them mostly in Ica city, at set-lunch places and in the market.

Can I eat lunch right before a dune buggy tour? Yes, but keep it light and skip the alcohol. A heavy meal before the UTV or the zorb is the quickest way to have a bad time on the second dune.