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$$$$ | Zona Sur |
Not just a restaurant but an entire cultural experience, this is the one restaurant in La Paz you can’t miss. Run as a nonprofit initiative (as part of a project by Danish restaurateur Claus Meyer), Gustu is a training ground for underprivileged youths who want to enter the world of gastronomy. At the same time it serves a refined, modern, and 100% local tasting menu that fuses modern Scandinavian style with top-quality, responsibly sourced Bolivian ingredients. Sip tasty and inventive cocktails as you sit at the bar working your way through the superb snack menu. Knowledgeable, talented staff are on hand to guide you through a bewildering array of ingredients you've probably never heard of. Don’t hesitate to go for the full tasting menu. It will be a unique Bolivian experience and among the cheapest top-class, modern tasting menus you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Calle 10, #300, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.--Mon.
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$$ | Zona Central |
This is exactly the kind of bar any wine lover would hope to find during their travels—friendly, cool, and with knowledgeable staff to get you into the best of Bolivian wine and craft beers. With daily two-for-one specials on select wines by the glass (weekdays from 5:30 to 7), great locally produced French- and Swiss-style cheeses, occasional live jazz, and even the odd quiz night, there really is no excuse not to stop by. The expanded tapas menu features modern Spanish/Bolivian flavors carefully chosen to pair with the local wines, which, if you’ve never tried any, are guaranteed to surprise you with their quality.
Av. Sanchez Lima 2235, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., No lunch
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$$ | Zona Sur |
This small, trendy café is at the forefront of a budding coffee revolution in Bolivia. Baristas trained to high international standards are roasting, grinding, and brewing some of the country’s best beans and serving up cuppa after cuppa that would please even the most serious of coffee lovers. Go for the perfect espresso—no easy matter at 10,000 feet—but don't be surprised to find yourself lingering over the carrot cake or one of the simple but spectacular sourdough sandwiches. The bread is baked at the little in-house bakery, and a few loaves are always for sale—you just have to get there early enough to grab one.
Calle Rene Moreno E 20, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
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$$$$ | Zona Central |
From its location on the penthouse floor of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, this upscale, formal restaurant gives diners spectacular views of the city, best appreciated at sunset. The Bolivian and international dishes on the menu are excellent, though the presentation may seem overly elaborate.
Av. Arce 2177, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Zona Central |
The rather dashing llama with his curled French moustache on the sign above the door tells you just about everything you need to know about this whimsical but high-quality French restaurant that has quickly cemented its position as one of La Paz’s favorites. Visitors of all ages are seduced by the service and comfortable pricing, and the traditional French dishes are flawless—try the steak tartare or the filet with Roquefort. The whole friendly, tasty package is complemented by a great wine menu and desserts that leave patrons swooning. Particuarly loved are the crème brûlée and the chocolate mousse.
Fernando Guachalla and 20 de Octubre, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., No credit cards
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$$$ | Zona Sur |
Offering reliably delicious and slightly refined Bolivian cuisine, El Vagon del Sur is worth the trip to Zona Sur if you’re tempted by local dishes but not quite ready to delve into the market or the little side-street restaurants. Excellent service in a beautiful old house makes the extra expense worthwhile. Frequented by wealthy locals and a growing number of tourists, it fills up at both lunch and dinner, and reservations are particularly recommended on weekends. The best-loved dishes are the pique mixto with stewed beef, chorizo, and tongue, or the picante mixto, a taste of four traditional dishes from around the country. It's best to come here after your appetite becomes used to the altitude.
Av. Julio C. Patino, No. 1295, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$$ | Zona Sur |
A longtime favorite for classy and authentic French cuisine, La Comédie is best known for all things duck, with the pâté and the confit the crowd favorites. The comfortable and intimate dining room creates a festive mood with original decor that was intended to entertain, often with tongue firmly in cheek. Don't miss the French onion soup.
Pasaje Medinacelli 2234, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$$$ | |
Don't be fooled by the Swiss-chalet frontage and the name: this restaurant offers a grand mix of styles and cuisines, all impressively well done. It may feel like you're sitting inside a cuckoo clock, but the dining is excellent. Try sticking with the starters and get a range of things to sample, or indulge in a llama steak, followed by a fondue (cheese, meat, or chocolate). Rösti (a Swiss potato dish) and paella are also on the menu. It's a popular place for birthdays, anniversaries, and funerals, so book your table in advance.
Av. Muñoz Reyes 1710, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$$ | Zona Central |
Although the decor doesn’t do much to raise this restaurant above a typical hotel restaurant, the guys in the kitchen are extremely deft hands on the grill and make some of the best meat in town for a very reasonable price. The best time to go is on Sunday, when they serve traditional dishes like sajta, a kind of chicken stew, and Cochabamba’s most famous dish, silpancho, thinly cut and lightly breaded fried steak, served on a bed of rice and fried potatoes, and topped with an egg and a spicy mix of tomato and locoto peppers.
Calle Capitan Ravelo 2123, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
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$$ | Zona Central |
Colorful, funky Namas Te is the perfect place in Sopocachi to escape off the street and relax with a four-course vegetarian feast at a bargain price. Get here early, though, as the set lunch tends to run out quickly, or call and pre-order to make sure they keep a portion for you. Nothing too trendy here, just friendly service and tasty homemade food with plenty of options for vegans as well. If you miss the set lunch, try the pad thai with tofu or anything with their guacamole. Great juices and a nice selection of teas and infusions round out the experience perfectly.
Calle Zoilo Flores 1334, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$ | Zona Central |
The one thing you cannot leave without trying—and quite possibly falling in love with—is a hot, juicy salteña (the Bolivian version of an empanada). You will get at least a little on your shirt; everyone does the first time. Both Sucre and Potosí claim to have the best, but many will point to this little shop, which has four locations around the city. The decor really doesn't matter, and the service is efficient and friendly. The pastry shell is just the right amount of sweet, and the filling is satisfyingly juicy. Don't hesitate to try all the options: meat, poultrey, and vegetarian. Repeat daily.
Calle Loayza 233, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
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$$$ | Zona Sur |
This sister restaurant to the one in the center of town offers the same high-quality food as the original, but in a more relaxed atmosphere. Still relatively new, Paladar has become a firm favorite in Zona Sur with everyone from businessmen to tourists, particularly for the lunch special. A good selection of local craft beers and excellent coffee (from Roaster Boutique a few blocks down) makes a perfect counterpoint to a selection of superbly made Brazilian dishes. Don't miss the coxinhas de pollo, fried chicken nuggets, and, of course, the star, the feijoada (traditional Brazilian stew), a feast for two people.
Federico Ferrecio B-28, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$$ | Zona Central |
Step down off the street into a rather bizarre world of Dalian decor (yeah, that’s no typo in the name) and Italo-Andean fusion dining that has won loads of followers over the years. This is a date-night hot spot: the food is delicious, the space is intimate and candlelit, and the menu alone will keep you chatting all evening. Although primarily Italian focused, there are little tastes from all over Europe and occasionally even farther abroad. All the pastas are homemade, and particularly good are the stuffed pastas, like the garam masala ravioli or locally inspired charquekan sorrentinos. The presentation is modern, and in accordance, the plate size is smaller and the prices are higher than the Bolivian average, but it's definitely a worthwhile treat. Reservations are recommended on weekends.
Calle Jauregui 2248, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$ | Zona Central |
Monster sausages, spaetzle, mustard, and brown bread with towering glasses of weisbier—you'll get the whole German experience at this popular restaurant, with branches in the center and the south of the city. Although the German food is the specialty, the llama meat dishes are also good. A great selection of international beers and the particularly popular in-house brewed beers are the stars here, and the restaurant often fills up and can get quite rowdy.
Pasaje Jauregui 2241, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Closed Sun.
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$$ | Zona Central |
This is Spanish food with few frills; straightforward, tasty, abundant, and with decor that could have been cut-and-pasted directly from a typical madrileño (Madrid-style) haunt. The tortilla is just the right softness, and, as with so many other restaurants around the city, the daily lunch specials are a real bargain, but things really get serious at night. If you come with a group, go all out and order a 10-person paella, served at the table in a proper table-size pan that just begs for glorious, messy, communal feasting. Don’t shy away from the sangria, either. Come nightfall, there is plenty of good cheer, and there may be dancing.
Av. Ecuador 738, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$ | |
Located on the second floor of Hotel Rosario, this cozy restaurant means "a place to gather and barter local products." In this case, the bartering means reasonable prices for high-quality cuisine, including almond-crusted trout with orange rice or grilled llama served with a creamy mustard sauce. The presentations are beautiful, if a touch late '90s, and the portions are just right. Romantics might want to sit in the candlelit brick room at the back. Bring your camera (and sweet tooth) for the chocolate mousse with sorbet—it's truly a work of art.
Av. Illampu 704, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Zona Central |
Go for the pho, stay for the whole range of authentic Vietnamese dishes that offer a nice break from the meat and starch offerings in the daily paceña diet. The decor is simple and the food, though not yet well known around the city, is tasty and light, perfect for those still getting used to the slow digestion of high-altitude dining. The soups are based on a beast of a broth, cooked for more than 15 hours with all the spices and flavors you expect from Vietnamese cuisine. Especially worthwhile is the lunch special, which gives you a little taste of everything. Don't hesitate to give the garlic and chili sauces a go. They’re superb, and the fried spring rolls are dangerously addictive—you've been warned!
Sanchez Lima 2326, La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia
