Top Rated Pizza Joints in Ollantaytambo That Locals Swear By

A Local's Honest Guide to Top Rated Pizza Joints in Ollantaytambo

I have lived in Ollantaytambo for almost eleven years now, and I still remember the first time someone here told me the Sacred Valley had pizza worth writing about. I laughed. Then I visited three places in one weekend and stopped laughing. The top rated pizza joints in Ollantaytambo are not the kind of spots you find on flashy tourist websites or in the glossy travel magazines. They are tucked into side streets, run by families who have been making dough before half the hotels on this strip even existed. What you need to understand is that Ollantaytambo is a small town, genuinely small, with a permanent population of maybe three to four thousand people before you add the tourists, the trekkers, and the Cusco day-trippers. There are not dozens of pizzerias here. There are a handful, and then there are restaurants that happen to make a pizza but do it surprisingly well. I have eaten my way through every single one of them, sometimes more than once a week, and I am going to tell you exactly where to go, what to order, and when to show up so you do not waste a single meal in this town.

Ollantaytambo sits at about 2,792 meters above sea level, which changes how dough proofs and how ovens behave. A couple of the pizzaiolos here told me privately that they had to adjust their fermentation times when they first opened because the altitude was making their crusts behave strangely. That is the kind of detail that separates a good pizza in the Sacred Valley from one that tastes like it was made in Lima and reheated. The local pizza spots Ollantaytambo has to offer reflect this town's character, which is practical, rooted in agricultural tradition, and quietly proud. You will find ingredients pulled from farms within an hour's drive, and you will find owners who remember your name on the second visit.

The Plaza de Armas Pizzerias: Where History Meets Dough

1. Inka Fest Pizzeria on Calle Convención

The best casual pizza Ollantaytambo has to offer might be sitting right on the edge of the Plaza de Armas, and it is called Inka Fest. I walked in last Tuesday around seven in the evening with a friend visiting from Cusco, and the place was already half full with a mix of local families and a few trekkers who had just come off the Inca Trail. The energy was relaxed, the music was low, and the pizza came out fast. They use a gas-fired oven here, not a wood-fired one, but they have dialed it in perfectly over the years. The margherita is the safest bet if you are unsure, the crust gets a nice char on the bottom without going brittle. I always get the pizza Andina here, which comes with local-style toppings, a whisper of ají amarillo cream, and roasted oca root. Most people do not know that Tuesday is their slowest night, which means the staff has time to actually chat with you and might bring out a complimentary empanada starter if they have made extra. That almost never happens on Friday or Saturday. One thing I will warn you about is that the corner table near the window gets direct sun until about six in the summer months, and it can be uncomfortably warm. Sit on the interior side and you will have a finer meal.

Local Insider Tip: "Ask for the house salsa picante on the side. It is not on the menu but they make it fresh every morning from rocoto peppers they get from a farm in Huilloc. It will completely change whatever pizza you order."

Inka Fest connects to Ollantaytambo's broader character because it represents the town's newer generation of hospitality, the kind of place that takes a global format and makes it distinctly Andean without being kitschy about it. The walls have photos of the surrounding mountains, not Machu Picchu posters, and that tells you everything about their priorities.

2. Chez Maggy on the Plaza de Armas

Chez Maggy has been on the main plaza for so long that I genuinely cannot remember a time it was not there. I have been eating at this spot since before the train station was renovated, and I keep coming back because the pizza is consistent, the price is fair, and the staff treats you like a neighbor rather than a customer. Last Thursday I sat outside on the plaza-facing terrace, which seats maybe twenty people on a good night, and watched the town wind down after seven. Kids were playing near the fountain, a couple of mototaxis were parked across the street, and my pepperoni pizza arrived with a thin, slightly crispy crust and good-quality mozzarella. It is not going to blow your mind with creativity, but it is exactly what you want at the end of a long day of ruins and altitude. The cheap pizza Ollantaytambo offers at Chez Maggy is honestly one of the best value meals in the plaza, a full personal pizza for around 25 to 30 soles with a drink included on their combo nights. Wednesday is when they run their combo specials, so if your visit lines up with that day, take advantage.

Local Insider Tip: "Do not order the garlic bread as a side. It is frozen and reheated and tastes like it. Instead, ask if they have any fresh pan de maíz from the morning batch. They sometimes save a few loaves, and it is extraordinary with the pizza sauce for dipping."

Chez Maggy is woven into the social fabric of this plaza. Birthdays, post-hike celebrations, pre-train dinners, half the town has a memory tied to one of those terrace tables.

Off the Plaza: The Local's Secret Stops

3. Horno Alpaca on Prolongación Grau

If you want to understand why locals defend their pizza so fiercely, walk about five minutes uphill from the plaza along Prolongación Calle Conquestadores onto Prolongación Grau and find Horno Alpaca. This is where I go when I want a pizza that does not cater to tourist expectations at all. The name refers to their clay oven, which they built themselves, and the pizzas that come out of it have a slightly smoky, earthy quality you cannot replicate with gas or electric. I went last Sunday afternoon around two, which is prime lunch hour here, and waited about twenty minutes for a table. Worth it. The caprese pizza is outstanding because they source their tomatoes from the valley farms between here and Urubamba, and in those highland tomatoes you get a sweetness that lowland fruit just does not have. Their cheese is locally produced queso fresco melted down into something that pulls apart beautifully. Most tourists do not make it up to this street because it feels residential and quiet, but that is exactly the point. You are eating pizza in a neighborhood, not a commercial zone.

Local Insider Tip: "After your pizza, walk fifty meters further up the same street. There is a small family-run chicha morada stand in the late afternoon that sells fresh chicha in reused glass bottles. It is the same chicha morada you get in Lima, but made from purple corn that was grown thirty kilometers from here, and it is the perfect palate cleanser after a cheesy slice."

Horno Alpaca represents the agricultural heartbeat of the Ollantaytambo district. The people running it have connections to farming families throughout the valley, and their ingredient sourcing reflects that network. You taste the geography of this place in every bite.

4. Pachamama Pizzeria on Calle Lares

Pachamama Pizzeria sits on Calle Lares, which is one of the roads heading toward the Inca Temple complex and away from the commercial center. I first found it by accident about four years ago when I was taking a shortcut home and smelled wood smoke from an oven I had not noticed before. The pizza here is made in a traditional Andean horno, the same clay oven design that pre-dates Spanish colonization, and that gives the crust a character that no modern oven can duplicate. I visited again last month on a Saturday around noon and the place was buzzing with local families, which is always a good sign. The pizza de chicharrón is something you will not find anywhere else in town, slow-cooked pulled pork with a sweet and tangy sauce that crosses barbecue with ají panca. If you are on a budget, the personal-sized pizza here runs around 18 to 22 soles, making it one of the genuinely cheap pizza Ollantaytambo options that does not skimp on quality.

Local Insider Tip: "If you go on a Saturday afternoon, ask the owner directly if there is any pizza de temporada. They occasionally make limited-run seasonal specials, like one in November that uses fresh Andean squash and huacatay herb. They do not advertise these and they never last more than a few hours."

Pachamama connects directly to Ollantaytambo's living agricultural traditions. The relationship between the oven, the ingredients, and the earth is not a marketing gimmick here. It is the actual way food has been made in this valley for centuries.

The Quiet Corners: Where Olvied Corners Shine

5. La Esquina del Sabor near the Catarata de Ñaumanniyoc

A ten-minute walk from the main plaza in the direction of the waterfall trail, there is a small restaurant that most tourists walk right past because it does not have English signage or a TripAdvisor sticker on the door. La Esquina del Sabor, or what some locals just call "the place near the bridge," makes a pizza that is thick, hearty, and portioned in a way that assumes you have been hiking all morning. I stopped here last Monday after washing up from a waterfall visit, completely soaked and starving, and the pizza con todo that arrived could have fed two people. Every topping they had went on. It was excessive and perfect at the same time. The crust here is thicker than what you get on the plaza, more like a focaccia, and it absorbs the sauce in a way that makes every bite almost cake-like. Most people do not know that this place closes early, around seven in the evening, and does not open on Mondays during the low season from February through late March. You need to plan around that.

Local Insider Tip: "Bring your own water bottle and ask them to fill it from their filtered jug. Their tap water does not taste great, but they have a good filtration system and they will fill your bottle for free if you ask nicely."

This place matters to Ollantaytambo because it shows what happens when a food business serves a residential neighborhood rather than a tourist corridor. The menu is simpler, the portions are larger, and the prices are a few soles lower than anything on the plaza.

6. Ekeko's Pizzeria on Avenida Estación

Ekeko's sits right near the train station, on Avenida Estación, and I will be honest with you: most of the pizzerias near the train stations in the Sacred Valley exist purely to catch tourists rushing to or from Aguas Calientes. Ekeko's is the exception. I have probably eaten here fifteen times over the years, and it has never once disappointed me. The pepperoni pizza is solid and reliable, the dough has a slightly sweet undertone that I think comes from a longer fermentation process, and the cheese coverage is generous without being heavy. Last Wednesday I arrived at about five in the afternoon, before the seven o'clock train wave created a crush of customers, and I had the entire front section to myself. The cheap pizza Ollantaytambo offers at Ekeko's is deceptive because the quality punches well above its price point. A personal pepperoni runs around 22 to 26 soles, and you get a side salad included on certain days.

Local Insider Tip: "If you are catching a late train to Aguas Calientes, eat here at five rather than seven. The seven o'clock crowd is enormous, the kitchen gets backed up, and your pizza will take twice as long. At five, you get the full attention of the cook and a quieter table."

Ekeko's is important because it proves that location does not dictate quality. Sitting next to the most trafficked tourist infrastructure in town has not made them lazy or overpriced. That is rare and worth supporting.

The Unexpected Pizza Spots: Not What You'd Expect

7. Restaurant at Hotel Noya on Calle Ventiddio

This one surprises people because it is inside a hotel, and locals tend to be dismissive of hotel restaurants. I get it. I usually am too. But the Restaurant at Hotel Noya on Calle Ventiddio makes a pizza that has earned genuine respect from people in this town. The oven is propane-fired, the dough is proofed overnight, and they use a San Marzano-style tomato sauce that has a clean, bright acidity. I had dinner there last week with three friends, and we split four pizzas across the table, a tasting approach that the staff was completely game for. The margherita stood out, fine and simple. The quattro formaggi was the richest thing I have eaten in Ollantaytambo, with a mix of parmesan, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and a local semi-hard cheese I could not identify. The hotel itself has been a fixture in Ollantaytambo's economy for over a decade, employing local staff and sourcing from valley suppliers, and the restaurant reflects that stability. If you go, make a reservation for the back patio, not the front dining room. The patio has plants and a small fountain and feels like eating in someone's garden rather than a hotel.

Local Insider Tip: "Order your pizza with a side of their ensalada Andina, which comes with fava beans, choclo, and a citrus vinaigrette. It is not on the printed menu but servers know it and will bring it without hesitation. It cuts through the richness of the pizza perfectly."

Most people do not realize that Hotel Noya runs a small organic garden behind the property, and some of the herbs and greens served in the restaurant come directly from that patch. That kind of self-sufficiency is deeply rooted in how Ollantaytambo has sustained itself for centuries.

8. El Horno de las Flores on Calle Patacalle

Down a narrow side street that many tourists never wander down, Calle Patacalle holds one of the most underappreciated food spots in Ollantaytambo. El Horno de las Flores is a bakery that added pizza to its offerings about three years ago, and the results have been quietly extraordinary. I discovered this place when a neighbor invited me to a birthday party there last November, and I was skeptical because bakeries making pizza is usually a recipe for soggy crust. Not here. Their thin-crust pizza baked in a shared oven with their bread has a toasty, almost cracker-like quality on the edges with a chewy center. The topping combinations lean toward local vegetables: roasted corn, ají peppers, and occasionally lucuma in sweet preparations if you get adventurous. During the week, they sell most of their pizza by two in the afternoon because the neighborhood eats early and finishes quickly. If you want a slice, go before one or risk disappointment. I have watched people walk in at three and find nothing left.

Local Insider Tip: "Ask for a slice of their humita alongside the pizza. It is steamed in corn husks and has a texture and sweetness that complements the salty, chewy crust like nothing else. Pair it with a hot herbal tea from the altiplano and you have a perfect Ollantaytambo lunch."

El Horno de las Flores is a microcosm of how Ollantaytambo's food culture operates on a hyper-local level. This bakery serves a specific neighborhood, knows its customers by name, and adjusts its output to local rhythms rather than tourist schedules. That is the authentic heartbeat of this town's culinary identity.

Practical Guide: When to Go and What to Know

Ollantaytambo's pizza scene is small, but timing matters enormously. During the high tourist season, which runs roughly from May through September, the plaza-side spots fill up fast starting around seven in the evening. If you are visiting between June and August, aim for an early dinner at six or a late one after eight-thirty to avoid the worst crowds. From February through April, the rainy season, some of the smaller spots on the side streets adjust their hours or close entirely on Mondays. Always carry cash in soles because at least two of the places mentioned above do not accept cards, and the ATMs in town have been known to run out of cash on heavy tourist weekends, especially during festivals and Peruvian holidays.

A full pizza meal at most of these spots will cost you between 20 and 35 soles per person, putting the local pizza spots Ollantaytambo offers well within budget for most travelers. Add a drink and you are still well under 40 soles. That is remarkable value for a town that depends heavily on tourist revenue.

One final practical note: altitude affects how your body processes heavy, cheesy food. If you have just arrived from Cusco or are transitioning down from higher elevations, do not order the largest pizza on the menu as your first meal. Eat light the first day and let your stomach adjust. Trust me on this one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Ollantaytambo?

There is no dress code at any restaurant in Ollantaytambo. Locals dress casually and tourists are welcome in hiking clothes or casual wear. It is considered polite to greet staff with "buenas tardes" or "buenos días" when entering and leaving a restaurant. Peruvians generally value warmth and courtesy in service interactions, so a smile and basic courtesy go a long way.

What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Ollantaytambo is famous for?

Chicha morada is the iconic drink of the region, made from purple corn boiled with fruits and spices. For food, the Andean humita, fresh corn ground into a paste, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed, is a staple that has been eaten in this valley for centuries. You will find both at markets and on many restaurant menus, and they pair naturally with the hearty, oven-baked food culture here.

Is Ollantaytambo expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers?**

A comfortable daily budget for a mid-tier traveler in Ollantaytambo is approximately 150 to 250 soles per person per day. That covers a basic double room for two at 80 to 140 soles per night, three meals at local restaurants for 60 to 90 soles, a round-trip train ticket to Aguas Calientes at approximately 70 soles each way, and minor expenses like water, snacks, and site entrance fees. Budget travelers can manage on 80 to 120 soles if they eat at market stalls and stay in basic hostales.

Is the tap water in Ollantaytambo safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?

No. Tap water in Ollantaytambo is not safe to drink for visitors, even if locals with years of adaptation generally handle it fine. Travelers should drink only bottled water or reliably filtered water. Most restaurants and hotels provide filtered jugs. Carry a reusable bottle and refill it at trusted establishments rather than drinking directly from any tap.

How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Ollantaytambo?

Finding vegetarian food is straightforward in Ollantaytambo. Most pizzerias and restaurants offer at least one cheese-only or vegetable pizza, and traditional Andean dishes often include potatoes, corn, and vegetable-based stews. Fully vegan options are more limited but are increasingly available, at roughly five to eight restaurants that explicitly label plant-based dishes. Market stalls are reliable for fresh fruit, corn, and potato-based meals that are naturally vegan.