Editor Pick
Fallen Angel
Adjacent to the Museo de Arte Precolombino, Fallen Angel thinks of itself as a work of art too. And the steaks aren't far off!
The restaurant is a funky little place, full of couches in nooks. Trendy art decorates the walls—local equivalents of the British graffiti artist 'Banksy' if you know his work. We were escorted to our table. Well, I say table. It was a sheet of glass over a bathtub. There were goldfish swimming in the tub. All throughout the meal my eyes were continuously drawn down to the little fish swimming unconcernedly just inches below my plate.
We had been recommended the steaks. The recommendation was good. The steaks were even better. Ed sniffly informed us that they do them better in Argentina, which I don't doubt. But, God, they were good. You can have them done to your specification (and the waiter's English was good enough to understand 'medium rare', rather than me fumbling in my phrase book for the equivalent Spanish term ("Inglese" I believe). They come in a range of styles - encrusted with peppers, spicy chilli, in a variety of sauces—and with one of a selection of side dishes. As we ummed and aaahed over the choice of rice, crispy fries, onion rings, mashed potato etc the waiter had a suggestion - instead of getting one each why didn't he just bring one dish of each side for no extra cost? We took him up on that offer.
After the meal I made my excuses and went to the toilet. I could not see any signs denoting which was male and which was female. Instead there was a 'heaven' in light blue, and a 'hell' in dark blood red. I went for hell. Inside the room was painted the same colour, and coils of barbed wire hung over head. "You have to visit the toilets" I told my friends when I returned.
Fallen Angel is one of the more expensive places to eat in Cusco—indeed it's probably the most expensive meal I had in Peru. However, it is still much cheaper than any comparable meal, let alone in a comparable setting, than you find back in the UK. Yet surprisingly it was not monopolised by foreign tourists. When we went the other diners were the cool kids of Cusco, obviously those with a bit of cash to flash. And after four days on the Inca Trail you're gonna want a thick juicy steak let me tell you!
From journal Cusco - The Navel of the World