Café Ayllu

Café Ayllu is one of the most traditional cafés in Cusco, a place where local people have been meeting for coffee and breakfast for more than half a century. It was founded by a family in 1970, and its name comes from the Quechua word ayllu, meaning family or community. It began on the Plaza de Armas, and some of its waiting staff are said to have worked there since those early days. Today it is on Calle Almagro in the historic centre, and travel guides count it among the oldest cafés in the centre, open for more than 40 years.

What sets Ayllu apart from Cusco's newer specialty cafés is its continuity. The house coffee is still made to the founder's original blend, and the café remains popular with cusqueños rather than only with visitors, which gives it a different atmosphere from the cafés aimed at travellers. The walls are hung with Andean art by local artists, adding to the sense of a place rooted in the city.

Ayllu is a good choice for an early breakfast, as it has been reported to open at 06:30 and to stay open until 22:30, so you can drop in before a tour pick-up or late in the evening. Treat it as a chance to see an older side of Cusco's café life, and do not expect the third-wave brewing methods of places such as Three Monkeys or Florencia y Fortunata. Instead, come for the sense of history, a cup of the house coffee and the chance to sit among locals.

The café suits travellers who enjoy traditional places and anyone curious about the city's everyday life. It is a pleasant place to sit with a guidebook between sights.

Being in the historic centre, Ayllu combines easily with a walk to the Plaza de Armas, where the café first opened and which in Inca times was Huacaypata, the ceremonial heart of the city, and with visits to the Cathedral and the Compañía church on the main square. Its long hours make it a convenient pause at either end of a day of sightseeing, and a warm refuge on a cold Cusco morning.