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CUSCO | Kanka’s Pollos y Parrilas is a small restaurant about a 20 minute walk from Cusco’s main square that focuses on one of Peru’s most popular dishes – Pollo a la Brasa aka Peruvian chicken. This Peruvian form of charcoal chicken is distinguished from other charcoal and rotisserie chickens around the world by the spice mix that’s used to season the chicken. Everyone has their own recipe, but it’s generally a combination of vinegar, dark beer or soy sauce, salt, pepper, chili, rosemary or cumin and paprika.
You see charcoal chicken spots all over Peru, and it’s clear that they are very popular. We selected Kanka’s Pollos y Parrilas for a simple reason – our Uber driver pointed it out to us on the way into town from Cusco’s airport, and mentioned that it was his favourite. It’s a simple space – plain walls with a few decorations, basic seating and tables, and a TV showing local soap operas. There’s no English anywhere, but the menu is very simple – choose the amount of chicken you want, along with the option of chips, salad and a few desserts.
We opted for a half chicken and chips and, quite simply, it was delicious. The chicken was large, moist, and tender, with a crispy, flavoursome skin. The chips were cooked just right, and seasoned with a delicious slightly spiced salt. While waiting we were served a hearty broth made from chicken bones and offal which was also delicious. To sweeten the deal, the whole thing only cost around USD$10 and filled the two of us up nicely.
It’s often said that taxi drivers know the real best spots in town to eat, and Kanka’s Pollos y Parrilas is a place that proves the point.
Kanka’s Pollos y Parrilas
San Martin 408
Cusco
Cusco 08000
Peru
Telephone: +51 84 598656
E-mail: n/a
Website: n/a
Open
Mon – Sun: 1:00pm to 12:00am