Vegetarian Restaurant

Surprise your tastebuds and try our delicious, healthy and energetic food in the inspiring (and only) vegetarian restaurant in Huanchaco.

You don´t have to be a fanatic meat avoider to learn to enjoy our creative meal preparation with original ingredients and techniques. You will feel at home quickly in our warm atmosphere, whether you decide to enjoy your breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or coffee outside on the terras, the veranda or inside in front of our great fire place!

And, guess what? You can enjoy your food and help local charity projects at Otra Cosa. 50% of your tips go to these programs and are chosen by our volunteers and personel!

Opening Hours

Wednesday: 9-8
Thursday: 9-8
Friday: 9-8
Saturday: 9-8
Sunday: 9-8

Who is running Otra Cosa Restaurant

In April 2007 the four women who had been working in Otra Cosa restaurant for the longest period took over the restaurant from its initiators. Since then Nella, Rosa, Olga and Marilyn have been keeping up the standard of the restaurant and the great team spirit. Plus the oppertunity to run their own restaurant. Meet these ladies below:

Then in May 2008 dutchman Berry and his new Peruvian wife Milagros took over the restaurant and have been aiming to keep up the best of what was there before and add some new improvements of their own.

Nella - Head Cook

Nella started working at Otra Cosa in January 2005. She worked part time as a teacher in Trujillo. To make ends meet and earn enough money to give her two kids the best possibilities she also worked in the Otra Cosa kitchens a few afternoons and in the weekends. As long as she keeps holding back with the salt and pepper addings she makes a great cook!

Sadly, Nella died tragically in a bus accident in Trujillo in March 2009, leaving two young children. She will be sadly missed by all who new her.

Rosa - Head Cook

Rosa is our newest head cook and also the mother of Eliana, our waitress. She has a bunch of cooking experience and even owned here own restaurant once. Now she is getting used to a different cuisine and working long days at Otra Cosa so she can buy here own house.

Olga - Cleaning

Olga was our first employee. She came just in time to clean up the huge mess we had made preparing Otra Cosa to open up in time. Still she keeps doing her job great every day for which we are really thankfull. Not to mention the busy mornings when we are understaffed and she quickly knows where to chip in.

Energizing Breakfast

Start your day well with one of our energizing breakfast posibilities. Taste our homemade bread, our own mixed mueslis, fresh juice and fruit salads, pancakes and omelettes!

Lunch and dinner meals:

Each day we serve a different dish of the day: a plate full of tasty and healthy vegetables, sauce, base, salad and fresh herbs. You can also choose a complete meal comprising of a soup and a main dish. You can be sure to receive a complete and healthy balance of all the ingredients your body needs.

Que rico!

Tasty Snacks

Just feel like having a snack while you read our daily papers and international magazines? You can have that as well! Choose from a wide variety of pancakes, sandwiches, omelettes, salads, falafel, wraps and sweet pies.

Health Salads

Otra Cosa also has many different healthy salads on the menu. All freshly prepared on the day itself with delicious fruits and vegetables from the Huanchaco market.

Experience exciting dressings made with fresh and homegrown herbs! The different herbs have beneficial health properties that can help your body restore its natural balance after having been on the move for a couple of weeks.

Coffee Bar

Those who have been traveling through Peru for some time must know how difficult it can be to come upon a nice cup of coffee and take a break from Nescafe. In Huanchaco, we are the only ones with the proper equipment to make you a nice cappuccino, espresso, or moccachino. If you feel more like a cold drink, try our iced cappuccino or chocolate shake! Together with a slice of delicously made homebaked cake of pie, this is really coming home for a moment. We serve organic coffee from Piura, a day's travel from Huanchaco, and organic espresso from Bolivia.

Where does good food come from?

At Otra Cosa we beleive that restaurants have a social and ecological responsibility to help make the world a better place. That is why we try to carefully choose our producers where possible. Meet them!

LOCAL YOGURT:
The yogurt we serve is made by Norka, a “Huanchacera” living only a few blocks away. She gets the milk from a dairy farmer in Huanchacito, the small village next to Huanchaco. Norka pastuerizes the milk and then adds a powdered yoghurt bacteria to turn the milk into this delicious yoghurt. She doesn’t use any other additives and this makes it the most natural and tasty yoghurt in town!

ECOLOGICAL COFFEE
With pride we serve you “El Piurano”, Peruvian organic coffee that is cultivated in the department of Piura, a day’s travel from Huanchaco.

The beans that make your cup of coffee were grown and taken care of by one of the 800 farmers that grows coffee in Piura.

The “El Piurano” organic coffee farmers don’t use any chemicals in the production process. They are working sustainably in preserving the land through soil conservation, reforestation and maintaining gardens. By creating terraces, fences, living ground cover and using organic compost and non-chemical pest control (local inputs), the soil is conserved. Reforestation takes place in planting shade-providing trees as well as planting new coffee plants. In addition to securing food for the family, gardens provide ornamental, medicinal and bug repellant plants as outlined in the organic certification requirements.

The “El Piurano” coffee is certified by Bio Latina, an organic certification company that is internationally recognized. They certify all types of products based on completing strict standards of farm appearance and documentation. Thanks to this Bio Latina certification, the farmers get a price that is about 40 % higher then the price for conventional coffee.

Do you want to taste this coffee more often? We sell packages of “El Piurano” at Otra Cosa as well ! Just ask inside…

Why eat less meat?

The history of vegetarianism has consisted of an amazing diversity of characters and events. It has been evident in cultures all over the world and a largely vegetarian diet has sustained humanity for thousands of years -- for moral, religious and economic reasons.

A brief historic overview provides different reasons some individuals have to eat less meat or no meat at all.

A vegetarian ideology was already practiced among religious groups in Egypt around 3,200BC! Their abstinence from flesh was then based upon karmic beliefs in reincarnation.

More recently, famed philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras encouraged vegetarianism. While wishing to avoid animal cruelty, he also saw the health advantages of a meat-free diet. Pythagoras viewed vegetarianism as a key factor in peaceful human co-existence, putting forward the view that slaughtering animals brutalized the human soul.

Other notable ancient Greek thinkers also favored vegetarian diets. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all advocated a 'natural' life that did not involve animal cruelty.

Any history of vegetarianism would be incomplete without mentioning the contribution made by Gandhi, who wrote extensively on the subject. Vegetarianism was central to his life, his politics and, of course, Hinduism.

Because of general food shortages during WW2, the British were encouraged to 'Dig For Victory' and grow their own fruit and vegetables. A near vegetarian diet sustained the population and the nation's health was to improve vastly during the war years.

During the 1980s and '90s, vegetarianism was given major impetus as the disastrous impact humanity was having upon the Earth become more apparent. Environmental issues dominated the headlines and were for a time foregrounded in politics. Vegetarianism is seen by some as a way to safeguard the environment. Pollution could also be in the form of animal manure and methane, adding to the greenhouse effect.

Vegetarianism was rightfully seen as part of the process of change and conservation of resources. Not strange if you imagine that it takes 10 kilos of vegetable protein to produce 1 kilo of meat. Did you know it takes 11,250 litres of water for one pound of meat as opposed to 13 litres for a pound of wheat?

And then there are the people who just become bored with the limitations of meat, craving something new and exciting.

In Peru the main reason to eat vegetarian is to control their cholesteral levels and also because meat is simply too expensive for some people!

If you want to reed more about vegetarianism, check the site of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU) at www.IVU.org