Hearts Café
This was the official website of the Hearts Cafe in Ollantaytambo, Peru.
The content is from the site's 2013 archived pages.
Hearts Café Menu
Our menu consists of breakfasts, snacks, food to go, drinks, main meals, box lunches and typical “menu del dia” options.
Within this wide range we offer whole, natural foods including chicken, fish and many vegetarian choices.
Our recipes have international and local flavours ranging from typically English to Mexican, Indian, Italian, Peruvian and plenty more!
Our popular coffee machine provides customers with a varied selection of coffees such as, capuccino, latte, mocha, americano & expresso and our tea selection includes local herbal infusions as well as typical English flavours.
The best way to know what’s on our menu is to come and visit us!
WiFi
We would like to remind our customers that our primary service is a restaurant serving delicious foods and drinks, the sales of which help us to help the malnourished children of the highland rural communities. As such, we are not an internet café but we do offer wifi in recognition of travellers wishing to send messages home to loved ones and sharing stories of their adventures in Peru or to book reservations for the next part of their trip.
We kindly ask that the following be respected when using WiFi in Hearts Café:
-
We prefer customers to avoid using skype or other video call applications as this tends to distract other customers. Our staff are happy to recommend a couple of other internet cafes in Ollantaytambo where you can make such calls.
- Our wifi is switched on between 8:00 - 11.45am and 2:00 – 6:00pm, and can be switched on outside of these hours through special request.
-
If you are just using the wifi and have finished eating/drinking, there may be times when a member of staff asks you to change table or move to another location should new customers arrive who wish to eat in the restaurant.
-
Customers who wish to charge their electronic devices through our main electricity supply are asked to pay a fee of S/5.00 per hour; using your device on its own battery power unconnected to electricity is free.
GROUP BOOKINGS
We have capacity for 42 customers and our tables can fit together to accommodate any size group or groups within the capacity.
We enjoy good relationships with various agencies bringing their tour groups in for lunch and/or dinner as well as supplying box lunches for large groups and individuals.
It is best that you contact us ahead of your arrival if you are in a large group so we can prepare the reservation and tables accordingly.
To make a group booking or reservation please either visit the restaurant 24 hours before or telephone 084 436726 (within Peru).
(PLEASE NOTE: Hearts Cafe will be closed for two weeks in February every year for renovations and staff holidays.)
What our Customers Say:-
I wish I could have stayed in Ollantaytambo longer just so I could eat here more. The food was delicious and filling and had generous portions. I like that they specify that all their produce is washed in purified water. As a vegetarian, I was very pleased to find a place with a lot of offerings.
Related: My wife was planning a trip to Peru. Dominated by two massive Inca ruins, the quaint village of Ollantaytambo, with its narrow cobblestone streets that have been continuously inhabited since the 13th century was our destination to stay before seeing Machu Picchu. Located in the picturesque Sacred Valley on the Patacancha river near the town of Urubamba, it lies between the capital city of the Incas - Cuzco and the Machu Picchu ruins. The town she explained to me is the best surviving example of Inca city planning. The area also offers access to excellent hiking and biking. Unlike most tourists who breeze through Ollantaytamboin a day we planned to stay a week. We agreed that I would take my vacation for the month of August when it is Peru's winter season which is its driest time of the year. August is a relatively slow period at the progressive SEO consultancy I work for as an expert in search compliance and keyword research. I say relatively, because we always seem to be busy working with clients in every conceivable field. The culture at TNG/Earthling, Inc. is casual - there are no closed doors, and no scheduled office hours. Our team is self-managed and self motivated. We're always looking for new chances to improve our efficiency, which means we work really hard. A month off in an exotic location was enticing. Our trip was astounding. And we ended up frequenting the Hearts Cafe in Ollantaytambo for a number of our fantastic meals which we really looked forward to.
The food was delicious and filling and had generous portions. I like that they specify that all their produce is washed in purified water. As a vegetarian, I was very pleased to find a place with a lot of offerings.
We stopped here for lunch after visiting the Ollantaytambo ruins. The food was excellent, not fancy, just really great food. As an added bonus all the profits are used to help women and children living in nearby communities. I wish we could have eaten there more during our stay. Please stop here and eat, you won’t be disappointed and it’s for a great cause.
PROJECTS
Founded by Sonia Newhouse in August 2007, Living Heart is a registered UK and Peruvian charity. The primary purpose of Living Heart is to help rural communities situated high in the mountains around the Sacred Valley of Peru in the areas of Nutrition, Health, Education and Conservation.
The projects are organised and run with specific values and great integrity, the most important of all being that we don’t just give to the people, they equally have responsibilities within the initiatives and together we provide a long term, holistic, self sustaining solution.
Our main initiative in the community schools is to provide a hot breakfast and lunch to all the children and some abandoned old people. Our food programme has been developed over the past 3 years to include 20 nutritious recipes with all ingredients locally sourced. The benefits that have been realised from our food programme include more children attending school, greater energy levels to sustain attention in class, more enthusiasm at playtime as well as a higher level of sustained good health than previously.
We also provide basic medicines and first aid kits which are administered and monitored by our local nurse and which help to prevent the development of serious illnesses as a result of the local health posts being many hours hike away from the village.
Our main vision is a home for orphaned children, where they will learn to sustain themselves with permaculture.
If you would like to make a donation to Living Heart or learn more about us, please visit our website, www.livingheartperu.org
Visit our Blog for the latest initiatives and activities of both Living Heart and Hearts Café, http://www.livingheartperu.org/blog-articles
ITEMS FOR SALE
Local Weavings
We support two families by selling their weavings to customers visiting the café and giving 100% of the sales back to the families. In one case, the sales of the weavings help the family to provide for their disabled son who needs 24 hour care in the family home. In the other case, the sales support a single mother to provide for her children.
Andean Image Greeting Cards
Professional photographer and official representative and trustee of the Living Heart UK charity, Susanna Price, has generouslly created a collection of greeting cards with the theme of Andean Images, which she has donated to Hearts Café to sell. The profits from the sales of these cards are given to Living Heart to help feed the malnourished children of the highland communities.
Visit Susanna's website: www.susannapriceimages.com
“En Los Andes” Book
One of our School Director’s has written a book about his experiences working and living in the rural highlands of the Sacred Valley in Peru. It gives a true insight as to what life is really like in those areas and touches on the local holistic traditions, customs and culture. All sales of this book are given back to Emilio who has published the book of his own accord and means.
CD’s of local Andean Music
At times we have CD’s of typical Andean local music produced by local groups in Cusco and surrounding areas.
HOW TO FIND US
IMAGE / MAPE
Address
Hearts Café,
Avenida Ventiderio,
Ollantaytambo,
Cusco,
PERU
Hearts Café Telephone
00 51 84 204013 (International)
084 204013 (From within Peru)
00 51 84 436726 (International)
084 436726 (From within Peru)
Opening Times
Every Day - 7:00am to 10:00pm (Note: Last Order at 9pm)
24th December - 7:00am to 11:00am.
25th December - Closed
Two weeks in February (Every Year) - Closed
(For renovations and staff holidays.)
Sonia Newhouse
Best described as a “free spirit”, Sonia Newhouse packed her bags in England and arrived in Lima in 2002 to begin something new at the young age of 71! Instantly in love with the spirit of Peru, she began by enrolling in Spanish School, then heading to Cusco where she stayed for 2 years. Altitude sickness forced Sonia into a crucial decision – home to England or the Sacred Valley near Cusco. Thankfully she chose the Sacred Valley and hasn’t looked back since.
Amongst other achievements, Sonia’s experience in starting businesses, volunteering and welfare opportunities bode her well for life in the valley community of Huaran. Here she began to understand the plight of local women and children both in Huaran and the surrounding villages and became familiar with with the Quechuan culture. Her first project was converting a local classic hacienda into a hostel and it was during this time that Sonia realised more and more the need to help children and women who were suffering from malnutrition, domestic violence, health issues and lack of facilities. Amazed at the cycle of life and poverty within these villages, in 2007, the 76 year old Sonia moved to Ollantaytambo, opened a café and used the benefits to help start Living Heart with the aim of supporting highland communities in a holistic manner and having a specific goal to open a home for abandoned children.
It is now 2010 and Sonia continues to spearhead Hearts Café and Living Heart with the support of many followers, helpers, locals and volunteers who simply wish to continue her compassionate desire to help improve the lives of the women and children in and around the Sacred Valley of Peru.