diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.cc
index db25b7c6..226c8dda 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.cc
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "binary-cache-store.hh"
+#include "sync.hh"
 
 #include "archive.hh"
 #include "compression.hh"
@@ -93,18 +94,33 @@ void BinaryCacheStore::addToCache(const ValidPathInfo & info,
 
 NarInfo BinaryCacheStore::readNarInfo(const Path & storePath)
 {
+    {
+        auto state_(state.lock());
+        auto res = state_->narInfoCache.get(storePath);
+        if (res) {
+            stats.narInfoReadAverted++;
+            return **res;
+        }
+    }
+
     stats.narInfoRead++;
 
     auto narInfoFile = narInfoFileFor(storePath);
-    auto narInfo = NarInfo(getFile(narInfoFile), narInfoFile);
-    assert(narInfo.path == storePath);
+    auto narInfo = make_ref<NarInfo>(getFile(narInfoFile), narInfoFile);
+    assert(narInfo->path == storePath);
 
     if (publicKeys) {
-        if (!narInfo.checkSignature(*publicKeys))
+        if (!narInfo->checkSignature(*publicKeys))
             throw Error(format("invalid signature on NAR info file ‘%1%’") % narInfoFile);
     }
 
-    return narInfo;
+    {
+        auto state_(state.lock());
+        state_->narInfoCache.upsert(storePath, narInfo);
+        stats.narInfoCacheSize = state_->narInfoCache.size();
+    }
+
+    return *narInfo;
 }
 
 bool BinaryCacheStore::isValidPath(const Path & storePath)
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.hh
index 019b2611..709a18cc 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/binary-cache-store.hh
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 #include "crypto.hh"
 #include "store-api.hh"
 
+#include "lru-cache.hh"
+#include "sync.hh"
+
 #include <atomic>
 
 namespace nix {
@@ -23,6 +26,13 @@ private:
 
     StoreFactory storeFactory;
 
+    struct State
+    {
+        LRUCache<Path, ref<NarInfo>> narInfoCache{32 * 1024};
+    };
+
+    Sync<State> state;
+
 protected:
 
     BinaryCacheStore(const StoreFactory & storeFactory,
@@ -41,7 +51,9 @@ public:
     struct Stats
     {
         std::atomic<uint64_t> narInfoRead{0};
+        std::atomic<uint64_t> narInfoReadAverted{0};
         std::atomic<uint64_t> narInfoWrite{0};
+        std::atomic<uint64_t> narInfoCacheSize{0};
         std::atomic<uint64_t> narRead{0};
         std::atomic<uint64_t> narReadBytes{0};
         std::atomic<uint64_t> narReadCompressedBytes{0};
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
index 48c6865a..8080af7a 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
@@ -591,7 +591,9 @@ void State::dumpStatus(Connection & conn, bool log)
 
             auto & stats = store->getStats();
             nested.attr("narInfoRead", stats.narInfoRead);
+            nested.attr("narInfoReadAverted", stats.narInfoReadAverted);
             nested.attr("narInfoWrite", stats.narInfoWrite);
+            nested.attr("narInfoCacheSize", stats.narInfoCacheSize);
             nested.attr("narRead", stats.narRead);
             nested.attr("narReadBytes", stats.narReadBytes);
             nested.attr("narReadCompressedBytes", stats.narReadCompressedBytes);
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/lru-cache.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/lru-cache.hh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..113411bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/lru-cache.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <map>
+#include <list>
+
+/* A simple least-recently used cache. Not thread-safe. */
+template<typename Key, typename Value>
+class LRUCache
+{
+private:
+
+    size_t maxSize;
+
+    // Stupid wrapper to get around circular dependency between Data
+    // and LRU.
+    struct LRUIterator;
+
+    using Data = std::map<Key, std::pair<LRUIterator, Value>>;
+    using LRU = std::list<typename Data::iterator>;
+
+    struct LRUIterator { typename LRU::iterator it; };
+
+    Data data;
+    LRU lru;
+
+public:
+
+    LRUCache(size_t maxSize) : maxSize(maxSize) { }
+
+    /* Insert or upsert an item in the cache. */
+    void upsert(const Key & key, const Value & value)
+    {
+        erase(key);
+
+        if (data.size() >= maxSize) {
+            /* Retire the oldest item. */
+            auto oldest = lru.begin();
+            data.erase(*oldest);
+            lru.erase(oldest);
+        }
+
+        auto res = data.emplace(key, std::make_pair(LRUIterator(), value));
+        assert(res.second);
+        auto & i(res.first);
+
+        auto j = lru.insert(lru.end(), i);
+
+        i->second.first.it = j;
+    }
+
+    bool erase(const Key & key)
+    {
+        auto i = data.find(key);
+        if (i == data.end()) return false;
+        lru.erase(i->second.first.it);
+        data.erase(i);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    /* Look up an item in the cache. If it's exists, it becomes the
+       most recently used item. */
+    // FIXME: use boost::optional?
+    Value * get(const Key & key)
+    {
+        auto i = data.find(key);
+        if (i == data.end()) return 0;
+
+        /* Move this item to the back of the LRU list. */
+        lru.erase(i->second.first.it);
+        auto j = lru.insert(lru.end(), i);
+        i->second.first.it = j;
+
+        return &i->second.second;
+    }
+
+    size_t size()
+    {
+        return data.size();
+    }
+};
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/sync.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/sync.hh
index 1573f091..4d53a6ee 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/sync.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/sync.hh
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
    scope.
 */
 
-template <class T>
+template<class T>
 class Sync
 {
 private: