It's an "Amazonian power-berry" (whatever that means) with five million times the anti-oxidants of blueberries and guarana and other good things. I had it from roadside stalls, made into a grainy purple ice-slushy, and it was uniquely refreshing and energizing. It tastes like blackberries and chocolate, mixed.
All over, or ask for ah-sigh-ee
Adega da Velha
A restaurant specialising in food from the north east - carne seca, carne de sol, aipim. Very reasonable prices, large portions, and in addition to the beer on draft you can choose from a huge list of tropical juices to wash your food down.
R. Paulo Barreto 25, Botafogo, five minutes walk up R. Voluntarios from Botafogo metro station;
tel: 2286-2176
Amir
I guess some things in life you just have to try, and when it comes to food, I have no restrictions. I was staying at a hotel in Copacabana which was near an Arabic restaurant called Amir. The people at the reception told me it was a great place to dine, so naturally I went. Boy were they right!
I tried a lamb steak sandwich and that's all it took. For starters, pita bread with hummus and a hint of lime. Very good stuff indeed!
Rua Ronald de Carvalho, 55
Copacabana - Zona Sul - 2275-5596 / 2275-4488
Restaurante Azul Marinho
Last week I got back from my trip to Rio and I must say, it’s just a beautiful place to go! I really enjoyed my stay there, especially because of the great beaches, amazing people - all good!
I went to many good restaurants there, but one in particular caught my attention, called Azul Marinho. It’s a beautiful seafood place, in front of Arpoador (great view!) and the food is just awesome! I really enjoyed the moquecas, a very interesting Brazilian food!
Av. Francisco Bhering, without number.
Arpoador Beach.
Academia da Cachaca
It's small and the decor's slightly suburban and anodyne, but for a proper education into the glories of the caipirinha there is no better place than the Academia. 500 varieties of cachaca from all over Brazil are available, as well as caipirinhas made with passion fruit, lemon and an assortment of fruits in addition to the traditional lime. (Do try the version made with Providencia cachaca and brown sugar.) Many of the brands are available to take home - the prices are higher than in the supermarkets, but still very cheap by our standards and the selection is hard to beat. The food's decent, too.
If you're strolling there from Copacabana or the area of Ipanema that abuts Copacabana, stop along the way at always-packed Bar Bracaranse for an icy chopp (draft beer and a plate of croquettes made with shrimp, manioc and a lovely, gooey Brazilian cheese called catupiry.
Academia da Cachaca Address: 26 Rua Conde de Bernadotte Phone: 021/2529-2680 Bar Bracarense Address: Rua José Linhares 85B, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Phone: 021/2294-3549
B
Botequim: The best restaurant in Rio!
The best place for local specialities, and true old school service, really the most delightful staff. It's in a residential part of the city - I think we were the only tourists both times we went.
The price was very reasonable.
On Saturdays, Brazilians eat feijoada, the most delicious pork dish you will ever eat. I don't really like pork and it blew my mind. Botequim make feijoada to die for. I am salivating writing this.
Rua Visconde de Caravelas 184, Botafogo
Benkei
Some of the best Japanese food I've ever eaten is in Rio, and this place doesn't fall behind those standards. It actually raises the bar.
I went in for a buffet and stuffed myself silly. In fact, so silly that I wasn't hungry for a good eight hours later or so. If you're into Japanese, this place is worth the trip.
The menu is totally diverse, with original options, and great ambience and decoration. The staff are all very nice, and the thing that amazed me the most, despite coming straight from the beach, with beachwear, flip flops and sand on my feet, they said there was no problem at all!
Rua Henrique Dumont, 71
Loja A e B
Ipanema - Zona Sul - 2540-4829
BRASILEIRINHO
A simple but great restaurant of Brazilian food. There are just so many options to eat in Rio that it's hard to settle on where to go. During my stay I went to various places around the city, but I was very selective of my choices. I wanted Brazilian cuisine only.
I found the Brasileirinho restaurant at Ipanema on a typical sunny afternoon and went inside to look further. The food is very authentic and so is the restaurant itself, which serves the main Brazilian dish, the feijoada, with accompanying side dishes that go together very well. Fantastic place for lunch.
R. Jangadeiros 10, Ipanema
Baixo Gavea
Another nice place to hang out: this one is at Praça Santos Dumont, the intersection of Bartolmeu Mitre (which comes from Leblon), R. Jardim Botanico, and Marques de S. Vicente, which goes uphill into Gavea.
Two nice restaurants, at the corner of Rua dos Oitis: Braseiro, and Hippodromo.
PUC (the Pontifical University) is just up the street, so there will often be lots of students, and sometimes stars from Globo TV, just up the street in Horto.
Our favorite: the onion soup at Hippodromo.
BARRIL 1800
Barril 1800 is almost an institution in Rio de Janeiro. Because of its localization, in the front of Ipanema beach, or maybe because it's been there for decades receiving everybody with great food and beer and lots of courtesy.
People go there straight from the beach, creating a casual environment. They serve traditional Brazilian dishes in huge amounts of food for great prices. And, last but not least, the sight of Ipanema beach is breathtaking. Don't miss it!
Avenida Vieira Souto, 110
Ipanema - Zona Sul - 2523-0085
Brazilian Gaucho in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro
It's a restaurant called Porcãu Ipanema, only a five-minute walk from the beautiful Ipanema beach. The area is the 'better off' part of Rio. If you are a fan of Gaucho cusine or you just love steak, you will love this place. It has the most AMAZING steak, the best in the world. The Brazilians love eating there. For 44 Brazilian Reals (about £11), you can eat as much as you want and you will not become bored of the food selection as they have a huge array of dishes; a banquet fit for a king! The service is excellent and I was told by many that this is the best place to eat in Rio!
At your table, they provide you with small cards; one side translates as 'Yes please' and the other as 'No thanks'. You have the option of switching to 'Yes please' but be prepared as you will find the waiters almost instantly crowding around your table carving a selection of beautifully cured steak/lamb onto your plate. Plus they have nice South American champagne and wine. Every now and then the waiters serenade their customers with classic Brazilian music, as they form a band.
It's an excellent experience and the service is really good. The Brazilians love eating there, so allow for at least a 10 minute wait for a table in the evenings. They have a champagne lounge where you can wait. Dress smart/casual for admission.
Porcãu Ipanema, 2 blocks from the beach on Rua Barão da Torre, no 218. Ask any of the locals in that area and they will know it. Very easy to find.
The best salad bar in Rio, with consistently good food. You'll often have to wait half an hour for a table, but you'll probably be standing next to a celebrity while you do. Dias Ferreira has become the upmarket restaurant street in Rio so there are also plenty of other choices.
The bar where the lyrics of The Girl from Ipanema were written
The original lyrics were written by Vinicius de Moraes in a restaurant/bar, past which the eponymous Ipanema-ista walked. Today, it's unpretentious and you can still sit by the pavement and watch the pedestrians. They serve a great steak + papas fritas and sell the best Rio souvenir - a T-Shirt bearing the opening bars of the famous song. By the way, the bar is on Vinicius de Moraes Street (in Ipanema). But when you fly in or out of Rio, you will pass through Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport. That's the guy who wrote the music.
CBF Restaurant
I did not know what to expect when I went to CBF with my family, and may I say I was quite impressed! We were told at the restaurant that their main specialty was Portuguese food, from Portugal (duh!) aside from some Spanish dishes, like paella, very good. But the best by far was their cod fish with baked potatoes, olives and shrimp, just heaven! My kids loved it too, but my husband and I enjoyed it the most. It also seemed to have some of that atmosphere based on the country where the food originates from, Portugal. Anyway, quite a family-friendly spot for an afternoon lunch.
Praça Tiradentes 83 Tel: 2232 3215
Cafe Columbo
This cafe is a must in Rio. It is in the city area and easy to find, ask anyone for Cafe Columbo. It is an art deco cafe serving the most delicious sweet and savoury fare.
Ask anyone and they will direct you to it
Casa da Feijoada: best restaurant ever!
Wicked stuff, this feijoada is! For those who are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, feijoada is known as the main dish in Rio de Janeiro, deservedly so.
In the Casa de Feijoada, it's an everyday ritual (unlike other restaurants around where they only serve it on Saturdays and Sundays). It's basically a bean soup with pieces of meat, such as sausage, sundried beef and pork, seasoned to taste. Somehow I thought a bit of Tabasco sauce would bring it all together, but alas, not necessary as the dish itself has some zest to it.
Don't pass up on the opportunity to try this spectacular food while in Rio, or you might regret it!
R. Prudente de Moraes, 10 - B / Ipanema
Tel: 55-21-2523-4994 / 2247-2776
Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Confeitaria Colombo
I see another poster has recommended this but I feel obliged to point out that Colombo is more than just tea and biscuits - it is salgadinhos - Brazil's equivalent of dim sum, which are an absolute must for anyone wanting a culinary experience in Brazil - try bolinhos de bacalhau (fried salt cod balls) or rissole de camarão (prawn rissoles). The only place that arguably does them better than Colombo is Bar Bracarense (also recommended by another poster, but note it is in Leblon, not Ipanema - although the address is right).
Colombo is wonderful, but I feel a need to enlist potential tourists to the sacred cause, which is to persuade a narrow-minded management that they need to keep the ground floor cafe, with its belle epoque mirrors, open as a cafe for the general public and not simply close it off to tourist groups (usually multinationals) - which they have a bad habit of doing. Give the maitre a hard time if you find them doing this. You may thus have to stand at the bar.
Rio de Janeiro is very famous for its bar culture. The words 'botequim' or 'boteco' designate small places with freezing beer, lots of people, bad food and very low prices. The genre of place became so strong that a new style of 'boteco' was created, it keeps the popular aura combined with a tiny sophistication. Devassa Bar in Leblon is an exemplar of the hip but cozy boteco, full of young and interesting people, Devassa has its own beer, in different versions: blond, red, black and Indian. I had the blond and found it very special. The menu is another chapter: many yummy finger foods, typical of Brazil. Go feel yourself a real carioca!
Av. General San Martin, 1241 - Leblon - Rio de Janeiro - RJ
It's a buffet restaurant, with gourmet food, considered one of the best restaurants in Rio. I recommend it because the food is great! It's sophisticated and has a good price.
Rua General Urquiza, 104 - Leblon
(55) (21) 2540-6486 www.fellini.com.br
G
Gourmet 69
The best of the 'buy your food by weight' restaurants we visited. Walk in and choose from Fresh salads, rice, cold meat, fish, various BBQ meat, sushi and then take it to be weighed. You then pay for the weight of your food and it's ridiculously cheap as well as ridiculously tasty.
Copacabana
Guapo Loco
I really enjoyed this Mexican joint over in Leblon. The food's great and cheap, especially on weekends where they have an all-you-can-eat buffet with a wide variety of goodies.
I didn't run into any other Mexican restaurants around Rio (and trust me, I looked), so I imagine this is the one to go to. You'd better skip breakfast if you plan on spending an afternoon here!
There are two Gula Gula restaurants in Rio - one in Ipanema and one in Leblon. I went to both and the food was amazing. However, the setting at the Ipanema one was much classier; the Leblon one looked more like a cafe. There is an excellent selection of food (the same menu at both) and I thoroughly recommend the Chef's Salad. The dressing was amazing and there was far too much to be able to eat it all (yes it was just a salad, and I eat a lot!), although I did make room for the hot chocolate mousse.... mmm!
The staff at both were fantastic and the prices were really good - about the equivalent of £12 for main, dessert, water and half a bottle of wine. I'd say go for the Ipanema one if you want a better atmosphere as it had a lovely outdoor area and was less crammed inside than the Leblon one.
132 Rua Anibal de Mendonca, Ipanema
Gero
The best restaurants in Brazil are in São Paulo, a city of Italian immigrants, and the owner of the best restaurant in São Paulo recently opened this outlet in Rio. It’s where Rio’s celebrities hang out. When they’re not checking each other out they are eating sophisticated Italian food that wouldn’t be out of place in top-of-the-range Milan.
The best ice-cream in Rio - a small chain of posh ice-cream parlours. The one I went to was on the fanciest shopping street in Ipanema, which has a cafe. Try all those exotic fruits (e.g. pitanga) that you should also be tasting at the street juice bars, but in ice-cream!
Can you image that in Rio de Janeiro there's a place so unique that can be called an Italian bistro? Italian because the menu is all based on the pizza land's gastronomy, but here you will find only the modern and sophisticated tendencies of this traditional cuisine.
Bistro because the flair and cosiness of those places are present everywhere. With three floors, the third a terrace right under Cristo's statue, the ambience could not be nicer.
For passioned lovers Lulu is a great choice. You can have a quiet place full of candlelight to inspire your romance. For group of friends it's also a good idea, after all, who doesn't enjoy a well-prepared meal in a beautifully decorated environment?
Premier and Champions' League football at the Lord Jim
The Lord Jim Pub was founded by the late Jim Phillips and his wife, Annie, in 1974. It was once a favourite haunt of Ronnie Biggs and today is one of Rio's most popular nightspots with both expats and a young Carioca crowd. If you're looking for somewhere to watch the English Premier League, Series A, La Liga or the Champions' League, The Lord Jim shows two, sometimes three, premiership matches a week and four Champions' League games every round on its big screen. And following our long-awaited Ashes triumph, cricket junkies will be able watch live coverage of England's winter tour to Pakistan.
The pub has a selection of imported draught beers including Guinness, Heineken and Old Speckled Hen, and, if you feel like a taste of home, the pub grub menu includes full English breakfast, fish and chips and a selection of pies, steaks and curries. If you're staying at the Copacabana Palace, Annie Phillips is still around, working as hospitality manager.
The Lord Jim Pub is at Rua Paul Redfern 63, Ipanema, a block and a half back from the beach, near the Jardim de Alah, between Rua Prudente de Moraes and Rua Visconde de Pirajá. You can't miss it. There's a working red London 'phone box outside. Tel. 2259 3047, www.lordjimpub.com.br
Sushi in Rio may seem random but there are two good reasons to try it. One, you'll probably tire of rice and beans. Two, Brazil has the largest population of Japanese outside of Japan so there are some excellent restaurants to choose from. Two modern, trendy venues on the same street are Manekineko and Sushi Leblon.
Manekineko: 021 2540 7461. Sushi Leblon: 021 2274 1342. Both on Rua Dias Ferreira, Leblon.
Marius Leme
One of the best Churrascuria restaurants in Rio where a never ending supply of meat is paraded out of the kitchen on swords and carved directly onto your plate. Great all you can eat buffet too. Pricey but worth it.
Miam Miam
I recommend Miam Miam because they have great food and atmosphere. It’s reminds me of a big living room, with ambience, music and calm lights!
Rua General Góes Monteiro, 34 - Botafogo.
(21) 2244-0125 www.miammiam.com.br
This is an eating/drinking place for the young and modern - a casual restaurant catering to the twenty-something set. Good food, inexpensive, relaxed atmosphere, well-chilled beer. Try the Frango à Cubana (Cuban chicken, with palmito and banana).
Rua Capitão Salomão, 50, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro; tel: 21 2286 0699; www.oplebeu.com.br
Osteria Policarpo www.osteriapolicarpo.com.br/
Largo dos Leões, 35 - Humaitá (this is the continuation of R. São Clemente in Botafogo)
Il Nonno
Rua Conde de Bonfim, 601, Tijuca
2208-5189
An absolute gem of a 'churrascaria' - a typical brazilian barbecue-house where friendly waiters come round offering you ridiculously succulent and tasty meat until you can't take any more. All for a decent fixed price, there's a salad bar fit for kings and delicious fish alternatives. And as if that wasn't enough, the setting is also unbeatable - you dine with a magical view of the Sugarloaf mountain. They also serve a lethal caipirinha!
Av. Infante Dom Henrique, Flamengo Tel: (21) 3461-9020 www.porcao.com.br
Porcão
First off, you don´t have to be a carnivorous meat lover to enjoy a meal at this place, but it helps.
They also offer fish, sushi, plenty of side dishes and various salad items to suit even the pushiest of vegetarians.
The service is excellent, since the waiters pretty much have everyone covered (no matter how crowded the establishment looks), and are constantly looking out for their customers. The restaurant has a nice vibe to it and a beautiful view of one of Rio's many classic locations, the Sugar Loaf (which is a welcome sight after a few beers).
1)Rua Barão da Torre 218, Ipanema
2)Porcão Rio's - Aterro do Flamengo
3)Av. Armando Lombardi 591, Barra
For reservations call 3389 8989
Palaphita Kitch
It's a restaurant in Rio, where you can order good native food from northern Brazil and eat looking at Rodrigo de Freitas's Lagoon. I recommend it because there you can feel closer to nature and have a fantastic view while you are eating. Pai d'égua e arrombado was one of the plates I ate! Delicious!
A great fish restaurant at the heart of Santa Teresa, just next to the tram stop. We had a lovely dorado in coconut milk sauce. Good fresh food at very reasonable prices. If you go for a night in the many atmospheric bars in this area, this is the place to eat
Via Sete is a traditional restaurant located at Ipanema. They offer food for those who are on a diet (and for those who aren't), who like to eat tasty and fresh food.
My favourite plates are: wraps to eat and frozen drinks (made with 100% fruit).
Rua Garcia D'Ávila, 125 - Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro.
(21) 2512-8100
A trendy but not pretentious place. Zuka, in Leblon, is a magical restaurant to have an exotic and tasty dinner in. The chef's creativity amazes all senses. I was really surprised by the ambience - cosy but modern, full of hip and interesting people. Definitely a must-try.
This place is awesome, and so is the food. This was one of our first dinner stops and we still have fond memories of it.
But the cuisine is just the first chapter of the house, the other side of the thing is a great night! The cool and trendy DJs spin the latest e-music hits, while a crowd of young and beautiful people makes things even more interesting. Should you come down to Rio, give it a try. Zero Zero is located in Gávea, near the Planetarium.
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