My recommended restaurants in Rio de Janeiro
Aprazível
I want to start this section with my favourite restaurant that is the romantic Aprazível, located at the top of Santa Teresa neighborhood. The speciality of Aprazível is the traditional brazilian cuisine but renewed and finely presented. You can enjoy starters like the famous 'Pão de Queijo', meat dishes like 'Picanha ao Sol' or 'Medalhão' and Seafood dishes like 'Peixe Tropical' or 'Bacalhau do Pai'. The selection of Brazilian wine is also extraordinary.
The restaurant offers several different atmospheres all of them with a rustic but elegant brazilian decoration. You can have dinner in the traditional covered restaurant; in a balcony with a romantic view of Rio de Janeiro; in a big patio where you can enjoy the dinner under the Moon and the stars; in a table on a tree for sharing laughs and experiences with a few friends or drink a traditional cachaça in the 'Cachaçaria'.
www.aprazivel.com.br - Rua Aprazível, 62 - Santa Teresa (Rio de Janeiro) Phone: +55 (21) 2508-9174
Porcão Rio's
I always go to
Porcão Rio's when i fancy a good meat. It is my favourite
'Churrascaria' of Rio de Janeiro, and of course, is with the 'Rodizio Carioca' system. I now that there are several Porcão restaurants in Rio but no other compares to the
Porcão Rio's located in Aterro do Flamengo. You can enjoy a starter with an extraordinary buffet and the main dish, of course, their wonderful meat. The waiters pass table to table offering different kind of meats sticked in a kind of 'sword' and cut them in front of you. The service is simply perfect.
The restaurant is divided in several big saloons, a bar when you can drink and have brazilian snacks and an external area besides the ocean. The view of the ocean and the Sugar Loaf is wonderful.
www.porcao.com.br - Av. Infante Dom Henrique S/N - Aterro do Flamengo (Rio de Janeiro) Phone: +55 (21) 3461-9020
Marius
Marius is another of my favourite restaurants. It is divided in two different restaurants in the same address; one of these parts is a good 'Churrascaria' when they offer a good meat and an excellent buffet but i only visited it twice and beside of this one they serve a marvelous
seafood. I always enjoy with the best oysters, shrimps and, of course, their excellent lobsters. The service is also excellent.
The restaurant is in a full thematic sea decoration with pieces of ships and different sea tools on the walls and around. The waiters are also dressed as sailor.
www.marius.com.br - Av. Atlântica, 294 - Leme (Rio de Janeiro) Phone: +55 (21) 2104-9000
Restaurante do Círculo Militar da Praia Vermelha
I sometimes want to have a pizza and enjoy brazilian good music at the
Restaurante do Círculo Militar da Praia Vermelha. I have to confess that i don't go there for their pizza or for other brazilian dishes that they serve; honestly they are good but not the best in Rio de Janeiro but... The magic of this restaurant is it wonderful terrace, with a lot of big tropical trees and the sea just beside. The extraordinary view of the Sugar Loaf and the Guanabara Bay with the candles and the live brazilian music make this restaurant a very romantic and special place.
www.cmpv.com.br - Praça General Tibúrcio s/n - Praia Vermelha - Urca (Rio de Janeiro) Phone: +55 (21) 2295-3397
Garota de Ipanema
I go quite often to the
Garota de Ipanema restaurant. I like the simplicity of its ambient and their extraordinary
'Picanha na Chapa' that is a wonderful beef meat served in a hot plate. They also offer pizza, salads, simple seafood and a good and cold
'Chopp' (draught beer).
The restaurant has a terrace where Vinicius de Morães and Tom Jobim got the inspiration for composing the Garota de Ipanema famous song. An historical place with a funny atmosphere.
www.garotaipanema.com.br - Rua Vinicius de Morães, 49 - Ipanema (Rio de Janeiro) Phone: +55 (21) 2523-3787