3 Best Restaurants in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais

A Parisian-like café and restaurant in an 18th-century building, this beautiful establishment serves delicious sandwiches, soups, and pastries, as well as full entrées. It's especially appealing on a rainy day to sip a cup of coffee or a glass of wine here to the accompaniment of a good novel. The happy hour bar downstairs, Escadabaixo, is the town's most popular hangout for wealthier ouropretanos and tourists. Escadacima is a small shop within the restaurant with a good selection of local and imported wine and beer.

A large and welcoming restaurant above a jewelry store, Casa do Ouvidor has won numerous awards for regional dishes such as tutu, feijão tropeiro, and frango com quiabo. The portions are generous. Since the restaurant's opening in 1972, it has hosted former President of France François Mitterand, actor Richard Dreyfuss, author John Updike, and many other luminaries. Try to sit by the windows, which look out on the street below and save room for the homemade sweets.

The best place for a mineiran buffet in Ouro Preto is in this vividly decorated eatery near the Casa dos Contos. The large dining room has beautiful furniture designed by Oscar Niemeyer, and the cupboards are decorated with antiques and candles. On the gorgeous balcony in the back, you can sip jaboticaba (a purple grape-like fruit) drinks as you peruse the countryside.