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.

Ouro Preto's finest restaurant is in the Solar Nossa Senhora do Rosário hotel. An elegant atmosphere with formal place settings, attentive service, and soft Brazilian music makes this the ideal spot for a quiet, romantic dinner. The chef, whose menu changes frequently, focuses on Italian and French fare with a mineira accent: you might find intriguing, perfectly prepared dishes such as carne seca (beef jerky) risotto with Gorgonzola cheese. The dessert options include doce de leite (caramel), a Minas specialty, as well as international options like petit gâteau (cake). Argentina, France, Italy, and Brazil itself are among the nations whose wines are represented on the excellent list.