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With nearly a thousand restaurants, Rio's dining choices are broad, from low-key Middle Eastern cafés to elegant contemporary eateries with award-winning kitchens and first-class service. The succulent offerings in the churrascarias (restaurants specializing in grilled meats) can be mesmerizing for meat lovers—especially the places that serve rodízio-style (grilled meat on skewers is continually brought to your table—until you can eat no more). Hotel restaurants often serve the national dish, feijoada (a hearty stew of black beans and pork), on Saturday—sometimes on Friday, too. Wash it down with a chopp (the local draft beer; pronounced "shop") or a caipirinha (sugarcane rum, lime, and sugar).
Located in the Santa Teresa MGallery Hotel, the restaurant offers an international menu with a touch of Brazilian cuisine. Chef Luanna Malheiros brings to the menu all her experience in several French and Brazilian restaurants. Classical recipes like steak au poivre are recreated to include Brazilian ingredients such as national fish, and French dessert techniques are used in sweets made with açaí, cupuaçu, and banana.
A lantern-lit tropical garden filled with exotic plants, monkeys, and birds is the spectacular setting for this family restaurant serving pan-Brazilian dishes and an exciting selection of Brazilian wines. The owner and chef, Ana Castilha, hails from Minas Gerais but received her formal training at New York City's French Culinary Institute. Call ahead to reserve, as weekends are reliably packed.
At Lasai, the gastronomic experience goes beyond simply tasting the ingredients, guided by renowned chef Rafa Costa e Silva. Every guest is seated at a balcony table facing the kitchen, able to follow every step of preparation and observe the constant coming and going of the team. Tables serve 10 people per seating. Certain dietary restrictions may not be accepted; check prior the reservation if they can accommodate.
A tank of snapping lobsters and a fish counter where you can pick your catch of the day ensures you'll get some of the best seafood in town. And white tablecloths, off-the-boat-fresh fish, and excellent service ensure the quality of the experience is worth the price tag.
Rio fairly bursts with pizza places, but this upmarket chain's Ipanema branch emerges at the top of the list. Wood-fired, thin-crust pizzas are made with imported Italian flour, and the toppings—from wild mushrooms and handmade buffalo mozzarella to wafer-thin Parma ham and fresh tuna—are of the highest quality. There are branches in Jardim Botânico, Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, and the beach resort of Búzios.
Restaurants traditionally serve feijoada, Brazil's savory national dish, on Saturday, but here the huge pots of the substantial stew simmer every day; it's a great option for groups or when you are particularly hungry. The menu also features options such as baked chicken, shrimp in coconut milk, grilled trout, and filet mignon. The caipirinhas are made not only with lime but also with tangerine, passion fruit, pineapple, strawberry, or kiwi.
The most lavish of Copacabana Palace's three restaurants is this homage to Northern Italian cooking, set overlooking the enormous swimming pool and replete in soft lighting, velvet chairs, and impeccable staff. This contender for the most formal restaurant in Rio has changed their menu into a tasting menu with a vegan option.
The city's most celebrated chef—Claude Troisgros—has changed the face of the all-you-can-eat churrascaria with this chic bistro. Unlike at traditional rodizios, where waiters deliver cut after cut of meat, here they dash from table to table with steaming plates of roasted palm hearts, stuffed tomatoes, creamy mashed potatoes, and other meat-free sides to accompany meaty mains like the substantial prime rib or the more accessibly priced house burger.
A world away from the touristy restaurants that line Copacabana's beachfront, this refined Italian restaurant is easily overlooked but well worth seeking out. The menu celebrates Italy's diverse regional cuisines, including wonderful homemade pastas, quality meats, and delicious desserts. The knowledgeable staff can advise you about appropriate wine pairings—helpful, as the list is extensive.
This upmarket churrascaria is famed for the quality of its grilled meats, which are served in a sleek wooden dining room on a quiet tree-lined street in Ipanema. All the grilled dishes come with fried palm hearts, seasoned rice, and a choice of fried, baked, or sautéed potatoes.
Owned by the Italian Fasano chain, this award-strewn and beautifully appointed restaurant is frequently cited as the best Italian in Rio, although quality like this comes at a cost. The high-ceilinged, wooden-floor building exhibits the clean, contemporary design that is the Fasano hallmark and the menu contains wonderful panini, pastas, and risottos, as well as excellent fish and meat dishes; a second Rio branch operates in Barra da Tijuca.
A block from Ipanema Beach, Margutta has a reputation for outstanding Mediterranean-style seafood, such as shrimp panfried in olive oil, white wine, and garlic; and lobster baked with butter and saffron rice. There's a handful of vegetarian options including mixed-vegetable risotto with truffle oil.
While rising star Felipe Bronze has long been known for his avant-garde Brazilian tasting menus, his approach has found a welcomed simplicity since he moved fine dining restaurant Oro from its Jardim Botânico location to Leblon in 2016. The two versions of the menu degustation feature a series of small, elaborately prepared dishes, including oysters, pão de queijo and other Brazilians delicacies. It's one of the two Michelin stars in the city and was recently listed as 91st Best Restaurant in Latin America.
Set overlooking the vast Guaratiba flatlands and enveloped in dense forest, the seafood-focused menu at this casual restaurant is best known for its moqueca stew and spectacular sunsets. The colorful flora and glorious vistas give the feeling of being far out of town (you'll need a car to get here), but it's a great place to stop between visits to Grumari beach and Sitio Roberto Burle Marx.
Traditional Spanish seafood casseroles are a strong suit at this small restaurant on a shady street, which has been attracting locals for more than 70 years. The waiters, clad in white suits, add to the nostalgic 70's atmosphere. A line snakes around the block at peak hours, but it's worth the wait to find a table: the food, served in generous portions big enough to share, is terrific.
