cheap flights
home  >  travel guides  >  brazil  >  rio de janeiro eating out

Rio De Janeiro Restaurants

Rio's cuisine has been influenced by the people who founded, built, conquered and settled in the city. Africans, Indians, Portuguese, French and Italians have all left their impact on the food of Rio, creating a cuisine unlike anywhere else in the world. The city offers a selection of restaurants and eateries that will suit everyone's taste and budget. These range from restaurants serving gourmet food to corner shops selling burgers and fries. You can also eat on the beach at one of the numerous stalls selling hot and cold snacks.

Local Cuisine

Traditional Brazilian cuisine is all about meat. There are many restaurants dedicated to serving only a wide range of meat with a few side dishes. Waiters will come round to offer a continuous selection. Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil and is made up of beans, sausages and rice. It is a very tasty dish and will always leave you satisfied as well as being good value for money. Salgadinhos are another national delicacy. They are small savoury snacks of filled and fried pastries. A typical salgadinho would be filled with cheese. Caipirinha is the national drink, made up of cachaca, sugar, lime and water; this is now a popular drink the world over. Staple foods in Brazil include beans, dried shrimps and codfish, coconut, palm oil and rice.

Where to Eat

Copacabana offers many restaurants suitable for those on a budget. You will find a number of restaurants offering buffet menus, where you are charged by the weight of your plate. You will also find corner shops selling snacks on almost every corner. Ipanema is home to a number of good restaurants with many international influences. Eating on the beach is a pleasant alternative to eating out in restaurants. Many stalls offer a range of hot and cold snacks at very reasonable prices.