Fodor's Expert Review Bip Bip

Here the roda de samba—where musicians sit and play instruments around a central table (in fact the only table in this tiny bar)—is legendary, as is the help-yourself beer policy. The no-nonsense owner makes drink notations and keeps the crowd in check. The standards of the music here are as high as the bar is simple: big-name Brazilian musicians have been known to drop in for a jam session, and on weekend evenings the revelry often spills out onto the street.