Salvador and the Bahia Coast Restaurants

The laid-back lifestyle of Bahians is reflected in their food. While breakfast in Brazil is traditionally a minor meal, even the simplest of inns will often provide a buffet spread fit for a king—including tropical fruits, eggs, and endless cakes and pancakes crafted from Tapioca. Lunches are usually casual and not strictly defined by the clock, as the hottest part of the day is not the best for large meals. Dinner is the main meal, and starts late, usually around 9. Bahian cuisine is unique and delicious, and a definite reason to visit. The ever-present oleo de dendê (palm oil) is one ingredient that sets it apart from other Brazilian cuisines.

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  • 1. Bar do Raúl

    $$

    The freshest of such Bahian delicacies as mariscada (seafood stew), casquinha de siri (shredded crab), and arroz de polvo (octopus rice) at great-value prices and served right on the beach are what make Raúl’s a longtime local favorite. The service is friendly and slick and the portions so generous that one main course can be shared among three or four people. Set on the beach of Saquaira, Raúl’s is a lot more laid-back than the beach bars in Barra Grande and a good opportunity to catch a slice of local life.

    Praia da Saquaíra s/n, Bahia, 45520–000, Brazil
    073-3258–4019

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 2. La Taperia

    $$$ | Rio Vermelho

    You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Spanish restaurant in Brazil that matches the outstanding food and cocktails served at this vibrant bar-restaurant overlooking the bay in Rio Vermelho and packed with locals every night of the week. Located in a converted town house, tables are scattered through a series of small rooms, styled with vintage Spanish prints on exposed-brick walls. While the most sought-after spot is out on the terrace, if you are in a hurry, opt for one of the stools along the bar and tuck into the delectable menu, featuring inventive salads, fresh seafood, and world-class paella. While the extensive wine list offers Spanish classics, don’t miss the expertly prepared cocktails, such as the jabuticaba caipiroska (a vodka caipirinha made with native jabuticaba fruit).

    Rua da Paciencia 251, Salvador, Bahia, 41950–010, Brazil
    071-3334–6871

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch.
  • 3. Paraíso Tropical

    $$$$ | Cabula

    Ask locals and longtime expats alike what not to miss in Salvador and the response you get will be unanimous: Paraíso Tropical. In a tropical garden in the suburb of Cabula, a 20-minute taxi ride from the Historic Center, this relaxed, gourmet spot treats patrons to Bahian classics with a twist. Chef Beto reinvents heavy dishes like moqueca and bobo using natural dendê fruit rather than oil, combined with rare tropical fruits sourced from more than 6,000 square meters of native Mata Atlântica forest. Everything is cooked in agua de coco instead of water to increase the nutritional value of the dishes. Go with friends and go hungry, for while the siri catado (Bahia soft-shell crab), salada duca (mango, baby coconut, and cashew salad), and Beto's special moqueca stand out, you'll want to try everything.

    Rua Edgar Loureiro 98-B, Salvador, Bahia, 41152–110, Brazil
    071-3384–7464

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. Closed Mon.
  • 4. Restaurante da Sylvinha

    $$$$

    This colorful cottage with some of the most innovative food in Bahia, set right on Praia do Espelho, draws Trancoso's jet set, who get here via a bumpy 40-minute drive on dirt roads. Sylvinha serves a generous set menu that blends Brazilian and Asian flavors (think ginger-infused fish and tropical fruit chutneys) to diners who gather around a few big tables on the terrace of her house. Daybeds are set under the coconut palms for post-lunch snoozing. Reservations are essential at this lunch-only spot.

    Praia do Espelho s/n, Porto Seguro, Bahia, 45818–000, Brazil
    075-9985–4157

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner, Reservations essential
  • 5. São João Batista

    $$$$

    Quadrado de Trancoso s/n, Trancoso, Bahia, 45818-000, Brazil
    011-9856–33610
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  • 6. Thaicoso

    $$

    A compact menu of delicious, fresh-flavored Thai dishes changes daily at this affordable, alfresco spot, with a handful of candlelit tables set out in front of the vibrant pink facade of ecelctic design shop Quadrado 13. The green papaya salad and sweet-and-sour slow-roasted pork make a particularly welcome change from endless moqueca. A great spot for cocktails, too.

    Praça são João 13, Trancoso, Bahia, 45818-000, Brazil
    073-9905-8405

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 7. A Portinha

    $

    This good-value, lunch-only, buffet-style restaurant attracts both locals and foreign visitors with its generous salad bar and variety of "slow-cooked" options. The restaurant serves a different type of cuisine daily, so the fare for any given day might include Brazilian, Italian, or Asian specialties. Price is charged per weight of the food on your plate.

    Rua do Mucugê 333, Arraial d'Ajuda, Bahia, 44816–000, Brazil
    073-3575–1289

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner, Credit cards accepted
  • 8. Bar do Rô

    $$$$

    Rio Carapitangui, Bahia, 45520–000, Brazil
    073-3258–6076

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 9. Bargaço

    $$$$ | Armação

    Delicious Bahian dishes of fresh seafood are served at this longtime favorite, where the ample portions are great for sharing and the alfresco setting provides a convivial vibe for a family celebration. Pata de caranguejo (vinegary crab claws) is hearty and may do more than take the edge off your appetite for the requisite moqueca de camarão (with shrimp) or moqueca de siri mole (with soft-shell crab); try the cocada(coconut confections) for dessert, if you have room.

    Salvador, Bahia, 41750–040, Brazil
    071-3231–1000

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 10. Boi Preto

    $$$$ | Armação

    For a set price this top-quality, all-you-can-eat Brazilian churrascaria serves a selection of meat cooked to perfection and a generous choice of sides. A flurry of white-coated waiters appear at your table to carve different options of meat straight onto your plate rodizio style, so try not to fill up on the steaming pao de quiejo (cheese balls), salads, sushi, and seafood from the accompanying buffet—and also know that the best cuts are usually brought toward the end of the meal. Drinks and dessert are charged separately.

    Salvador, Bahia, 41715–240, Brazil
    071-3362–8844

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 11. Cabana Recanto do Sossego

    $$$$ | Ponta do Mutá

    Run by three Italians, this beach restaurant combines fresh seafood with homegrown classics, such as fish carpaccio and gnocchi with pesto sauce. The place is packed with families most nights of the week, while on Saturday, sunset drinks and a DJ draw a younger crowd.

    Av. Beira Mar 10130, Porto Seguro, Bahia, 45810–000, Brazil
    073-9923–2630

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 12. Café Ba-Cana

    $ | Coffee

    Regular live music and excellent cocktails make this a popular hangout with visitors and locals come nightfall. During the day it's a hot spot for caffeine aficionados, with a range of organic locally produced coffees complementing delicious homemade cakes and a simple menu of salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes.

    Rua Boa Vista 60, Lençóis, Bahia, 46960–000, Brazil
    075
  • 13. Capim Santo

    $$$

    Located in the heart of the Quadrado, Capim Santo—which means lemongrass in Portuguese—is one of the best restaurants in town. Open since 1985, the family-run business retains an essence of informality and coziness, even though service is super sharp and the healthy, seafood-based menu sophisticated enough to warrant a second branch in São Paulo. Highlights include fresh fish cooked in lemongrass and lobster served in a whole pineapple. Reservations in high season are a must, where regular live music, the flickering candlelight, and jabuticaba caipirinhas make this one of the hottest, and most romantic, spots in Trancoso.

    Rua do Beco 55, Trancoso, Bahia, 45818–000, Brazil
    073-3668–1122

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch, Credit cards accepted
  • 14. Cozinha Aberta

    $$$$

    You’ll be forgiven for wanting to order everything on the menu at Brazilian chef Deborah Doitschinoff’s Slow Food spot set right on the river, where passionate staff talk diners through the rare local ingredients (such as batata da serra) that inspire the menu. Highlights include cacao spaghetti with shrimp, cashew-filled eggplant rolls, and cinnamon and tamarind caipirinhas. And while the flavors could be more inventive for the price, the experience itself—dining alfresco overlooking Lencois’s rushing waterway with excellent service—makes for one of the most pleasant meals in town.

    Av. Rua Barbosa 42, Lençóis, Bahia, 46960–000, Brazil
    075-3334–1321
  • 15. Guido's

    $$ | Boipepa

    Local lobster man Guido has grown into something of a Brazilian legend over the past 15 years, since he first began serving up succulent whole lobsters fished right out of the rocks in front of his beachside café on the curved bay of Praia da Cueira, a 30- to 40-minute walk during low tide from Velha Boibepa. It’s a laid-back family affair, with plastic tables and chairs set in the sand and sizeable portions of lobster cooked in spices and honey, served up with traditional rice, beans, and salad.

    Praia da Cueira, Salvador, Bahia, 45420–000, Brazil
    075-9907–7049

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 16. L'Arcangelo

    $$$ | Pelourinho | Coffee

    Tucked away on a quiet cobbled street, this lively cantina combines good-value Italian classics with a cozy atmosphere. Owner Rafaele makes the most of fresh local seafood for signature dishes such as spaghetti ai frutti di mare and grilled seafood platter to share. Homemade pastas, tasty meat dishes, and endless indulgent desserts have turned this into a local favorite. Come Sunday, regulars spill out onto tables on the street between watching international football on the large TV and sipping limoncello. The wine list is one of the most varied in town and is well priced, and the fixed-price lunch menu is an excellent value.

    Rua das Laranjeiras 17, Salvador, Bahia, 40250–000, Brazil
    071-3322–0066

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 17. Lá em Casa

    $$

    This Praia de Algodoes restaurant–beach bar is run by Helena and Fernando, a charming couple from Rio, whose tapas-style menu and specials evolve daily around fresh local ingredients and create one of the most pleasant dining experiences in Maraú. Tables are set on a first-floor terrace, so diners have views of the bright green coconut palms framing the ocean. Lá em casa translates as "at home," and there is a relaxed feeling of being guests in a friend's house as Helena bustles in and out of the kitchen while her partner Fernando shakes up mango margaritas. They also offer two comfortable bungalows for rent.

    Rua Praia de Algodões s/n, Bahia, 45520–000, Brazil
    073-9900–9919
  • 18. Macunaíma Beach Lounge

    $$$

    This hippie-chic beach bar is loved as much for its signature cocktail, the Anti-Stress (vodka muddled with lemongrass, mint, and ginger), as for its extensive, tasty menu (try the tuna tartare and teriyaki salmon) and position on the beach at Ponto do Mutá. During high season, it's best to book ahead if you want one of the tables in the sand, perfect for whiling away the day until it's time to watch the sunset. Service can be alternately brilliant and patchy, but when everything clicks, it's one of the more sophisticated options on the peninsula.

    Ponta da Mutá, 45520–000, Brazil
    073-3258–6263

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 19. Pinnochio’s Pizzaria e Restaurante

    $$

    Located just off one of Barra Grande’s charming sandy streets, this no-frills wood-oven pizza place is always packed with groups of friends sharing enormous pizzas, pasta, and homemade lasagna at alfresco tables scattered under an almond tree. Italian owner Marco ensures that the service is quick and the thin-crust pizzas are some of the best in Bahia; try the Primavera, with Parma ham and rocket.

    Av. José Melo Pirajá, Bahia, 45520-000, Brazil
    073-3258–6248

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 20. Pizzeria da Gente

    $

    Arguably the best-value dining experience in town, this hole-in-the-wall spot is a local favorite for its tasty thin-crust wood-oven pizzas and ice-cold beer, which can be ordered to take away or enjoyed at one of the metal tables set out in the street. Still hungry? Stop off next door for a sugar high at Pavê e Comê, a dessert-only café run by charismatic granny Sonia, who specializes in classic Brazilian treats such as pavê de chocolate com caldo quente e sorvete de maracujá (chocolate cake with hot sauce and passion-fruit ice cream).

    Rua das Pedras s/n, Lençóis, Bahia, 46960–000, Brazil
    075-3334–1963

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch

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