My partner and I just returned from our 3rd trip to Rio which was fantastic, although not quite as cheap as in prior years.

Just an fyi, Marius which is a good restaurant and recommended for lunch by our concerige was quite expensive. We stopped there on Thursday for lunch and the only offering was the seafood buffet. The total for 3 lunch buffets, 5 waters, incl tax and tip was $470 Real or about $205 USD for lunch..OUCH!!

Had dinner yesterday at Marius Meat. I think it is all one price at lunch or dinner. So, it was fine for dinner but not for a lunch as we Americans think about lunch. Quite an experience for dinner...lots of music, more to eat than one can imagine or want to eat, but very good selection and the quality of the food was excellent. The service was also very good...responsive and pleasant.
Brazil was expensive but that was due to our hotel selections and the time of year. Next time we will go before or after the prime holiday season. Even our resorts would be reasonsable then. The weather cannot be beat and it is a lovely country with great beaches. FYI..it rained during our three days in Rio, but it was not a problem and that was the only rain during our three weeks in Brazil. We had a "brilliant" vacation.

Wow! Glad you enjoyed the meals - $205 is about what I paid for a full week of room and board and 20 hours of 1-on-1 Spanish tutoring in Honduras last summer.

The dollar is weak now compared to the Real and they have had some inflation. I would say that your bill was unusually high, did you check it with the waiter to see if he made a mistake? The good news is that going forward the Brasilian government wants the Real to weaken some which would be better for us tourists.

Marius is indeed a fine restaurant in Rio. Did you have a dessert??

They appear to be included in the price, but if you look at your bill it is an extra R$25 per person.

The Marius Carnes (next door) to the seafood side is a little bit less expensive. I beleive a plate is about R$75 per person, and the seafood is somewhere around R$110 per person.

So your bill looks accurate, and it is definately expensive by Brazilian standards, but not so much when compared to other worldly cities.

I can still remember when the USD was worth about 3.5 Reais.......