Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Rio Restaurants

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Traveling to Rio in March 2003, probably staying at Caesar Park Ipanema. I am interested in enjoying some excellent cuisine at top-notch restaurants. I have heard that both Galani and Mariko at the Caesar Park Hotel Ipanema are very good as well Le Saint Honore at Le Meridien Hotel Copacabana, Cipriani at the Copacabana Palace Hotel and the Plataforma in Leblon (dinner along with the samba show). Will be in Rio for 5 nights and looking for the very finest dinning experience. Thanks, Herb

http://www.boalembranca.com.br/boaing/nossos.html, Herb, check out these restaurants in Rio, these are top notch.

I just topped another thread for you, subject is: "Need restaurants recommendations". The places mentioned are all nice. Have a good time in Rio, S

Went to Rio last fall and was disappointed with the food. I'm from San Francisco, so am spoiled with great food though! Went to Gourmet, which was the best but stillnot top notch. Also, to Antiquarius and that was a bust. The food in Salvador was much better although not fancy. We stayed at the Caesar Park too and that was nothing special, but the food was pretty good. If you can afford it, stay at the Copacabana!

Best Pizza Fiammetta has won the title of best pizzeria in Rio since its foundation, in 2001. And a lot of people agree with the election. On busy Saturdays, more than 400 pizzas are served. The house specialty is a thick crust, served with 21 different toppings. All pizzas are made in the large wood-burning oven, only in medium and large sizes. Fiammetta – Address: Avenida das Américas, 7777 (inside Rio Design Barra Mall). Tel.: 2438-7500. Credit cards accepted: Visa. Best Brazilian It’s natural that a native of Bahia would own the best Brazilian restaurant. After all, the country was discovered in Bahia. Heavily influenced by the cuisine of her native state, chef Neide Santos, sticks to the traditional. Start your meal with the famous acarajés - deep-fried white bean cakes - (R$18.00 for seven cakes) and fill them with vatapá or shrimp. As your main course, ebobufulô is a good choice: fish seasoned with coconut milk, smoked shrimp, fresh shrimp sauce, rice and banana puree (R$46.00/serves two). Yorubá – Address: Rua Arnaldo Quintela 94, Botafogo. Tel.: 2541-9387. Credit cards accepted: Mastercard. Best Modern Bistro Among the 28 categories of Veja-Rio’s list, “modern bistro” is one that deserves to be highlighted here. Discretely located on Rua Paul Redfern in Ipanema, Ateliê Culinário is an excellent option for almost any occasion. The ambiance is sophisticated and casual. There are always 24 bottles of decent wine available to be served by the glass, and the harmonized menus change every day. And, to top it off, a very true-to-its-name cheesecake (R$5.50) – a rarity in Rio – with guava or cassis sauce. Ateliê Culinário – Address: Rua Paul Redfern, 41, Ipanema. Tel.: 2529-6856. No credit cards are accepted.

Veja-Rio elects the best of Rio In keeping with its tradition of several years, Veja-Rio, the prestigious weekly magazine Veja’s local insert, recently published its 2002/2003 “O melhor da cidade” restaurant guide. The 115-page guide elects not only the best restaurant in each category of cuisine, but also the best chef, best breakfast, best bars in which “to-be-seen”, etc. Here is a summary of Veja-Rio’s list: Best chef Elected best chef in Rio for the second time in the 4 years he has been in the city, Roland Villard also resuscitated the decadent Le Pre-Catelan restaurant, located at the Sofitel Hotel. Villard is able to combine new trends with the main elements of the classical French cuisine. His sampling menu – including an appetizer, main course, and dessert - is a huge success, and changes every 15 days. If you want to try the sampling at the current price of R$85, do hurry. The price is going up after September 23rd. Le Pre-Catelan – Address: Avenida Atlântica 4240, level E, Copacabana. Tel.: 2525-1160. Credit cards accepted: Amex, Visa, Diner’s, and Mastercard. Best Italian Cipriani is proof that Italian food can be very refined. When added to this splendid restaurant’s lavish decoration and the tradition and glamour of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, your evening is certain to be memorable. Led by Venetian chef Francesco Carli, Cipriani is known for its silver utensils, the ten different types of bread made twice a day, and dishes like artichoke salad with frog’s legs and black truffle dressing (R$53.00). Cipriani – Address: Avenida Atlântica, 1702, Copacabana. Tel.: 2548-7070. Credit cards accepted: Amex, Visa, Diner’s, and Mastercard. Best Seafood Satyricon opened in Búzios more than 20 years ago, and the restaurant in Ipanema was inaugurated in the late 1980’s. Owners Marly and Miro Leopardi are extremely demanding with the quality of the food they serve and are not afraid of displaying your future meal right at the entrance. International celebrities like Madonna and Sting surrendered to the delicacies of Satyricon. If you’re not sure what to order, ask for the “gran piatto di mare”, a big platter of oysters, mussels, shrimp, tuna, crawfish, and more (R$51.00 – feeds 4). Satyricon – Address: Rua Barão da Torre 192, Ipanema. Tel.: 2521-0627. Credit cards accepted: Amex, Visa, Diner’s, and Mastercard. Best Oriental Restaurant To distance a restaurant from the hectic competition of Rua Dias Ferreira, in Leblon, is no small feat. Sushi Leblon has succeeded in doing just that. Elected the best oriental restaurant in Rio, Sushi Leblon has survived the Japanese food fad with competence and even some degree of innovation – try the salmon marinated in foie gras (R$28.00), or the “exotic sushi”, which can even include sea urchin. Sushi Leblon – Address: Rua Dias Ferreira, 256, Leblon. Tel.: 2512-7830. Credit cards accepted: Amex, Visa and Diner’s.

Porcão Rio's Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, s/nº, Aterro do Flamengo, 2554-8535 (800 lugares). 12h/1h (seg. a qui. e dom.) e 12h/1h30 (sex. e sáb.). Cc.: todos. Manobr. $$$ É o restaurante mais privilegiado da rede, por ter uma vista deslumbrante do Pão de Açúcar e da Baía de Guanabara. O rodízio custa R$ 36,50, com serviço eficiente e bufê sortido. Basically, what this says is that this restaurant which is a branch of the chuascaria Porcao enjoys the best view of Sugar Loaf from Flamengo and Guanabara bay. Don't miss this and all for the price of a little over $10 for rodizio.

Antiquarius is a great restaurant. If you want a good rodizio, I suggest Marios in Leme.