As varied as the cultured cuisine of the people, Brazilian restaurants are also as broad on the spectrum of choices for dining. There are extremely expensive establishments that will deliver exceptional service as well as local, small, neighborhood places with some of the best food you can find in the Brazilian restaurants.
Rio de Janeiro
When visiting Rio de Janeiro, Marius Steakhouse is always voted a Brazilian restaurant winner. The restaurant offers over 30 choices of grilled meat dishes and right next door is their sister restaurant, Marius Crustaceous, known as a seafood palace. These Brazilian restaurants are busy and reservations are always recommended. The Satyricon is Brazilian restaurant popular for artists, businessmen and politicians. They have amazing seafood but are actually known for having the best Tiramisu around and also offer an impressive wine list. The Madame butterfly is one of the most well known Brazilian restaurants that has a reputation all over the world. If you love Japanese food, this is as good as it gets. They even have sushi rolls with non-traditional shapes. Other honorable mentions in Rio de Janeiro are Garcia e Rodrigues, Siri Mole e Companhia and the Quadrifoglio.
São Paulo
São Paulo, having a different cultural effect on food has some of its own top picked restaurants. Acqua Benedicta is greatly known for its variety of cachaca which is a popular sugar-cane based spicy-food and spirit. This is an entrée worth the drive even if you don’t live or are not visiting close to the area.
Le Coq Hardy is an elegant piano bar with a one of a kind wine cellar that is sure to impress you. At lunch the menu is a fixed price and includes a remarkable glass of Bordeaux. If you’re looking for traditional spicy, South American food, the Restaurante Antiquário Patacão and the Souto Maior are the top picked venues. The Antiquaris is said to offer the perfect elegant setting to Portugese cuisine which is hard to find outside of Portugal. Lastly, in São Paulo, the Santa Gula is a ‘hidden gem’. It is actually located in the backyard of an old house and serves the best mix of Italian and Brazilian food around.
No matter what city you visit in Brazil there are going to be expensive, magical, upscale restaurants as well as trendy ones and some top picked smaller ones. Your hotel resort can do a fine job of recommending some upscale Brazilian restaurants for a fine dining experience that will not be forgotten but don’t underestimate asking the local people of Brazil for advice. They can guide you to those small tucked away Brazilian restaurants where the authentic food cannot be duplicated and the service staff makes you feel like part of the family.