A grill of sizzling coração de galinha (chicken hearts), linguiça (sausage), and churrasco (steak) exudes a plume of smoke that sets the perfect theatrical stage as a woman in a red apron swings from side to side, dancing to Brazilian funk. The meat smells delicious, too. Maybe just one espetinho (skewer) before we go…
Sundays at Feira da Glória market in Rio de Janeiro are an all-out assault on the senses – and on shoppers’ willpower. The sight of fruit stacked high on tables is almost as vibrant as Rio itself. There’s bright orange cajú (cashew fruit), green avocados the size of footballs, red acerola (Guarani cherries), and yellow bananas of various flavors and sizes like banana d’água (the sweetest), banana prata (the everyday), and bananinha (the finger-length snack). There are cheeses from Minas Gerais, giant seafood from the Atlantic, and cooked food that entices shoppers to save their market purchases for the rest of the week.
A loud motor grinds sugar cane sticks to make natural caña juice, best sipped alongside the typical market snack: pastel (fried pocket stuffed with meat or cheese – like a longer, crispier empanada). Women (likely from Bahia) with their hair wrapped in a colorful gele fry up acarajé (crispy fried balls of black-eyed peas stuffed with various pastes and shrimp, a recipe that links Brazilians with their African ancestors). At a nearby stand, a vendor is melting cheese with a blow torch over pão d’alho (garlic bread) filled with chicken hearts.
There’s international cuisine as well, though to a much lesser extent – Rio locals (known as cariocas), are hesitant to stray from what they know: beans and rice, meat, fried snacks, and local fruit. The exceptions are pizza, Levantine snacks like kibe and esfiha, and sushi, since Italian, Lebanese, and Japanese cuisine has long been integrated into the Brazilian palate. The longest lineup at Feira da Glória every week is for the spicy shrimp jollof rice at Cozinha Nigeriana de Latifa – a stand run by a family of recent immigrants from Nigeria. There are also Colombian and Venezuelan arepas, Indian curry, and Mexican burritos, though international food in Rio probably isn’t as good as that in São Paulo, Rio’s big brother some 270 miles inland. Change takes time, and cariocas are never in a hurry.
To understand Rio cuisine is to understand its history. In January 1502, a Portuguese ship sailed into Guanabara Bay, infamously mistaking it for a river (rio) and calling it Rio de Janeiro. Back then, this tropical paradise was a lush Atlantic Forest populated with an untold number of Tupi and Tupaia Indigenous peoples – the vast majority of whom were murdered, enslaved, and robbed within a century of colonization. To feed the world’s growing addiction to sugar, and later coffee, the Portuguese hauled millions of Africans across the Atlantic to work the land until they perished. Some estimate that one in five enslaved Africans throughout the history of the trans-Atlantic trade arrived in Rio’s ports before the country finally abolished slavery in 1888.
Today, Rio’s most popular recipes were heavily influenced by its ancestors. Chewy pão de queijo (cheese balls) and tapioca (folded and stuffed pancakes) are both made with indigenous cassava root. Feijoada (black beans and fatty meats) served with rice, couve (collard greens), and an orange slice came from Afro-Brazilians living in fugitive enslaved communities called quilombos. And the Portuguese brought the bolinhos de bacalho (fried codfish balls) and galeto (barbecued spring chicken). Later, 19th-century immigrants from Lebanon, Italy, and Japan added foods like kibe (ground meat fried into pointed balls), pizza, and yakisoba (stir-fry noodles) to the Rio table.
But while São Paulo might have a larger variety and quality of international cuisine, it doesn’t have a beach. On any given day at Copacabana or Ipanema in Rio, you’ll find an endless windmill of vendors delivering tantalizing bites directly to your chair or canga (beach blanket). Queijo coalho (halloumi-like cheese that’s as squeaky as the cuíca samba instrument) is grilled on mini charcoal barbecues to order. Milho (corn) is sawed off the cob and smothered with butter. Esfiha (mini baked pies) are plucked out of boxes by vendors wearing stereotypical Middle Eastern thawb robes. Açaí (a blended Amazonian superfruit) is served ice cold and loaded with fresh fruit and the option of drizzled chocolate or condensed milk. The most classic of Rio beach snacks is ring-shaped Biscoito Globo crackers washed down with a mate (iced tea) poured on tap from metal tanks, served sweetened or unsweetened and with the option of lime or maracujá (passion fruit) flavoring. As they say in Rio at Carnaval: São Paulo não tem isso (“São Paulo doesn’t have that”).
In Rio, lunch is the main meal of the day. Restaurants across the city post daily specials called menu executivo or prato feito, which usually involve a protein like fried fish or steak served with beans, rice, and salad or fries. Another popular lunch is found at por kilo restaurants – buffets which have more options, especially for vegetarians, weighed, and paid at the end. And then there’s the world-famous churrascaria: all-you-can-eat extravaganzas where meat like picanha (beef steak cut with a thick slab of fat) is sliced directly onto your plate. Be prepared for a food coma.
Dinner is generally lighter and reserved for bean-free food like misto quente (toasted ham-and-cheese sandwiches), salads, and caldos (soups) – yes, even if it’s hot out. Or for fried snacks washed down with a light local lager chilled bem gelada (ice cold) at one of the hundreds of boteco bars across the city.
Botecos, even the trashy ones known as pé sujo (dirty feet), are the watering holes of choice for most cariocas – nothing beats the heat like a cold beer poured into a tiny glass while seated on a dodgy plastic stool. Caipirinhas (sugary cane-based cachaça cocktails) with a choice of fruit like lime or pitaya (dragonfruit) are a close second. Cachaça is rarely sipped on its own, though there are enticing flavors worth trying, like jambu (an Amazonian herb that makes your mouth numb) and Gabriela (spiced with cloves and cinnamon). Wine, usually from nearby Argentina and Chile, is rare – it’s just too dang hot.
Rio is split into three major zones, which are then divided into bairros (neighborhoods). Most cariocas live in Zona Norte, the generally low-income neighborhoods north of Centro (downtown). Zona Sul, south of Centro, is home to Copacabana and Ipanema beaches and thus most tourists. Zona Oeste, west of Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Mountain) is where you’ll find a contrasting mix of wealthy and low-income suburbs.
In Zona Sul, Botafogo and Leblon have the largest concentration of destination restaurants, including three two-Michelin-star tasting menus: Oteque by Chef Alberto Landgraf and Lasai from Chef Rafa Coasta e Silva in Botafogo, along with Oro led by Chef Felipe Bronze in Leblon. Copacabana also has reservation-worthy spots, including the two single Michelin Star restaurants inside the iconic Belmond Copacabana Palace hotel: pan-Asian Mee and Italian Cipriani. Another buzzworthy spot is Lilia in Centro.
But eating in Rio needn’t be fancy nor expensive – locals are notorious for leaving the house wearing nothing but a crop top or T-shirt, a bikini or bathing suit, and Havaianas. Try the most authentic açaí at Tacacá do Norte in Flamengo or eat acarajé with axé (soul) at Casa Omolokum in Centro’s Paquena África. Or go to Copacabana to try the spring chicken at Galeto Sat’s and the pernil (pork shoulder), pineapple, and cheese sandwich at Cervantes. If a churrascaria is something to tick off your bucket list, Assador in Flamengo has top-quality meat, and the views out the window of Pão d’Açucár (Sugarloaf Mountain) are spectacular.
Wherever you go, don’t expect any rest for your senses. Rio has an overwhelming amount to see, taste, and do – doesn’t it just make you want to get up and dance?
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QUICK HITS
- Old School vs. New School
- One of the most famous Brazilian foods is moqueca (a stew typically made with dendê palm oil or coconut milk and seafood), but it’s more common in the northeast than in Rio. One of the few places to try a classic moqueca is at O Caranguejo in Copacabana. Or opt for a different take on the typical dish at Yayá Comidaria Pop Brasileira in Leme, where Chef Andressa Cabral makes a vegan version with cashew fruit and nuts.
- Watering Hole
- For a go-to boteco, Britan Bar, a.k.a. Bar do Zé in Glória oozes authenticity. Craft brews are far less common in Rio than water-like local beers, but Hocus Pocus in Botafogo has some tasty ones. If wine’s your fix, you’ll find good selections at Belisco and Marchezinho. Cocktails are on the upswing in Rio, as anywhere, and that doesn’t only mean caipirinhas. Try a mate cocktail at Quartinho or join the cool crowd for drinks at the hip new Destilaria Maravilha. Academia da Cachaça in Leblon has a huge lineup of different brands and flavors of cachaça.
- To Market
- Feira da Glória is one of many produce markets in Rio (though it is the biggest and wildest). Public markets travel to different neighborhoods on specific days of the week. For instance, Ipanema has a farmers’ market at Praça General Osório on Friday mornings. Copacabana’s weekly market is on Thursdays at Rua Ronald de Carvalho and Rua Ministro Viveiros de Castro.
Look out for when Junta Local joins the market (usually one Saturday a month in Laranjeiras). The organization brings out a special crop of upstart vendors selling organic and international products and prepared food you won’t find elsewhere.
- Neighborhood Watch
- Long skipped over for the southern beaches, Glória is a neighborhood on the come-up. Formerly a retreat for city elite (the now-condo development Hotel Glória was just as glamorous when it was built in 1922 as Copacabana Palace was when it was constructed in 1923 and they’re both by the same architect), the neighborhood is abuzz with hip bars and restaurants. Detroit-style pizza and disco bar Fatchia is a vibe (go early to avoid the inevitable line), and Birosca doesn’t just have excellent cocktails and small plates, it also hosts classical music, films and photo exhibitions, stylistically hung over decaying walls. Restaurants to try in Glória include Isca for Basque pintxos and Labuta Mar for its addictive fish sandwich (be warned: you’ll want to order a second).
- Beyond churrasco
- Plant-based diets aren’t quite as popular in Rio as they are in other cities, but vegetarians and vegans do have options. Teva Deli in Arpoador has tasty, meat- and dairy-free lunch specials, dips and baked goods. And Botafogo has plenty of excellent veggie and vegan spots, including Brota by Chef Roberta Ciasca, Vegan Vegan, and Casa Hoba for vegan sorbet.
Published on May 14, 2025
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