Great Seafood Restaurants in Rio de Janeiro
Seafood restaurants are as imporant to Rio de Janeiro dining as samba schools to Carnival. Thanks to a cornucopia of fresh ingredients, the vivid influence of Portuguese immigrants on the city's culinary, and the constant renewal brought about by contemporary Brazilian and international chefs, Rio can take pride in its seafood cuisine.
The South Side, or Zona Sul, which includes Copacabana and Ipanema, has some of the best seafood offerings in town.
But don't pass up Centro Histórico, the old downtown area, for dishes which are part of the city's culinary folklore.
In recent years, international travelers have become increasingly aware of the great seafood restaurants in Barra da Tijuca and beyond.
Barra and off-Barra beaches - especially Barra de Guaratiba and Pedra de Guaratiba - are worth a visit for eateries serving generous portions, often in a rustic ambiance.
The list below includes a few Portuguese restaurants which excel in seafood.
A resilient old-timer with great recipes, privileged views and many regulars, including businessmen from the Stock Exchange area. Restored and upgraded since going under new management in early 2009.
Price: $$
Open daily for lunch
Phone: 55-21-2240-8378
Codfish specialist Alfaia offers hearty portions. Their sardines and codfish cakes are local hits.
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat 11 a.m. - midnight, Sun 11 a.m. - 11 p.m
Phone: 55-21-2236-1222
Opened in 1970, Amendoeira serves great food in a simple setting.
Go for elaborate dishes such as caldeirada, a kind of moqueca without coconut milk, or tempura shrimp with Catupiry cheese. Or choose from the essential five fish on the menu - namorado sandperch, sea trout (pescada), European seabass (robalo), Brazilian flounder (linguado), snowy grouper (cherne) - with a range of sides.
Price: $$
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2417-1360
The restaurant by Hotel Arpoador Inn has a vast menu, but the different types of moqueca, prepared in authentic clay pots from Espírito Santo, are their most famous specialties. As for the location, no other seafood restaurant on the South Side is this close to the beach.
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-10 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2513-5014
Arpoador
A family business started by Portuguese Júlio de Souza almost three decades ago. Souza still supervises this restaurant located inside Marina da Glória. Codfish, a staple of Portuguese cuisine, is a top choice.
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-6 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2265-4641
Price: $$
Credit cards not accepted.
Hours: Thu-Fri noon-6 p.m., Sat-Sun and holidays noon - 7 p.m.
Price: $$$$
Hours: Mon-Fri noon-3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.-1 a.m., Sat 12:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., Sun 12:30 p.m.-midnight.
Phone: 55-21-3202-4000
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Fri 6 p.m.-1 a.m., Sat noon-1 a.m., Sun noon-midnight.
The restaurant is on island just a two-minute boat ride across the Marapendi Canal. It belongs to the owners of 476 and features some Alagoas specialties; for example, the moqueca is served with acaçá (a-ka-SAH), a rice-and-coconut cream.
Price: $$
Hours: Wed-Thu 6 p.m. - midnight, Fri-Sat 6 p.m. - 1 a.m., Sun noon-7 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2493-4444
Overlooking the Pedra de Guaratiba docks, with a view that reaches as far as the Marambaia Sand Bar, 476 gracefully blends the sponaneous good looks of a fisherman's house and details such as salvaged materials and artful wall paint. The appetizers are great, but save room for filling dishes such as caldeirada, a fish stew, served with pirão and bananas.
Price: $$ Open Wed-Sun 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Address: Rua Barros do Alarcão 476
Phone: 55-21-24171716
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2509-2338
Expensive but worth the tab, the osteria has a counter with an impressive display of seafood in ice. Both the Rio and the Búzios locations get fish caught exclusively for them off the coast of Rio de Janeiro State. The large dining room accommodates over 100.
Price: $$$ to $$$$
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Phone: 55-21-2521-0627
Here's one of a few restaurants in Rio which serve sequências de camarão, an all-you-can-eat shrimp extravaganza characteristic of Florianópolis restaurants. Owner Marcelo Cheble started out with a bar at Barra da Tijuca's Market (Mercado do Produtor). The restaurant has tables on a spacious veranda.
Price:$$$
Hours: Tue-Sat 11:30 a.m.-midnight
Phone: 55-21-2493-2300
Eat, pat your belly contentedly; what aunt would like you to leave hungry? Aunt Palmira's rodízio, or all-you-can-eat, even has sequência de camarão (a series of shrimp dishes). One of Tia Palmira's children is the owner of Bira de Guaratiba.
Price: $$ Open Tue-Fri 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat and Sun 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Address: Rua Caminho do Souza 18
Barra de Guaratiba
Phone: 55-21-2410-8169
The South Side, or Zona Sul, which includes Copacabana and Ipanema, has some of the best seafood offerings in town.
But don't pass up Centro Histórico, the old downtown area, for dishes which are part of the city's culinary folklore.
In recent years, international travelers have become increasingly aware of the great seafood restaurants in Barra da Tijuca and beyond.
Barra and off-Barra beaches - especially Barra de Guaratiba and Pedra de Guaratiba - are worth a visit for eateries serving generous portions, often in a rustic ambiance.
The list below includes a few Portuguese restaurants which excel in seafood.
Albamar, Centro
A resilient old-timer with great recipes, privileged views and many regulars, including businessmen from the Stock Exchange area. Restored and upgraded since going under new management in early 2009.
Price: $$
Open daily for lunch
Phone: 55-21-2240-8378
Alfaia, Copacabana
Codfish specialist Alfaia offers hearty portions. Their sardines and codfish cakes are local hits.
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat 11 a.m. - midnight, Sun 11 a.m. - 11 p.m
Phone: 55-21-2236-1222
Amendoeira, Pedra de Guaratiba
Opened in 1970, Amendoeira serves great food in a simple setting.
Go for elaborate dishes such as caldeirada, a kind of moqueca without coconut milk, or tempura shrimp with Catupiry cheese. Or choose from the essential five fish on the menu - namorado sandperch, sea trout (pescada), European seabass (robalo), Brazilian flounder (linguado), snowy grouper (cherne) - with a range of sides.
Price: $$
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2417-1360
Azul Marinho, Arpoador
The restaurant by Hotel Arpoador Inn has a vast menu, but the different types of moqueca, prepared in authentic clay pots from Espírito Santo, are their most famous specialties. As for the location, no other seafood restaurant on the South Side is this close to the beach.
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-10 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2513-5014
Arpoador
Restaurante Barracuda, Flamengo
A family business started by Portuguese Júlio de Souza almost three decades ago. Souza still supervises this restaurant located inside Marina da Glória. Codfish, a staple of Portuguese cuisine, is a top choice.
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-6 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2265-4641
Bira de Guaratiba, Barra de Guaratiba
Ubiratan de Souza (Bira), a Guaratiba fisherman, opened the restaurant in 1992. His mother is local legend Tia Palmira (read about her namesake restaurant on this list). Moqueca is one of the hightlights at this casual spot with a priceless view of the Guaratiba Bay and the Marambaia Sand Bar (Restinga da Marambaia).Price: $$
Credit cards not accepted.
Hours: Thu-Fri noon-6 p.m., Sat-Sun and holidays noon - 7 p.m.
Fasano al Mare, Ipanema
The best and most sophisticated seafood restaurant in Rio is at the Fasano Hotel in Ipanema. Italian chef Luca Gozzani's Mediterranean specialties are served in a 70-seat dining hall with a terrace, a perfect place for a romantic date.Price: $$$$
Hours: Mon-Fri noon-3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.-1 a.m., Sat 12:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., Sun 12:30 p.m.-midnight.
Phone: 55-21-3202-4000
Margutta, Ipanema
Italian chef Paolo Neroni is from the seaside Marche region in Italy. He and his Brazilian wife Conceição serve up light dishes inspired in the flavors of his native land. Accents from other sea-loving areas include Norwegian salmon and bottarga from Sardinia. The restaurant has a downtown branch.Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Fri 6 p.m.-1 a.m., Sat noon-1 a.m., Sun noon-midnight.
4 Estações (Quatro Estações), Barra da Tijuca
The restaurant is on island just a two-minute boat ride across the Marapendi Canal. It belongs to the owners of 476 and features some Alagoas specialties; for example, the moqueca is served with acaçá (a-ka-SAH), a rice-and-coconut cream.
Price: $$
Hours: Wed-Thu 6 p.m. - midnight, Fri-Sat 6 p.m. - 1 a.m., Sun noon-7 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2493-4444
476 (Quatro-Sete-Meia), Pedra de Guaratiba
Overlooking the Pedra de Guaratiba docks, with a view that reaches as far as the Marambaia Sand Bar, 476 gracefully blends the sponaneous good looks of a fisherman's house and details such as salvaged materials and artful wall paint. The appetizers are great, but save room for filling dishes such as caldeirada, a fish stew, served with pirão and bananas.
Price: $$ Open Wed-Sun 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Address: Rua Barros do Alarcão 476
Phone: 55-21-24171716
Rio Minho, Centro
Generally held as the birthplace of Sopa Leão Veloso, Rio's bouillabaisse, Rio Minho is in historic downtown Rio. Founded in 1884, the restaurant is owned by Spaniard Ramon Rodriguez, who has preserved its Portuguese approach to seafood.Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Phone: 55-21-2509-2338
Satyricon, Ipanema
Expensive but worth the tab, the osteria has a counter with an impressive display of seafood in ice. Both the Rio and the Búzios locations get fish caught exclusively for them off the coast of Rio de Janeiro State. The large dining room accommodates over 100.
Price: $$$ to $$$$
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Phone: 55-21-2521-0627
Skinna, Barra da Tijuca
Here's one of a few restaurants in Rio which serve sequências de camarão, an all-you-can-eat shrimp extravaganza characteristic of Florianópolis restaurants. Owner Marcelo Cheble started out with a bar at Barra da Tijuca's Market (Mercado do Produtor). The restaurant has tables on a spacious veranda.
Price:$$$
Hours: Tue-Sat 11:30 a.m.-midnight
Phone: 55-21-2493-2300
Tia Palmira, Barra de Guaratiba
Eat, pat your belly contentedly; what aunt would like you to leave hungry? Aunt Palmira's rodízio, or all-you-can-eat, even has sequência de camarão (a series of shrimp dishes). One of Tia Palmira's children is the owner of Bira de Guaratiba.
Price: $$ Open Tue-Fri 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat and Sun 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Address: Rua Caminho do Souza 18
Barra de Guaratiba
Phone: 55-21-2410-8169
