In the maps of neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Leme) you can locate restaurants for lunch and dinner, juice bars, beach cafes, pizzerias, bakeries, places for breakfast, 24-hour and budget restaurants.
Read below all the food and drinking related legends that you can locate on the neighborhood maps of Rio de Janeiro. You can view the maps in My Rio Travel Guide.
D – Dinner (called “Jantar” in Rio de Janeiro).
The D located on the neighborhood maps indicates restaurants for dinner. Note that a D connected to a rectangle indicates an area with at least two or three restaurants for dinner.
Most restaurants that serve dinner also serve lunch, and are open from noon through 11 p.m (at least). Some “dinner” restaurants do not open for lunch on weekdays.
BC – Beach Café (called “Quiosque da Praia” in Rio de Janeiro).
Not all beach cafés in Rio are made equal. Many are actually disappointing in service, food and/or comfort. Locate on the Copacabana, Ipanema, Leme and Leblon maps those which worth a walk to, for the food, the view or the chill out atmosphere.
PZ – Pizzeria (called “Pizzaria” in Rio de Janeiro).
To eat a good pizza in Rio you need to go to a really reputable place. Even most Italian restaurants don’t serve a good pizza. Ideally, plan to eat pizza at night (as locals do), since some pizzerias do not open for lunch or do not serve pizzas at lunch time (unless otherwise stated somewhere else in My Rio Travel Guide).
Extracts of Copacabana Map from My Rio Travel Guide PDF e-book.
Have instant access to updated travel information as well as to the street and district maps of Rio de Janeiro by getting a copy of My Rio Travel Guide – The Essential How-To Visitor’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro.
BL – Budget Lunch (called “prato feito, prato comercial, prato do dia, or refeição”).
A botequim (or boteco) in Rio de Janeiro is traditionally a place to drink beers inexpensively, mainly in the evening. Some of these tiny botecos though, and despite of their non-appealing look, do serve tasty, homemade and inexpensive lunch on weekdays (some also on Saturdays).
You can locate these budget lunch places on the neighborhood maps by the letters BL. The most popular ones are on Rua Dias Ferreira (Leblon), Rua Garcia D’Ávila (Ipanema), Rua Domingos Ferreira almost corner with Rua Bolívar or Rua Santa Clara (Copacabana), and restaurant # 4 (Leme). A usually hugely-served dish costs R$8-12; US$4-6; €4-5.
EL – Executive Lunch (called “Almoço Executivo or Prato Executivo” in Rio de Janeiro).
In Rio, very few office workers eat at the office premises. Instead, they take the official hour-long lunch break to eat a almoço executivo. The most popular places to eat it are Cantinho do Leblon at Rua Dias Ferreira, 482 (Leblon), on Rua Garcia D’Ávila (Ipanema) and Rua Paula Freitas (Copacabana). (Locate them in the neighborhood maps by the letter EL.).
K – Restaurant per kilo (called “Restaurante à kilo” in Rio de Janeiro).
These are very popular among locals (Rio’s locals are called “Cariocas“), especially for lunch. Many of them serve also soups at night and/or all-you-can-eat pizza.
If you are the type of person who eats huge servings, a restaurant per kilo can easily cost you the double of, for example, an executive lunch.
J – Juice Bar (called “Casa de Suco” in Rio de Janeiro).
There are dozens of juice bars in Rio. They are good for any time since most of them serve sandwiches, savories, dishes, salads, and other inexpensive eateries, besides of course, freshly-made Brazilian fruit juices. This is THE place to have an authentic açaí berry smoothie. Juice bars are usually open from 7 a.m. to at least 10 p.m. Some are even open 24 hours.
BP – Breakfast Place or Bakery (called “Padaria” in Rio de Janeiro).
Breakfast places vary from stand-up bakeries to cozy cafés or bistrôs, which serve toasts, coffees, juices, hot or cold teas, meals, pastries, savories, and other eateries and beverages all day long. The latter are becoming increasingly popular, although you can easily spend more than you would spend on an executive lunch. They are good for anytime and are very crowded with locals all day long on weekends and holidays. Differently than most bakeries, they usually have a larger seating area.
On the neighborhood maps, you will find these and other sorts of breakfast places, such as lanchonetes, very popular sort of half-bakery half-juice bar.
24-hour Café/Restaurant – (called “Lanchonete/Restaurante 24 horas” in Rio de Janeiro).
There are very few eating establishments open 24 hours in Rio. However, at any of the few open, you can order anything from the menu at any time of the day or night. At night, taxis are usually at the exit waiting for potential passengers.
Restaurant Area –
The symbol □ represents an area where you can find two or more restaurants/cafés/bars next to each other. These also tend to be lively areas where locals drink, eat and hangout, especially on Thursday and Friday nights. The liveliest are Rua Conde de Bernadotte (Leblon) and Rua Bolívar with Rua Domingos Ferreira (Copacabana). On those days, get there slightly before 8 p.m. to possibly get a vacant table.
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