Dining in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most pleasant experiences you will have as long as you choose the best places to eat. There is plenty of restaurants for dining in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Leme and Santa Teresa.
Find below not necessarily the best and the most expensive restaurants for dining in Rio de Janeiro, but rather unforgettable places to eat and to have a great time.
Colombo Café Copacabana
This is one of the best places in Copacabana for dining. Colombo Café was established in 1894 in Rio de Janeiro Downtown, and recently open a branch in the Copacabana Fort. The great advantage of Colombo Café is that you eat overlooking the whole Copacabana Beach as well as Sugar Loaf Hill.
Going to Colombo Café for dinner will approximately coincide with sunset, which may produce spectacular colors behind Copacabana neighborhood (and comfortably seen from your table at Colombo).
Beware that Colombo Café is open until 8 p.m. only, so the place is ideal for an early dinner. Since it is popular among Cariocas (natives of Rio de Janeiro), you better go on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, when you have more chances of getting the perfect table.
There are, of course, many other places in Rio de Janeiro where you can have a late dinner instead. However, it will pay off to have a late breakfast, possibly skip lunch in order to have an early dinner at Colombo Café inside the Copacabana Fort.
Azul Marinho Restaurant in Arpoador Neighborhood
This is one of the best places to eat either at day time or for dinner. Azul Marinho is located in Arpoador, a tiny beach neighborhood on the far-left hand side of Ipanema Beach. The place has two major advantages:
1. Serves traditional Brazilian food such as Moqueca (perfect dish for dinning)
2. Overlooks Ipanema and Arpoador Beaches
Before going for dinner at Azul Marinho, you can chill out at Arpoador Rock, which is THE place to watch the sunset in Rio de Janeiro. Both Arpoador Rock and Azul Marinho Restaurant are a 5-minute walk from each other (in fact, you can see the restaurant from the rock, and the rock from the restaurant).
Azul Marinho opens every day, but the ideal day to go is from Monday through Friday, since it is hard to find an empty table for dinner on the weekends (especially in the hotter months of the year — November though March).
Read related articles:
Have instant access to other great dining options in Rio de Janeiro: Get a copy of My Rio Travel Guide – The Essential How-To Visitor’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro.