23 editor picks across Brazil.
23 hidden gems worth the trip across Brazil, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Brazil guides.
Izakaya Issa packs twelve counter seats into a Liberdade boteco in Sao Paulo, where Margarida Haraguchi cooks petiscos in front of every guest.
TipSit at the counter to watch Margarida cook, and order the takoyaki, the octopus dumplings she makes behind the counter.
Bar da Portuguesa, on Rua Custódio Nunes in Ramos, Rio de Janeiro, is a family botequim known for bolinho de bacalhau and aipim fritters with shrimp.
TipThursday broth is usually siri and Friday's mocotó; ask for the aipim fritters stuffed with shrimp and the house chilli.
Acrópoles has served moussaka and grilled octopus from a Bom Retiro storefront in Sao Paulo since 1959, still the city's oldest Greek kitchen today.
TipWalk into the kitchen and look over the trays before choosing; the moussaka is the dish to try first.
Rotisseria Sírio Libaneza has sold esfihas and kibbeh from Galeria Condor at Largo do Machado, Rio de Janeiro, since 1972, from a tight counter.
TipThe meat esfiha is the standard order; for a sit-down meal use the larger room in the next corridor of the gallery.
Casa Omolokum cooks terreiro food and acarajé beside Pedra do Sal in Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, under chef Leila Leão, open Friday to Sunday afternoons.
TipThe acarajé is the signature: a black-eyed pea fritter fried in dendê and filled with vatapá, vinagrete and dried shrimp, with pepper added to taste.
Cantina D'Irene runs a family pasta rodizio in Alto da Mooca, Sao Paulo, sending around 20 dishes to the table, from pasta and risotto to stuffed polpettone.
TipThe rodizio brings about 20 dishes, pastas, risottos and some meats, with bread and a dessert, usually a cannoli, included.
Velho Adonis is a Portuguese bar in Benfica, in Rio de Janeiro's Zona Norte, pouring chope with a head beside bolinho de bacalhau and empadas.
TipOrder the chope with a head beside the bolinho de bacalhau, fried alheiras or jiló à milanesa; a weekly menu adds one special plate a day.
Adega Flor de Coimbra is a Portuguese house in an old Lapa sobrado in Rio de Janeiro, opened as a grocery in 1938, known for slim bolinhos de bacalhau.
TipStart with the thin bolinhos de bacalhau, then the sopa lisboeta with butter beans, a favourite of the painter Candido Portinari.
Hwang To Gil is a Bom Retiro home-style Korean kitchen in Sao Paulo, opened in 2000 behind a facade marked only in Korean, its dishes cooked by the owners.
TipThe menu has photos to point at; for dinner, arrive between 18:30 and 19:00, as evening service ends early.
Don Carlini has made handmade pasta in a Mooca casarao in Sao Paulo since 1985, its recipes still passed down inside the founding Carlini family.
TipArthur Carlini and Maria do Carmo opened the house in 1985 to share the recipes of their Sunday family lunches; their family still runs it.
Leiteria Mineira, on Rua da Ajuda in Centro, Rio de Janeiro, is the last working leiteria in the city, serving mingau, coalhada and arroz doce.
TipOrder the mingau, coalhada or arroz doce, or the day's lunch plate; it is closed at weekends, so plan the visit for a weekday.
Casa Porto serves petiscos and a daily plate on the second floor of a sobrado at Largo da Prainha in Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, with shelves of books.
TipPetiscos lead the menu, such as the sliced onion beef and the jiló chips; the daily plates include a picadinho carioca.
Rampinha has served Portuguese plates in Praça da Bandeira, Rio de Janeiro, since 1989, from bacalhau Zé do Pipo to octopus, rabbit and roast suckling pig.
TipTry the bacalhau Zé do Pipo, gratinated with cheese over mash and garlic broccoli; the codfish plates are sized for up to three people.
Kintaro has poured drinks from a narrow Liberdade counter in Sao Paulo since 1993, its ten-plus daily petiscos drawing mostly Japanese-Brazilian regulars.
TipLook at the display case for the day's ten-plus cold and hot petiscos rather than the printed menu.
Bar do Thomaz is a Camorim boteco in Rio de Janeiro that entered Comida di Buteco 2026 with a black and white bean broth with kale, torresmo and shrimp.
TipWeekday service starts at 18:00, or 19:00 on Friday, and Monday is closed; at weekends it opens at 13:00 and runs to 01:00 on Saturday.
Bar da Áurea is a Leme boteco in Rio de Janeiro that turned feijoada into a charuto roll with orange molasses and yellow farofa for Comida di Buteco 2026.
TipIt opens every day except Monday, from 12:00 to 21:00, so lunch and the afternoon are the window rather than a late dinner.
Prato Grego hides on a gallery's upper floor in Bom Retiro, Sao Paulo, where first-time guests break a plaster plate, guided by owner Stelios Moyssiadis.
TipTell the staff it is your first visit; that is what triggers the plate-breaking tradition at the table.
Biroska do Camarão is a Cacuia boteco in Rio de Janeiro; for Comida di Buteco 2026 it topped fried aipim dough with pork knuckle and caramelised onion.
TipIt closes at 18:00 from Sunday to Tuesday and stays open to 23:00 from Wednesday to Saturday, so go midweek for an evening visit.
Bar do Mozoca is a Méier boteco in Rio de Janeiro whose Comida di Buteco 2026 entry was sweet-potato dough stuffed with sun-dried beef, cheese and broccoli.
TipThe listing gives the same hours every day, 11:00 to 22:00, with no closing day, so it suits an early lunch or a mid-evening stop.
Boteco do Russo, on Estrada de Jacarepaguá in Anil, Rio de Janeiro, entered Comida di Buteco 2026 with a rib marinated in spices and roasted for six hours.
TipMonday service ends at 16:00 while Tuesday to Sunday runs to 23:00; the 2026 plate came with rosemary calabresa potatoes, corn cream and watercress.
Bar do Luisinho is an Encantado boteco in Rio de Janeiro whose Comida di Buteco 2026 entry was pork-rib croquettes in broccoli dough, breaded in panko.
TipIt opens at 11:00 every day except Monday, closing at 23:30 on weekdays and 22:30 on Sunday; the 2026 croquettes were breaded in panko.
Bar do Gilson is a Vila Isabel boteco in Rio de Janeiro that reworked vaca atolada for Comida di Buteco 2026 with blue cheese, beef rib and bacon farofa.
TipIt stops at 15:00 from Monday to Wednesday and runs to 21:00 on Thursday and Sunday and 22:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Emporio Nordestino serves carne de sol and baiao de dois from a 19th-century casarao in Freguesia do O, Sao Paulo, far from downtown's food strips.
TipOrder the carne de sol with green beans and cassava puree, one of the most requested plates, and save room for the jackfruit or cashew sweets.
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