The restaurants worth a reservation in Rio de Janeiro, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in Rio de Janeiro. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
Sult in Botafogo cooks Italian dishes with Brazilian ingredients from an open kitchen, and it is a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe meat lasagne with Grana Padano fondue and breadcrumbs, the chef's signature dish
TipThe pirarucu fillet with tucupi and jambu risotto is the Amazonian counterpart; the wine list leans to small, low-intervention producers.
Haru Ichiban in Copacabana serves sushi, sashimi and temaki from chef Menandro Rodrigues, with a separate 16-course omakase counter, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe omakase menu, or the 16-course UMAI counter experience, which is booked separately
TipThe whole restaurant closes on the first Sunday of every month, and the UMAI omakase counter has its own booking.
Mr. Lam serves Peking-style Chinese dishes in a three-floor house by Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, with duck lacquered in a special oven, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderPeking duck, the whole lacquered bird served with pancakes, cucumber and spring onion
TipThe top-floor dining room and bar have picture windows and a glass roof; Time Out noted in 2024 that the menu had stayed the same for about 20 years.
Rubaiyat Rio grills more than ten cuts of beef inside the Jockey Club Brasileiro by the botanical garden, with a terrace over the track, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderA premium cut from the churrasco grill; on Saturdays the traditional feijoada with a dessert buffet
TipAsk for a terrace table to look over the racetrack towards Christ the Redeemer; the glass window shows the churrasco grill at work.
Aprazível is a family-run Brazilian restaurant in the Santa Teresa hills with terraces and a gazebo, listed in the Michelin Guide, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe ceviche in tucupi sauce with plantain chips, or the free-range galinhada caipira
TipThe house seats about 250 across terraces and gardens and says the Michelin Guide has listed it three years running; booking is online.
Artigiano near Jardim de Alah makes more than 30 fresh pastas by hand in the Emilia-Romagna tradition, a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderGarganelli with lamb ragù, or the zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy
TipPastas, breads and desserts are made by hand daily and finished to order, and pizzas come from a wood oven, so ask what is fresh that day.
Gero Rio is the Fasano hotel's Italian restaurant facing Ipanema beach, where chef Luigi Moressa cooks pasta, risotto and meats, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderGnocchi di patate dorati with squid and scallops, or the spaghetti alla carbonara
TipSunday service runs straight through from 12:00 to 22:00, and Riotur lists the traditional bollito on the Sunday lunch menu.
Satyricon has served Mediterranean seafood in Ipanema since 1982, with line-caught fish and oysters shown on a counter by the door, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderTalharim ao vôngole, tagliolini with clams, or a plateau of oysters, king crab and prawns
TipThe house says line-caught fish keeps the flesh intact; the wine list passes 300 labels, and Friday and Saturday service runs to 01:00.
Rancho Português in Ipanema serves traditional Portuguese cooking, from suckling pig to salt cod, and won Veja Rio's 2025 Portuguese award in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderLeitão à Bairrada, the suckling pig, or the bacalhau da terra
TipThe menu also lists a Trás-os-Montes feijoada and tomato rice; the group's wine list passes 700 labels.
Ferro e Farinha bakes naturally leavened pizza in a wood oven at its Botafogo branch, and Veja Rio named it best pizzeria in 2026, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderA wood-fired pizza made with the house's naturally fermented dough
TipReserve by phone or through the house's Instagram account; the bar makes its own cocktails and this is one of four Rio branches.
Org Bistrô in Barra da Tijuca is chef Tati Lund's plant-based lunch restaurant, named best vegetarian by Veja Rio in 2026, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe plate of the day; on Fridays it is a vegan feijoada
TipLunch only, with a different main each weekday and a Saturday special; take-away and iFood delivery are listed on the house's site.
Teva Bistrô in Ipanema cooks an organic plant-based menu from small producers, and Veja Rio named it best vegetarian in 2025, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe raviolone filled with tofu ricotta and cashew sauce, after the Portobello carpaccio or the hiratake bao
TipOnline booking covers groups of up to six and is not taken at weekends or on holidays; larger groups must phone.
Casa do Sardo in São Cristóvão serves Sardinian cooking from chef-owner Silvio Podda, who opened the house in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, away from the beach.
OrderAgnello alla Vernaccia, lamb cooked in wine, with mushroom or red onion risotto
TipThe house is in São Cristóvão, well away from the beach districts; it closes on Mondays and at 16:00 on Sundays.
Koral in Ipanema cooks fish and live-fire dishes for chef Pedro Coronha, a Bib Gourmand pick that won Michelin's Young Chef award in 2026 in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe catch of the day à la meunière, or the warm flaky cheesecake with guava and cheese ice cream
TipThe house is a two-storey casarão on Rua Barão da Torre; Sunday service ends early, at 17:00, so lunch is the safer slot.
Rudä in Ipanema serves chef Danilo Parah's colourful Brazilian cooking in a bistro-style house, and won Veja Rio's Brazilian award in 2026 in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe octopus with jambu, served with pasta cooked in a moqueca sauce
TipA private room on the first floor suits groups; the à la carte menu is joined by an executive menu, and the cheesecake has guava syrup and an almond tuile.
Mäska in Ipanema is chef Danilo Parah's bistro-style restaurant with an open kitchen and Mediterranean touches, in the Michelin Guide, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe creamy rice with octopus, or the steak with truffled aligot mash
TipThe kitchen opens onto the dining room and the cocktail list is part of the draw; the room is open until midnight from Wednesday to Saturday.
Brota serves vegan and vegetarian plates for sharing in a Botafogo mansion with a garden, from chef Roberta Ciasca, a Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe brotinha rice balls, or the Thai curry with basmati rice and sesame farofa
TipThe menu is built for sharing, so order several plates between the table; the garden surrounds the mansion on Rua Conde de Irajá.
Miam Miam has served chef Roberta Ciasca's comfort food in her grandmother's Botafogo house since 2005, a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe curried chicken croquette or the shrimp croquette, both singled out by Michelin
TipThe menu splits between the classic dishes, seasonal specials, a tasting menu and a midweek executive menu, so say which you want when booking.
Nôa Ipanema serves Brazilian-rooted international cooking with French touches, from fish of the day to fresh pasta, in a 1930s house in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderArroz de moqueca with grilled prawns, finished with the Basque cheesecake and goiabada syrup
TipMichelin singles out the veranda and the cocktail list; the kitchen opens at 12:00 every day and closes at 01:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Spicy Fish fuses Japanese and Korean cooking from chef Emerson Kim in a four-storey Ipanema house, listed in the Michelin Guide, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe bibimbap finished at the table, or the Kagoshima wagyu on a hot stone
TipIf you cannot choose from the long menu, the chef's selection brings two portions of nigiri, sashimi and the house special.
Babbo Osteria is chef Elia Schramm's tribute to his father, serving handmade pasta and Italian-carioca dishes in a two-storey Ipanema house in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderUova Pepenara, tagliolini with bacon and a soft egg, the chef's take on carbonara
TipOne dining room is decorated like a traditional osteria; Michelin points to the filetto with pepper sauce and the pistachio and lime dessert.
Yayá in Leme serves chef Andressa Cabral's Afro-Brazilian cooking a few metres from the beach, with dishes rooted in the acarajé stalls, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderPeixe à Inajá, fish in moqueca sauce with sautéed prawns and Inajá rice
TipFeijoada is served on Fridays, and the house hosts samba rounds on saints' days such as São Jorge and Cosme e Damião.
Churrascaria Palace has served rodízio in Copacabana since 1951, with around 40 cuts, a cold buffet and the picanha borboleta it created, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe rodízio, which includes the picanha borboleta and the costelão served in six cuts
TipDrinks and desserts are charged separately from the rodízio; the room has a bossa nova mural, the Santa Ceia da Bossa Nova.
Aconchego Carioca in Praça da Bandeira is chef Kátia Barbosa's house, birthplace of the bolinho de feijoada, with Northeastern dishes, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe bolinho de feijoada, filled with kale and topped with pork crackling, with a lime batidinha
TipThe moqueca of peach-palm hearts with banana-da-terra suits vegetarians; the beer list runs to about 50 labels, many from craft brewers.
Dois de Fevereiro serves Bahian-inflected cooking from chef João Diamante in Pequena África, with pavement tables on Largo da Prainha, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderLunch plates such as sun-dried beef with Afro-Brazilian gremolata, or the shrimp bobó
TipThe room is dressed for Iemanjá, with Senhor do Bonfim ribbons and blue boats; Saturday is the only evening, with service until 22:00.
Casa do Saulo at the Museu do Amanhã brings chef Saulo Jennings's Tapajós cooking from Pará to Rio de Janeiro, with pirarucu, tambaqui ribs and tacacá.
OrderThe smoked pirarucu carpaccio, tambaqui ribs and the feijoqueca with pirarucu and shrimp
TipThe Rio house sits inside the Museu do Amanhã on Praça Mauá, so it closes at 18:00 and shuts on Wednesdays, when the museum is closed.
Amir is a classic Arab restaurant in Copacabana, still run by the founding Baouchi family, with sidewalk tables by Praça do Lido, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderHummus, coalhada seca and babaganoush to share, then arroz com cordeiro, lamb with rice
TipPortions are large and made for sharing; the weekday executive menu runs from 12:00 to 16:00 and the tables face Praça do Lido.
Grado cooks Ligurian-inspired Italian food from chef Nello Garaventa in a 1940s Jardim Botânico house with a wood oven and open kitchen, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe fixed three-course menu, with the spaghetti with clams or the breaded pork rib
TipThe sourdough bread basket opens the meal; a lobster linguine is offered as an extra on top of the fixed menu.
Sud, O Pássaro Verde is a home-style Jardim Botânico house where chef Roberta Sudbrack cooks a daily-changing menu from small producers in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe dish of the day from the wood oven, then the bolo de chocolate molhadinho
TipYou knock to be let in; the open kitchen and wood-fired oven are visible from the main room, and the cake never leaves the menu.
Chez Claude is Claude Troisgros's Leblon restaurant with an open kitchen in the middle of the room and dishes served in sharing bowls, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe stuffed quail with herb farofa, then the melted chocolate gâteau with crème fraîche
TipThe classic menu comes in sharing bowls and the à la carte changes with the seasons; the room neighbours Madame Olympe in the same complex.
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