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Casa da Suíça
Tucked inside the Swiss Embassy, this cozy restaurant serves top-notch steak tartare, though it specializes in flambés and fondues. The Casa da Suíça creates an almost tangible aura of sensuality - perhaps due to those open fires flaring inside. After dinner, you can hear live music at the St Moritz bar.
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Catete Grill
One of the newer restaurants in Catete, the Catete Grill has won over the neighborhood with its excellent buffet - served all day. It also offers ice creams - a quilo of course.
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CBF
On the west side of the historic Praça Tiradentes, CBF opened in 2007, breathing much new life into a tired neighborhood. Despite the newness, CBF is an atmospheric place and a top choice for enjoying delicious bacalhau dishes, scrumptious paellas and a host of other Iberian favorites. After dining with friends at the large picnic tables, you'll be well-placed to explore the nearby samba clubs in Lapa.
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Cedro do Líbano
White plastic chairs and tables covered by white tablecloths might make you feel like you stumbled into someone's wedding reception at this dining spot in the heart of Saara. But in fact, the white decorating in this 70-year-old Lebanese institution has more to do with the purity of the Lebanese cooking: kibbe, kaftas, lamb - tender portions of perfection.
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Celeiro
This casual spot on one of Leblon's main restaurant strips packs crowds in during lunchtime. Celeiro is mostly famed for its salad bar, though the small eatery serves excellent soups, pastries and quiches. Get there early to avoid the rush.
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Cervantes
A Copacabana institution, the late-night Cervantes gathers a broad mix of Cariocas who come to feast on Cervantes' trademark meat and pineapple sandwiches. Its waiters are famed for their fussiness, along with their quickness to the tap when your chope runneth dry. Around the corner (Rua Barato Ribeiro 7), Cervantes' stand-up boteco serves up tasty bites in a hurry.
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Chaika
One of Ipanema's classics, this popular, low-key restaurant features a stand-up bar in front for quickly devoured hamburgers, pastries and sodas. The sit-down restaurant in back offers a bigger menu - panini, salads and pancakes - and the staff will still bring your selection to you in a hurry.
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Churrascaria Majórica
A true gaúcho (person from Rio Grande do Sul) would chuckle at the kitschy cowboy accoutrements inside this restaurant. He'd shut his trap, however, once his plate of steak arrived. Meat is very serious business at Majórica, and if you're seeking an authentic churrascaria experience, look no further.
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Cipriani
On a candlelit patio beside the Palace's pool, Cipriani serves fine northern Italian cuisine to a well-dressed, largely non-Brazilian crowd. Signature dishes such as the gnocchi, the sirloin with port sauce, and the smoked scallops all meet their mark. For dessert, tiramisu and chocolate mousse are both good options. The dress code is once again in force, so leave your Havaianas at home.
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Cobal de Humaitá
Among other recommended spots, the Cobal de Humaitá is a fruit and flower market by day, with a range of lively cafés and restaurants that open at night.
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Colher de Pau
Cakes and pies are displayed in such a way that their magnetic powers exert a force that would be foolish to resist. The branch at Ipanema (2523 3018; Rua Farme de Amoedo 39) also serves quiches, salads and sandwiches and is worth investigating.
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Confeitaria Colombo
Far removed from the hustle and bustle of Av Atlântica, this handsome café offers truly magnificent views of Copacabana beach. At the outdoor tables, you can sit beneath shady palm trees, enjoying cappuccino, salads, quiche or crepes as young soldiers from the fort file past. To get there, you'll have to pay admission (around R$2 ) to the Forte de Copacabana (Copacabana fort), but it's well worth the price. There is also another branch in Centro (2232 2300; Rua Gonçalves Dias 34, Centro).
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Copa Café
This stylish new two-story restaurant facing Copacabana beach brings some much-needed life to the aging restaurant strip along Av Atlântica. The black wood floors, white bar stools, trim open layout and ambient electronic music make a nice setting for fresh fish, steak and high-end burgers.
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Da Silva
Da Silva puts on a fine buffet for those who want to sample excellent Portuguese cuisine without all the fussiness. Lamb stew, pork tenderloin and delicate desserts all make regular appearances at the lunchtime self-serve per-kilo buffet - and on the nightly à la carte menu. There is also another branch in Centro (2524 1010; 4th fl, Av Graça Aranha 187, Centro) which does great all-you-can-eat buffets at lunch.
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Delírio Tropical
Famed for its salads, Delírio Tropical serves 16 varieties each day along with a few soups and hot dishes (veggie burgers, grilled salmon) if you're famished. The open layout has a pleasant, casual feeling and there are two stories with big windows overlooking the street.
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Doce Delícia
Doce Delícia has a small but loyal following that is sold on the restaurant's innovative Eastern design concept. Restaurant goers create their own salads from over 40 ingredients on the menu. Feeling daring? Go for the pumpkin, jerked meat and leeks. The only limit is your imagination, cara . There's a second branch in Ipanema (2259 0239; Rua Aníbal de Mendonça 55, Ipanema; ;noon- ).
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Don Camillo
One of the few decent restaurants on the Copa strip, this handsomely appointed Italian restaurant has flavorful pastas and lasagnas, as well as some excellent seafood dishes. Antique tile floors, distressed wood beams and black-and-white photos make a nice setting for the dining. For something a little different try risotto with mushrooms followed by profiteroles.
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Empório Arabe
There are only a few tables inside this tiny restaurant in Leblon, but most people stop by just long enough to down a quick bite from the counter facing the sidewalk. Triangular pies filled with chicken, spinach or ricotta make for a speedy snack on your way back from the beach.
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Emporium Pax
One of many eateries at Botafogo Praia Shopping, Emporium Pax is a more polished affair than the adjoining food court and offers spectacular views of Pão de Açúcar and Baía de Guanabara. As well as salads, pastas and tasty desserts, the lunch buffet draws in the shopping and film-goers.
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Encontras Cariocas
This late-night pizza parlor is a good place to stop in while exploring Lapa's live music scene. Featuring a wide variety of ingredients (such as shiitake mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and jerked beefs), Encontras Cariocas serves tasty pies amid an atmosphere of old-fashioned charm - high wooden ceilings, brick walls and warm lighting.
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Enviada
Step into this elegant café for heavenly chocolates, ice cream, cakes, teas and coffees. The setting is a cozy escape from the city with its old-fashioned tile floors, dainty chairs and tables, and broad pieces of artwork decorating the walls.
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Escola do Pão
In a converted colonial mansion, this beautifully decorated restaurant serves delightful gourmet fare including grilled chicken with shiitake mushrooms, grilled trout and four different risottos. On weekends, Cariocas come from near and far to enjoy the weekend brunch, the highlights of which are the tasty fresh-baked breads and pastries.
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Espaço Brasa Leblon
One of Rio's top churrascarias, Espaço Brasa features nearly 30 different types of meat as well as sushi, seafood and salads. The beautifully presented all-you-can-eat buffet is set in a dining room with tall ceilings and elegant table settings.
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Espaço Rio Carioca
Espaço Rio Carioca, which opened in 2007, is yet another symbol of Laranjeiras' ongoing revitalization. Above a ground-level bookstore, the airy café and bistro serves tasty salads, cheese plates (a rarity in Rio), wines by the glass and handsomely prepared sandwiches. There's also an outdoor patio that makes a fine vantage point for observing this peaceful stretch of Rio (note the row houses next door - Rio's first). The space hosts live music and other cultural events throughout the week.
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Espírito Santa
One of Santa Teresa's best new restaurants, Espírito Santa is set in a beautifully restored mansion in Santa Teresa. Take a seat on the back terrace with its sweeping views or inside the charming, airy dining room, and feast on rich, expertly prepared meat and seafood dishes from the Amazon.
