Restaurants in The Northeast
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Bodega
This stylish pizzeria and Italian eatery offers prime people-watching, gourmet pies and potent cocktails.
reviewed
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A
Sorveteria Bali
Grab an outdoor table and enjoy Maceió’s best ice cream. Among favorites are walnut, guava and tapioca.
reviewed
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Cantina Jeri
Excellent value spot offering a ridiculously extensive (and good) list of pastas and risottos. Dishes are meant for one, but when they show up – placed on the table in the very pan in which they were cooked – they can easily serve two, catapulting this Italian-run midrange into the budget category.
reviewed
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Pimenta Verde
This delightful little corner café with only a few tables pumps out memorable cuisine from the former chef at longtime favorite Carcará. The octopus Provençal (best dish in Jeri?) and the green peppercorn filet are both divine. Cute artistic touches round out the culinary happiness.
reviewed
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Mangai
This spectacular regional buffet is worth the stop in João Pessoa alone. Nearly everything is labeled in English and there’s plenty for vegetarians. Save room for the decadent caramelized cashews smothered in doce de leite (creamy milk-and-sugar concoction) and chocolate.
reviewed
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Cozinha Aberta
This gourmet bistro, specializing in slow food, serves eclectic fare from Thai noodles to Italian pastas. The setting is charming and homelike, with daily specials spelled out on chalkboards.
reviewed
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Sabor da Vila
One of the top Bahian restaurants in town, Sabor da Vila serves excellent moquecas, picanha (tender seirloin steak), grilled fish and other mouthwatering dishes.
reviewed
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B
Socaldinho Guaiamum
This long, large, always bustling, semi-open-air restaurant pulls in families, couples and groups of friends for good-value, good-quality meat, seafood and pasta.
reviewed
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C
Mamma Itália
If you're in the center or the northern part of town, it's worth stopping in here for quality Italian fare. The spinach-and-ricotta ravioli is divine.
reviewed
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Wanchaco
This highly acclaimed Peruvian restaurant serves excellent seafood in a cozy, creatively decorated setting.
reviewed
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Choperia Petrópolis
This corner boteco in bohemian Petrópolis is little more than a few wooden tables thrown down on the sidewalk but it serves yummy specialties like pernilao forno (pork leg), good caldinhos (spicy bean soup) and stone cold chope. There’s live choro (mostly instrumental, highly improvised music), samba, MPB and bossa nova catering to an artsy crowd. Its pastelaria (place that serves fried dough pastries stuffed with various ingredients) across the street serves decadent sweet pastéis (fried pastries).
reviewed
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Cabana do Sol
A starred restaurant since 1998, this is São Luís’ other memorable spot for the Portuguese, índio and African-influenced comida maranhense (the region’s traditional cuisine) . It’s pricey, but the irresponsibly enormous portions for two can serve four with gusto. The specialty is carne do sol (tasty, salted meat, grilled and served with beans, rice and vegetables – the picanha, steak, version is superb), but there is a wealth of chicken and seafood dishes, too.
reviewed
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Cruzeiro do Pescador
It looks like a typical mess of a house, but a closer look reveals a home transformed into a don’t-miss culinary experience. Chef Daniel (a former copywriter) and his former gardener are gastronomic anomalies: everything down to the coffee is done with homegrown finesse and no formal training. Smoked or grilled seafood is the way to go, but call ahead as some dishes take two hours to prepare, like the Seleção do Mar, a slow-grilled seafood feast of Biblical proportions.
reviewed
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D
Vira Verão
Praia do Futuro is lined with enormous barracas, some with hundreds of tables under sunshades on the sand. It’s good for seafood meals and snacks – pargo assado (grilled red snapper) with salad is a favorite dish here. Vira Verão boasts a sea of golden-tanned goodness under coconut tree palapas (thatched-roof hut) on any given day, a requisite stop for surfers, windsurfers, kitesurfers and pretty much everyone else who owns a revealing swimsuit.
reviewed
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E
Camarões Restaurante
Natal’s most famous restaurant is a prawn-lover’s palace – some 36 varieties of creative shrimp dishes are served with a few meat choices for those allergic to shellfish. Cabugi (sautéed with farm butter, mushrooms, capers, white wine, cilantro and tomatoes) and potiguar (sautéed with vegetables, dendê – a reddish palm oil – and creamy coconut sauce) are the most popular preparations. Dishes serve two people only.
reviewed
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Maracangalha
This colorful restaurant is a step above in food and service and is the spot for a blowout meal. Chef/owner Melchíades Dantas turns out creative seafood and meat dishes that match the artsy atmosphere in flair and presentation (the caldeirada maranhense – a seafood stew – is excellent). Staff is impeccably on point. If there’s a flaw, it’s either the freezing red wine or the large, noise-hugging space that can swell with kids.
reviewed
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Coco Bambu
This huge and festive eatery is one of those ridiculous Brazilian restaurants that does a whole lot of everything and – one would think – not a whole lot well. Oh no, not here. The 14-page menu covers pizza, tapioca, crêpes, sushi and regional mains (as well as por-kilo for lunch) but here’s the rub: everything is excellent, including the clientele, which is always a bit raucous with Fortaleza’s finest.
reviewed
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Pacífico
High-end cuisine is rarely this low-end on your wallet in touristy Brazil, but the Californian owner-chef here prides himself on value along with his exceptional Nouveau California-Brazilian dishes with Asian flare, such as Thai-tinted moquecas (fish stews) and black and blue pepper tuna. The cognac-flambé pepper steak is a treat. Side dishes are extra but you’ll still come away surprised at the bill.
reviewed
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Tamarindo
Far and away the most creative dining experience in Jeri, under the shadow of a giant tamarind tree. Nearly everything is cooked in the brick oven, which is the norm for the pizza, but not for exquisite gems like Brazil nut–crusted filet mignon or seasoned fish with grilled mango. From the cocktails (frozen tangeroskas with ginger) to the staff and service, it’s a class act above anything in town.
reviewed
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F
Parraxaxá
Festive decor and staff in police and cangaceiro (outlaw) outfits spice up your meal at this fun Northeast-themed restaurant. The self-serve food is a cornucopia of tasty Northeastern dishes – carne de sol (salted beef), macaxeira (a type of cassava), baião de dois (a spicy rice, beans and cheese dish) and grilled meats – with good salads, too.
reviewed
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Giramundo
Overcooked picanha (choice beef cuts) shouldn’t stop you from having a good time at this wildly popular beach kiosk, a Swiss-Brazilian endeavor, notable not only for the usual suspects, but also for the out-of-place grilled bratwurst, currywurst, kalbsbratwurst and Eisenbahn microbrews – none of which are often seen north of Santa Catarina.
reviewed
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G
Santa Clara Café Orgânico
Santa Clara is one of the city’s hot ‘ Pontos de Encontros, ’ which loosely translated means where hot people go to mingle. It’s a wonderful little café serving organic Joe, sandwiches, wraps, waffles (despite its 3pm opening time), cheesecake, tapioca and a plethora of fancier coffee drinks. It’s located on the upper level of Dragão do Mar.
reviewed
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Garagem
‘Holy Shit’ views, good tunes and excellent food to boot, Garagem got its start as a famous bar (and is still good for that) but during the day, it’s the best spot in Pipa proper to drop down for a beach lunch (excellent Argentine picanha, fresh fish) and a Bohemia to wash it down. During full moons, there’s live music at night as well.
reviewed
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Chocolate
A lovely spot with a charismatic chef-owner (Pat Gâteau), cutely nicknamed after her home-run dessert, one of Brazil’s best petite gâteaux. But you’ll first want to tuck into the excellent risottos here, namely the Amazonian special, with tucupi (a sauce extracted from wild manioc root) and jambú (an Amazonian herb) .
reviewed
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Natural Brasil
Good lunches in Pipa are few and far between, so it’s worth the R$2 bus fare or tacking on a late lunch to a kayak or sunset excursion to Lagoa de Guaraíras at this wonderful and cozy spot in Tibau do Sul. It has superb sandwiches, salads and creative veggie-minded options (soy stroganoff, spinach pesto penne). Everything is good.
reviewed