The Michelin Guide arrived in Rio in 2015 and left in 2020. Since then, the city's best tables have continued, in private. This is our list — the restaurants we would have stars for, had the stars stayed.
The quiet pinnacles
Lasai — Botafogo
Rafa Costa e Silva's temple to Rio's own produce, grown mostly on his family's farm. A tasting menu that changes with the week; a wine list built around Brazilian cellars you didn't know existed. The most serious meal in the city, and the one to book first. Reserve a month ahead.
Oro — Jardim Botânico
Felipe Bronze's theatre of fire, tweezers, and Amazonian ingredients. Two menus — Criatividade and Afetividade — each a small opera. The room is warm, the service is Carioca, the pacing is perfect.
Oteque — Botafogo
Alberto Landgraf runs a small counter that feels more Tokyo than Rio. The fish is handled with surgical precision, the dashi is as good as any in São Paulo, and the wine pairing is the best in the city.
The grand rooms
Cipriani — Copacabana Palace
Black tie optional, Italian menu timeless, service from a lost century. The risotto alla milanese is still the benchmark. Order the Bellini. Tip well.
Mee — Copacabana Palace
Pan-Asian, star-quality under Ken Hom's lineage, inside the city's only true grande dame hotel. The dim sum is a meal in itself; the duck is the order.
The beach houses
SULT — Ipanema
The best Italian in Rio, again. (We include it in every list because we eat here most weeks.) Lasagne as starter, sorrentino or filet as main; the wine selection is unmatched in the city — a complete card with real treasures. Reserve.
Assador Rios — Urca
The best steakhouse in Latin America, at the foot of Sugarloaf. Arrive at four. Order the tomahawk, the chorizo, the ancho, the baby beef, the filet. Nada mais. BYO with corkage; bring something serious.
The neighbourhood classics
Le Pulé — Ipanema
Tropical bistrot on Praça General Osório, seasonal carte, kind prices, charming service. A Tuesday night without fanfare.
S Bistrô — Leme
French bistro, beachfront terrace, run by the gentlest pair of Frenchmen in the city. The Thursday & Friday prix fixe is the best value in Rio. Walk there from ADV 001.
The ceviche axis
La Carioca Cevicheria — Ipanema
Corner of Rua Redentor and Garcia d'Ávila, green canopy of trees, people-watching unimpeachable. Ceviche, quinoto, pisco, in that order.
La Carioca en La Playa — Leblon
The same chef, your feet in sand. Lunch only. Book the front row.
Sabor Peruano — Centro
A room the size of a closet near the Selarón Steps. The tacu-tacu de lomo is a dish we have flown people in for.
"Rio rewards the lunch. The afternoon sun is soft, the beach is waiting, and the best cellars in the city have fewer eyes on them at one in the afternoon than at nine at night."
A few rules
- Reserve in advance. Not because these rooms are impossible — they aren't — but because a walk-in forfeits the best seat.
- Arrive hungry. Cariocas eat late; you'll eat more courses than you planned.
- Never skip the pastel or the pão de queijo at a bar stop. They were invented for the hour between the beach and dinner.
- Always have a caipirinha with your first meal. Always finish the meal with a cafézinho.
If you would like us to book any of these tables for your stay, a single message to the concierge does it. The harder tables are easier from the inside.