Local Expert
Lucy Bryson
I was born in rainy Manchester, UK, but made my escape to sunny Rio de Janeiro in 2006. Since then it's been hard to keep me away from the city, although I've also travelled elsewhere in Brazil and…
I was born in rainy Manchester, UK, but made my escape to sunny Rio de Janeiro in 2006. Since then it's been hard to keep me away from the city, although I've also travelled elsewhere in Brazil and South America. I'm a trained journalist and editor and have managed to fund my trips through combining my twin passions of travelling and writing - recent writing credits include updating chapters for Fodor's Brazil, Footprint Brazil and Footprint South American Handbook. I live high on a hillside in Santa Teresa - Rio's 'arty' district, and my one complaint is that I never seem to get time to visit the beach! Despite my lack of tanning time, I love Rio, and and have no intentions of returning to my wet and windy home city any time soon!
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There’s no shortage of bars claiming to offer the best chopp (draught beer) in Rio, but Bar Brasil, in the heart of Lapa, has a better claim to the title than most. The judging panel at food and drink bible Veja Rio rate Bar Brasil as having the city’s best beer, and it’s hard to argue with their decision. The antique bar, which celebrated its centenary last year, eschews fancy new imports in favour of perfectly-kept traditional Brazilian and German brews, served at the perfect ice-cold temperature thanks to a 66-metre coil of ice-covered hose that delivers the beer from barrel to tap without rising in temperature by a single degree. This method has been employed for nearly 50 years, and has won Bar Brasil an army of fans among locals who really know their beer.
Despite the bar’s name, the food on offer at Bar Brasil has a distinctly German flavour, such as a plate of mixed German sausages served with delicious potato salad. Many dishes have absorbed a Brazilian influence as well, such as the smoked meat with rice and couve (a green Brazilian vegetable similar to spinach, here served in the Minas Gerais style – lightly fried with garlic and small pieces of meat). The apple strudel with whipped cream is unmissable. Those who are looking to nibble rather than sit down to a full meal can enjoy some very good bar snacks, such as above average bolinhos de bacalhau (cod and potato balls).
The aged wooden furnishings and location at the heart of Rio Antigo lend Bar do Brasil a real ‘old world’ vibe, and this is the perfect pitstop during an afternoon’s browsing at the monthly Rio Antique Fair (held in Rio Antigo on the first Saturday of each month). Alternatively, stop here for pre-club drinks and eats before a night out at the nearby samba clubs of Carioca da Gema or Rio Scenarium. Bar Brasil is located at Avenida Mem da Sá 90, Lapa. It’s open from 11.30am to 11pm Monday to Friday, and 11.30am to 4pm on Saturdays.
Now that I’ve got your attention, I’m no doubt going to disappoint a lot of people by turning my attention to an exhibition of preserved human body parts. Plenty of people head to Rio in the hope of ogling the human body, but the Corpo Humano exhibition at the city’s National History Museum is revealing a little more than most tourists bargain for. The exhibition, which reveals the internal workings of the human body, has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors since it arrived in Rio in September, and has now been granted an extended stay until February 4th. In addition, the museum has introduced half-price entrance on Tuesdays (although at R$20 for adults and R$10 for children and seniors), tickets are still far from cheap…). The Corpo Humano exhibition came to Rio from Sao Paulo, where it attracted more than 450,000 visitors, and has been a huge success globally – showing at museums in 33 countries worldwide since 2005. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but is a surefire way of luring kids into the museum on a rainy day – the promise of real-life guts and gore is always going to grab younger family members’ attention! The exhibition features real preserved human bodies and body parts, and once you get past the shock factor it’s a fascinating look at anatomy, physiology and human health. A word of warning though – don’t come here the day after a big night out. Not only will the displays of diseased body parts have your stomach churning, but you’ll also start feeling a little guilty about that last caipirinha and cigarette once you see examples of the effects of alcohol abuse and smoking on the human body.
While it sounds gruesome beyond words, the exhibition is less gorily bloody than it sounds – the bodies and body parts are preserved through a process called ‘Plastination’, which involves replacing fluids and fat with materials such as silicone rubber and polyester resin (gosh, these are not words I ever thought I’d find myself using in a Rio de Janeiro blog!). If you can bring yourself to uncover your eyes, the exhibition is absolutely fascinating, and a great way to while away a few hours if the weather takes a turn for the worst.
The exhibition is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 6pm, with the last entrance at 5.15 daily. Prices are R$20/10 on Tuesdays, R$40/20 all other days. The museum is located in Centro, at Praça Marechal Âncora (no number).
It’s a major bugbear among hungry visitors to Rio – how have the cariocas got things so wrong when it comes to making a simple pizza? Floppy bases, greasy cheese and – most frustratingly – a notable absence of tomato sauce are all characteristic of the typical Rio pizza. Interestingly, as though in a bid to compensate for the lack of pizza sauce beneath the cheese, most cariocas opt to smother the surface in ketchup and/or mustard and mayonnaise. It’s a practice that baffles at first, but once you’ve bitten into a slice of bland, oily, over-cheesy Margarita you’ll understand why locals try their best to liven the thing up. But while it’s easy to despair of finding a decent slice of pizza in Rio, there are some notable exceptions to the rule. If you don’t mind paying a little extra, you first port of call should be Capricciosa, an upmarket pizza chain witb branches across the city. You can tell that Capricciosa takes itself seriously – the restaurant flat out refuses to serve ketchup with its pizza. And it’s a good thing too – anyone who felt the need to cover a slice of Capricciosa pizza with bottled tomato sauce would be doing the chefs a grand disservice. The bases here are made with imported Italian flour and olive oil, the mozzerella is artesan buffalo mozzeralla flown in from selected farms in Sao Paulo, and other key ingredients include genuine Italian parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and fresh oregano. The wood oven-baked bases are thin and crispy in the true Italian style, and the toppings perfectly proportioned. When the first branch of Capricciosa opened its doors in Ipanema in 1999 it was an immediate hit with well-to-do locals, and there are now further branches in Copacabana, Jardim Botanico, and down the coast in the beach town of Buzios. Unsurprisingly, prices at Capricciosa aren’t cheap – you can expect to pay upwards of R$50 for a pizza with a couple of toppings, but you’re paying for possibly the best pizza in the city (and the chain boasts a string of awards to back up this claim). If that’s a little out of your price range, then head for the hills of Santa Teresa where you’ll find very good pizzas at more than affordable prices. Instead of following the tourist hordes and jumping off the bonde (street car) at the main bar and restaurant strip that surrounds Largo do Guimaraes, stay on board (make sure you’re on the Paulo Mattos line) until the end of the bonde track at Largo das Neves. Little-visited by tourists, this cute little square with picture-perfect whitewashed church is flanked by several bars/informal restaurants. Two of these bars, Goyabeira and Santa Saideira, serve up delicious pizzas that easily serve two or three people, at around R$25-35 depending on the topping. At Goyabeira, take your pick from meaty or vegetarian toppings - the owners are happy to serve your pizza ‘half and half’ on request, and don’t miss out of a side order of ‘aipim com queijo’. Aipim is a root vegetable similar to potato, and here it is served in bite-sized chunks, generously covered in melted cheese and oregano. If you can handle it, wash the food down with a glass of liquor de gengibre. This fiery concoction combines sugar cane rum with ginger, and has been known to get even the most seasoned drinkers tipsy after just one glass. Next door, at Santa Saideira, go for the pizza with sundried tomato and fresh rocket. Generously laden with both, the pizza has a crispy base and is served piping hot from the oven. Head here on a Monday night for some excellent live jazz, and wash the pizza down with a glass of wine or the house speciality, rum infused with honey, cinnamon and cloves (called a Santa Saideira after the bar itself). You’ll find Capricciosa at Rua Vincius de Moraes 134, Ipanema; Rua Maria Angelica 37, Jardim Botanico, and Rua Domingos Ferreira, 187, Copacabana. Bar Goyabeira and Santa Saideira sit side by side on the tiny Largo das Neves square, Santa Teresa.
Of the very few places in Santa Teresa open for business on Christmas Day, Jasmin Manga seemed like the nicest spot for a pre-Christmas dinner drink and bite to eat. A combination coffee shop, internet café and restaurant, Jasmin Manga sits right on the lively Largo do Guimaraes square, at the heart ofthis charming neighbourhood, and its fairy light-strewn patio is a pleasant place to relax with a coffee, or something stonger. This being Christmas Day, myself and two other ‘gringas’ opted for Irish Coffees, each of us picturing European-style steaming mugs of the stuff. When they arrived, however, we realised we’d been wildly over-optimistic. The coffees were tiny, little bigger than an espresso, and although very well-made, were somewhat overpriced at nine reais each. They did come with a very tasty biscuit, however, and were generously laced with decent whisky. Our appetites stimulated by the biscuit, we scanned the menu looking for a dish we could share. We opted for the plate of mixed appetisers, and our stomachs began to rumble as we waited, and waited, for the food to arrive. When the dish came, it was clear we were in no danger of ruining our appetites for that night’s dinner. Alongside a small basket of bread were precisely four quail eggs, four olives, a few pieces of blue cheese, a pot of herb butter and one of a tasty eggplant dip, and a few small slices of sausage. Again, at R$23, this hardly represented great value for money. While the food was very good, there just wasn’t enough of it – when you find yourself splitting a quail egg three ways you know you’re still going to be feeling hunger pangs when you’ve finished! Other options on the menu are more substantial – a friend arriving later on chose a beef and onion sandwich made on pitta bread, which was relatively generous in size and, at R$15, much better value for money. Locals rave about the desserts here too –the chocolate brownies are legendary, and a R$7 slice easily serves two.
There’sno doubting the charm of this place- the décor is well-thought-out, the ambience is relaxed, and most of the dishes very good. It’s difficult to think of a more pleasant spot to surf the internet, and the location is very handy for the famous Santa Teresa tram. However, the waiters could do with being a little more attentive, and, with a few exceptions, portion sizes should be increased to justify the high prices. Jasmin Manga is situated at Largo do Guimaraes 143, Santa Teresa. To get here, jump off the tram at Largo do Guimaraes, and you’ll spot it straight in front of you. The bamboo roof on the patio doesn’t lend itself well to rainy days, as we discovered to our cost, but luckily there’s an indoor space too. Opening hours can vary, but generally Jasmin Manga is open daily from 9am to 10pm.
As the world and his wife prepare to descend on Copacabana beach for Rio’s world famous New Year celebrations, it’s important to consider in advance how you will actually arrive at the legendary stretch of sand. Of course, if your hotel, hostel or apartment is in Copacabana itself, you’ll face no difficulties. If you’re based elsewhere in the city, however, things are a little more complicated. The sheer number of people heading to Copa means that traffic will be torturous for most of the day and evening – making the Metro system seem a wise choice. However, while taking the Metro over New Year is something of a carioca tradition, it’s not as straightforward as one might think. This year, the city council has chosen to impose a complicated system of pre-bought Metro tickets, without which you’ll be unable to board. The pre-paid tickets are actually very good value at just R$4.50 return (a single ticket usually costs R$2.60), but actually getting hold of one presents something of a challenge. Tickets can now only be bought at the stations Botafogo, Largo do Machado, Carioca and Estacio, locations some distance from touristy spots such as Ipanema and Leblon. To make things even more complicated, the tickets are only available between 8am and 9pm until the 30th,and between 8am and 6pm on New Year’s Eve itself. For tourists staying in the Zona Sul, the easiest, but hardly cost-effective, thing to do is to take a Metro to Botafogo this week, pick up the necessary passes and then take another Metro back. Revellers based in the hills of Santa Teresa will have it easier – the bonde (tram) that ferries tourists and residents up and down the hill from Centro stops just a couple of minutes’ walk from Carioca. If this all sounds a little complicated, it’s worth considering that busesdo run pretty much as normal throughout the night. However, prepare to cry with frustration as the bus crawls along in heavy traffic. Visitors based in Ipanema or Leblon may well find it easier and more pleasant to simply walk the length of the beach down to Arpoador and then into Copacabana itself – or simply attend the more low-key, but still incredibly lively, celebrations on Ipanema beach. Even Flamengo and Botafogo beaches have their own festive party with music, dancing and fireworks, but they lack the impact of the celebrations at the city’s more famous beaches.
There are few sadder sights in Rio than a young, scarcely-clothed child sleeping on the city’s sidewalks, and unfortunately the sight is all too common. Sometimes born on the streets, sometimes fleeing violent homes, the children flock in droves to the beach districts of Copacabana, where the high population of tourists makes begging (and, in some cases, stealing) easier for these desperate children. In Copacabana it’s not unusual to see whole families sleeping on the street, with babies toddlers covered only by flimsy blankets. Many of the children will approach tourists, hands outstretched, while others learn skills such as juggling to try and earn a few centavos entertaining cars stopped at traffic lights. Unfortunately, others resort to pick-pocketing, bag snatching or even robbery at knife point –don’t try to grab your valuables back, as in some rare cases the assailants are willing to use their weapons. While it’s impossible to give something to everyone, it’s worth handing over a bit of loose change to kids who have taken the time to learn to juggle or perform a balancing act – if they can’t make a living honestly then stealing becomes the only real option available to them. Unfortunately, large numbers of street children become involved in street gangs and drug abuse – if you wish to give something to a child that says they are hungry, pop into a snack bar and buy them a cheap snack, or, if you’re at the beach, buy them some potato chips from a beach kiosk. Wasting food in Rio is purely selfish – when eating out at restaurants, get into the habit of asking for any left overs to be boxed up to take home (‘para levar’), and then hand the box of food over to any needy looking child on the street. It will always be appreciated. Most restaurants charge a real or so to box the food up, but it’s better than throwing away good food that could be appreciated by someone that really needs it.