Arriving to Rio – my free weekend was starting, yeah!!!
After a loooooooooooong day (We have been flying the whole day, wow!) we finally arrived to
The hotel is just 2 blocks away from the beach and because it was Ipanema and
I went downstairs and the guy who helped me with the check in was gone, mmm.
At his place was a cute guy, hehehe, and I was a little girl lost in
I asked Tiago for some recommendations. What kind of food was I looking for? Well, we were in
We went back to the hotel with the transfer service offered by the restaurant.
When we arrived Tiago was already gone.
I was looking to some touristy brochures and the bell boy approached to me. He offered me the same tour, but cheaper. He had a friend (Rodrigo) who was a tour guide. They have already organized a group of 4 people, but there was room for 2 more people. Saturday was my free day in
Anyway, I accepted the tour idea and asked for a wake up call. The tour would departure early next morning!
Yeah!!!!
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You arrive to the place, take a sit at a table and the waiter will come. You pay a fix amount for all you can eat, including the appetizers, meat, salad and sides. Just the beverages and desserts are not included.
The waiter will offer you the appetizers. You don't have to pay extra for the huge grilled Shrimps, Empanadas, etc.
There is a big salad bar and you can pick whatever you want. At the salad bar you would also find sushi and sashimi!
Regarding the sides, your options are: french fries, baked bananas, Brazilian beans, rice, etc.
But the big star is the meat! These restaurants are specialized in bbq. They serve beef, chicken, lamb, pork, sausages, etc. They offer the following cuts: Picanha (rump steak marinated with salt), Alcatra (top sirloin), Fraidinha (bottom sirloin), Lombo (pork loin), Costela de Pork (pork ribs), Frango (chicken breasts wrapped in bacon), Linguica (Brazilian sausage), Coracao de Galinha (chicken hearts), Filet Mignon (tenderloin), Cordeiro (young leg of lamb).
How they serve them is the big attraction. The waiters come to your table holding swords with the different cuts of meat. There is a card on your table. One side is red and the other is green. When you are showing the green side, the waiters will keep on coming with meat. If you are showing the red, they won't come anymore.
I know it's difficult, but try to save some space for the delicious desserts.
I have to say these places are not cheap, but they are worth. I say it, and I'm not a big meat lover. But I have to make an exception ;)

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Churrasqueria? Sushi? Vegetarian? Barra Brasa is difficult to categorize since it has everything. First of all it's famous because of the churrasqueria. The meats that circulate through the large dining area on gigantic skewers are delicious and there are so many different cuts of beef, lamb, chicken and sausage - including the best argentinian beef . Side dishes include fried plantains, rice, potatoes and farofa (Brazilian beans).
On the other hand, this place could be great for vegetarians because it has an enormous salad bar. It includes all the usual salad fixings plus herrings, quail eggs, smoked salmon, shrimp and marinated vegetables.
You can fill up as many times as you wish. A sushi selection is part of the salad bar, while oysters on the half-shell and other shellfish are served at the table.
As I said before, the price is not cheap, but the food is so good that is a real delight to eat there. I was forgetting about the lobster, huge shrimps and caviar they offer too. Anyway, this place is worthy going. There are 2 Barra Brasa's. One located in Barra and one in Leblon. I went to Leblon's one which is located right in front of the most recently built and elegant Shopping Leblon.
The staff is really friendly and they also offer free transfer from and to your hotel.












