In the gritty bohemian neighborhood of Lapa, Lilia is a hidden gem. The unpretentious restaurant is located on the upper floor of an old townhouse, where chef Lucio Vieira prepares a menu of quality, affordable plates — the small menu changes daily, inspired by whatever Vieira chooses that day from the local farmers markets. Many of the dishes are built around vegetables, but he also serves fresh fish and meat — with a special emphasis on the flavorful cheaper “off” cuts.

At more than 30,000 square feet, Xian is a massive multi-use venue that’s part bar, part restaurant, and soon-to-be-part concert hall located right next to Santos Dumont airport. There’s a Japanese spirit behind the menu, with dishes like the crunchy oysters with wasabi mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce, pork ribs with miso, and a menu of sushi and sashimi. The popular cocktail bar occupies the patio, with stunning views of Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer.

Tucked within a charming luxury hotel in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, Térèze is so much more than just a “hotel restaurant.” Giant windows allow guests to appreciate one of the best views in the city while tasting inventive dishes created by recently arrived chef Esteban Mateu. Born in Uruguay, with experience at several acclaimed restaurants throughout Latin America (among them Enrique Olvera’s Pujol), Mateu prepares local Brazilian ingredients with pan-Latin flare. Expect dishes like scallops aguachiles and pamonha (Brazilian-style tamales) with organic vegetables.

In a city without its own deep-seated pizza tradition, Ella looks to Naples for pie inspiration. A partnership between chef Pedro Siqueira (of Puro and Massa) and baker Marcos Cerutti (of SPA Pane), the pizzeria uses slow-rise, naturally leavened dough and covers it with creative combinations, like Japa, made with cream of mushrooms, roasted red onion, scamorza, chervil and sesame; Polpo, with crunchy octopus and pancetta; or Verdi, made with a wild greens pesto. Classics like margherita and marinara are also here, best accompanied by a signature barrel-aged cocktail.

It’s a bar, a deli, a coffee shop, a brewpub, and a jazz club, all mixed together in a charming 18th-century building located on the grounds of the Jockey Club race track and redesigned to host Casa Camolese. The all-day restaurant is the right place for an early-bird lunch or a nightcap, for a tap beer in the afternoon or a cup of coffee anytime. Salumi, cheeses, and breads (from the famous Slow Bakery) are handmade or come from esteemed local producers. The bar offerings include signature cocktails and craft beer on tap — brewed in loco. Located in front of Jardim Botânico, Casa Camolese is as beautiful as it is buzzing.

Restaurateur Cristiana Beltrão decided to take advantage of the city’s warm (to say the least) climate and transform the front area of her Ipanema restaurant, Bazzar, into an outdoor oyster bar. It’s the perfect place for a casual post-beach snack in the form of mussels with orange strands and kelp toast, sardines with organic vegetables, or grated crab meat with fennel puree — all paired with a glass of Brazilian sparkling wine.  

At this three-story bar and restaurant located in the Ipanema neighborhood, rum is the star. Varieties from Cuba, Jamaica, and beyond are available for sipping or mixed into signature cocktails by bartender Tai Barbin: think mojitos, daiquiris, and in-house barrel-aged creations. In the kitchen, New York-born chef Bruno Katz prepares dishes like beef carpaccio with charcoal mayonnaise, mustard seeds, and grana padano, or the pancetta and octopus pastel with citrus aioli.

Although it is located inside a mall — practically a crime in a city with as much natural beauty as Rio de Janeiro — Pipo is worth the visit. It’s the most casual and fun spot from chef Felipe Bronze, whose restaurant Oro was selected in 2018 as One to Watch in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. The food here is for sharing, and reflects the festive spirit of Cariocas — the term for Rio de Janeiro residents. Bronze’s preparations combine the molecular with the organic, the classic and the modern in recipes such as a beef rib sandwich with spicy banana jam, oysters with miso granita, and one of the city’s most delicious coxinhas, served here with a smoked cream-cheese foam.