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Food tours in Rio de Janeiro: what to eat and which tour to book
Food in Rio happens at the boteco, the beach and the juice bar. The boteco (neighbourhood bar) serves cold draught beer (chope) with petiscos such as pastéis, bolinhos de bacalhau and fried sardines; on Saturdays it serves feijoada. On the beach, vendors walk the sand selling Biscoito Globo crackers, iced mate and grilled cheese on a stick. Juice bars on almost every corner of the Zona Sul make fresh juices and açaí bowls. For a bigger meal, cariocas go to a churrascaria or a por-quilo (pay-by-weight) restaurant at lunch.
Use this page to know what to order and which areas to eat in. The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as they appeared when we checked; confirm the current price on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in Rio de Janeiro
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feijoada | Black beans stewed with salted and smoked pork and sausage, served with rice, sautéed collard greens (couve), farofa (toasted cassava flour) and orange slices. Traditionally eaten at Saturday lunch, with a caipirinha. | Botecos and traditional restaurants across the city, many only on Saturdays (some also on Wednesdays). | roughly R$60–110 (€9–17) per person |
| Fried pastries and croquettes pastel / coxinha / bolinho de bacalhau | Pastel is a large, thin fried pastry filled with cheese, minced meat or shrimp. Coxinha is a teardrop-shaped chicken croquette. Bolinho de bacalhau is a salt-cod fritter, a boteco classic with beer. | Lanchonetes (snack bars), botecos and the pastel stalls at street fairs (feiras). | roughly R$8–15 (€1.20–2.30) each; bolinhos about R$35–60 a portion |
| Açaí açaí na tigela | Frozen Amazonian açaí pulp blended thick and served in a bowl or cup, usually with granola and banana. In Rio it is eaten sweetened as a snack, often after the beach. | Juice bars (casas de suco) all over Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Botafogo. | roughly R$18–35 (€2.80–5.50) |
| Beach snacks Biscoito Globo, mate gelado, queijo coalho | Biscoito Globo are light, airy cassava-flour rings sold in paper bags; mate is iced sweet tea poured from metal tanks; queijo coalho is firm cheese grilled on a stick over a small charcoal burner, sometimes with oregano or molasses. | Vendors walking the sand at Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon beaches. | roughly R$5–15 (€0.80–2.30) per item |
| Grilled meat buffet churrasco / rodízio | At a rodízio churrascaria, waiters bring skewers of grilled meat to the table (picanha, the rump cap, is the cut to try) until you turn your card to red. There is also a salad and side buffet. | Churrascarias in Copacabana, Botafogo and Barra da Tijuca. | roughly R$130–250 (€20–39) per person before drinks |
| Cheese bread pão de queijo | Small chewy rolls made from cassava starch and cheese, originally from Minas Gerais but eaten everywhere with coffee. | Bakeries (padarias) and cafés. | roughly R$3–8 (€0.50–1.20) each |
| Northeastern dishes baião de dois / carne de sol / tapioca | Food of Brazil's Northeast, brought to Rio by migrants: baião de dois (rice and beans cooked with cheese), carne de sol (salted sun-dried beef) and tapioca, a crêpe-like pancake of cassava starch with sweet or savoury fillings. | The Feira de São Cristóvão (Northeastern fair) and Northeastern restaurants; tapioca stands also around the city. | roughly R$40–80 (€6–12) a dish; tapioca about R$12–25 |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Feira de São Cristóvão (Centro Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas)
A large covered pavilion in São Cristóvão (the fair moved inside in 2003) dedicated to the culture of Brazil's Northeast, with hundreds of food stalls, restaurants and forró music. The place to eat carne de sol, baião de dois, tapioca and cachaça.
Botafogo
Residential neighbourhood with a dense mix of botecos, craft-beer bars and newer restaurants, less touristy than Copacabana. Many small places around the side streets off Rua Voluntários da Pátria.
Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon
Beach snacks on the sand, juice bars on every block, old botecos and churrascarias. Leblon has more expensive restaurants and bars.
Centro and Lapa
The old centre has historic cafés, lunch spots for office workers and traditional bars around Rua do Ouvidor. Lapa next door is the nightlife area, with street vendors selling drinks and snacks outside the samba bars.
Santa Teresa
Hillside neighbourhood above Lapa with bars and restaurants serving Brazilian dishes such as feijoada and bolinho de feijoada, and views over the city.
Street fairs (feiras livres)
Weekly open-air produce markets in each neighbourhood, with tropical fruit, and at many of them a pastel stall frying to order and fresh sugarcane juice (caldo de cana).
Food tours in Rio de Janeiro compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio de Janeiro: 9-Recipe Boozy Brazilian Cooking Class | 3.5 - 4.5 hours | from €76 per person | — | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| Eat, drink and discover Rio like a Local - with a Local | 3 hours | from €94 per person | max 8 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Food Tasting in Rio with 33 Local Bites + Supermarket Tour | 3 hours | from €52 per person | — | Morning people who want to see where locals shop and taste produce at the source. | Check dates |
| Half-Day Rio Food Crawl: 15+ Traditional Brazilian Tastings | 4 hours | from €56 per person | max 8 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Rio Culture and History through the Art of Traditional Foods | 6 hours | from €183 per person | — | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| Rio de Janeiro: Best Street Food Tour With A Local Guide | 3 hours | from €68 per person | private | Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them. | Check dates |
Rio de Janeiro: 9-Recipe Boozy Brazilian Cooking Class
On GetYourGuide · run by Cook in Fiesta
- Length
- 3.5 - 4.5 hours
- Price
- from €76 per person
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ from 191 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
Eat, drink and discover Rio like a Local - with a Local
On GetYourGuide · run by Taste Rio Tours
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from €94 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 93 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 8
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- Rua Siqueira Campos, 90 - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22031-072, Brazil
Food Tasting in Rio with 33 Local Bites + Supermarket Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Cook in Fiesta
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from €52 per person
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ from 27 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- Morning people who want to see where locals shop and taste produce at the source.
- Starts
- R. Visc. de Pirajá, 281 - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22410-001, Brazil
Half-Day Rio Food Crawl: 15+ Traditional Brazilian Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Cook in Fiesta
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €56 per person
- Rating
- 4.6 ★ from 10 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 8
- Included
- 15+ tastings of traditional Brazilian foods and local drinks across multiple neighborhoods Guided food crawl from Ipanema to downtown Rio led by passionate local hosts All beverages included: tropical fruit juices, dr…
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- Our local guide will meet you near this area. The exact address and contact number will be provided by our booking manager after the booking.
Rio Culture and History through the Art of Traditional Foods
On GetYourGuide · run by Gregtur Tourism
- Length
- 6 hours
- Price
- from €183 per person
- Rating
- 4.6 ★ from 9 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Professional guide Tastings and food samples Tram ticket Entrance fees Walking tour Tips for the guide (optional) Additional food and drinks
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
- Starts
- Meet the guide at the designated meeting point and time at least 10 minutes prior to the tour's departure which is at 10:45 am. • Check-in: 10:30 a.m • Departure: 10:45 a.m
Rio de Janeiro: Best Street Food Tour With A Local Guide
On GetYourGuide · run by Guydeez
- Length
- 3 hours
- Price
- from €68 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 8 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- private
- Suits
- Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them.
- Starts
- Depends on the selected option ### Lapa, Rio de Janeiro
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Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Rio's street food is mostly beach food (Biscoito Globo, mate, grilled cheese, corn on the cob), pastéis at street fairs, and snacks from vendors outside bars and stadiums at night. Juice bars and lanchonetes fill the gap between beach and boteco. Choose vendors with steady customers and drinks that are sealed or poured from clean tanks.
Sit-down meals
For lunch, por-quilo restaurants let you fill a plate from a buffet and pay by weight, which is cheap and fast. The boteco is the social centre: order a round of chope and shared petiscos. Churrascarias are for a big meal. Cariocas eat dinner from about 20:00, later on weekends.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes in Rio usually teach caipirinhas, feijoada or moqueca (fish stew with coconut milk and dendê oil), pão de queijo and brigadeiros. Some include a visit to a street fair. They are often held in homes or studios in the Zona Sul or Santa Teresa.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | roughly R$100–150 / €15–23 (padaria breakfast, por-quilo lunch, boteco snacks) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | roughly R$250–400 / €38–62 (boteco lunch, sit-down dinner with drinks) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | roughly R$600+ / €90+ (a churrascaria or a top Leblon restaurant with wine) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Fairly easy in the Zona Sul. Por-quilo buffets have many salads and vegetable dishes, juice bars sell açaí, tapioca and cheese sandwiches, and pastéis come with cheese or palm heart (palmito) fillings. Watch out for beans cooked with pork or bacon, and ask 'tem carne?'.
Halal: Limited. Pork is common in feijoada and many snacks, and churrascarias serve pork and sausage alongside beef. Halal-certified meat exists in Brazil, a big halal meat exporter, but certified restaurants in Rio are few; Middle Eastern restaurants are the easiest option, but ask.
Gluten-free: Better than average, because cassava is everywhere: pão de queijo, tapioca and Biscoito Globo are made from cassava, and rice, beans and grilled meat are naturally gluten-free. Brazilian packaged food must state 'contém glúten' or 'não contém glúten'. Fried snacks such as coxinha and pastel use wheat and share fryers.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Beach chair, umbrella and caipirinha vendors on the sand who do not state prices and charge tourists far more at the end. Agree the price before you sit down or order, and pay each item as it arrives.
- Extra items on the bill at botecos and restaurants, plus the 10% service charge with an extra tip expected on top. The 10% service (taxa de serviço) is normally already on the bill and is optional; check the itemised bill (a conta) before paying.
- Card machines brought to the table showing a different amount, or cards taken out of sight. Keep your card in view, read the amount on the machine before entering your PIN, and pay by contactless where possible.
- Phone and bag snatching at beach-front restaurants and street tables in Copacabana and Lapa. Don't leave your phone on the table, and carry little cash or cards when you go to the beach.
Top tours & activities in Rio de Janeiro
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Do I need to tip in Rio?
In most restaurants and botecos a 10% service charge (taxa de serviço or 'dez por cento') is added to the bill. It is technically optional, but normally paid, and no further tip is expected. At beach vendors, juice bars and snack bars, tipping is not expected. On a food tour, a small tip for a good guide is appreciated but optional.
Which day should I eat feijoada?
Saturday lunch is the traditional time, and many botecos and restaurants cook it only on Saturdays (some also on Wednesdays). It is heavy, so cariocas eat it slowly with a caipirinha and rarely plan much else afterwards. Ask whether it is the 'completa' version with all the pork cuts or a lighter one.
Is beach food safe to eat?
Mostly yes. Packaged Biscoito Globo, sealed drinks and grilled cheese cooked in front of you are low-risk. Iced mate is poured from tanks; it is very popular and generally fine, but skip it if you have a sensitive stomach. Avoid shellfish sold on the sand in hot weather, and drink bottled water rather than tap water.
How does a por-quilo restaurant work?
You take a plate, serve yourself from the buffet (salads, rice, beans, meat, fish), and the plate is weighed at the counter. You pay a set price per kilo, usually shown at the entrance. It is the standard weekday lunch for office workers. Go between 12:00 and 14:00 for the freshest food; many close after lunch.
How much should I budget for food per day?
On a budget, about R$100–150 (€15–23) covers bakery breakfast, a por-quilo lunch and snacks. With a boteco lunch and a sit-down dinner with drinks, plan roughly R$250–400 (€38–62). A rodízio churrascaria costs about R$130–250 per person before drinks and service, and prices in Leblon and Ipanema are higher than in Botafogo or Centro.
What time do people eat?
Lunch is the main weekday meal, from about 12:00 to 14:30. Botecos fill from late afternoon (happy hour after work), and dinner runs from about 20:00, later at weekends. Many places in Centro close in the evening and at weekends, while Zona Sul restaurants stay open late.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.