Copacabana may be the best known neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. ‘Copa’, in Rio’s South Zone, is home to one of the most famous beaches in the world, totaling four kilometers in length. While laden with many luxury apartments and hotels, it has also seen a t rise in more informal gathering places and botecos (Brazilian pubs), where travellers and Cariocas alike can enjoy some live music, dancing, and many tasty petiscos.
Escape the hot Rio sun and sit in the outdoor shade of this Copacabana boteco. Boteco Cevada is the quintessential neighborhood joint, offering casual fare and small plates to pair with cool draught beer, called chope. Open until late, try the empanadas and pastels, or the pizza to share on your way home from a night out.
Boteco Cevada, Praça serzedelo Correia, 27 – Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, +55 21 2547 7905
For a late night meal served fast, a snack to share among friends, or even just a drink, Bar Eclipse in Copacabana is the place to go. Known for their large portions of Brazilian and American fare offered 24 hours a day, try the balinhos de bacalhau, or fried codfish balls, to wind down a night out the local way. Their big screen TV has football on at all hours of the day, making Bar Eclipse a great place to beat the heat and bring on the night while watching your favorite Brazilian club.
If you can foot the bill for a more glamorous outing, consider visiting the Copacabana Piano Bar at the five star Belmond Copacabana Palace. With cover charges that occasionally push R$120, the piano bar is perhaps the most sophisticated option for a drink in Rio. Mix it up with the rich and famous of the metropolis with expertly-crafted aperitifs, the reminiscent sound of a jazz piano, and the refreshing breeze of the South Atlantic. Just steps from the Copacabana Promenade, this legendary hotel offers some of the best views of the city and the sea.
One of the most storied Copacabana bars, Cervantes has been dishing up some of the best sandwich and beer combinations in Brazil since its inception 60 years ago. Offering some of the meatiest, most tender carnivore concoctions in Rio, Cervantes sticks to what it’s good at, which is providing a relaxed ambiance where one can sink their teeth in top-grade Brazilian meat without restraint. Order a chope and enjoy one of their signature sandwiches until 4am each night. Try the sanduiche de pernil com abacaxi (the pork sandwich with pineapple), a truly decadent meal of meat and carbs.
Cervantes, R. Barata Ribeiro, 7 – Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
