Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
ALEGRE'S ART CAFÉS
Porto-alegrenses
love their
art centres
and
museum cafés
, and one of the real pleasures of
the city is sipping coffee and nibbling snacks in one of these elegant establishments:
Bistrô do MARGS
Praça da Alfândega
T
51 3018
1380,
W
margs.rs.gov.br.
Located inside the Museu
de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul and with tables on the
praça
itself, this is one of the few restaurants in
the area. Food is simple - pastas, steak, salads and the
like - but good.
Mon-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat & Sun
11am-7pm.
Café dos Cataventos
Casa de Cultura Mario
Quintana, Rua dos Andradas 736
T
51 3024 5588.
Cosy café with a name inspired by Quintana's first book
of poems, the Rua dos Cataventos, and a romantic
location under a dome with views across the city.
Feijoada
is served on Fri, with live music Wed-Fri.
Mon-Fri 11.30am-11pm, Sat & Sun 2.30-10pm.
Caféteria Press Café
Fundação Iberê Camarg, Av
Padre Cacique 2000
T
51 3266 1943.
Stylish modern
café with great espresso, and the best place in the city to
watch the sunset.
Tues-Sun noon-7pm (Wed
noon-9pm).
Café do Theatro
Theatro São Pedro Praça da Matriz
T
51 3211 4000.
An old theatre café located in the
main foyer but best known for the outdoor balcony that
overlooks Praça da Matriz.
Tues-Fri 4-7pm, Sat & Sun
from 4pm to first performance.
Cachorro Quente do R
Praça Dom Sebastião
T
51 3019 3436.
This legendary cart has been cooking up
hot dogs (
cachorro
) in front of Colégio Rosário since 1962
(several imitators have since emerged). Choose your
sausage type (
salsicha
is typical hot dog;
linguiça
is a
meatier, cured sauage), then what you want on it; mushy
peas, parsley, ketchup, mustard or chilli. The gut-busting
finished product (R$6.25-7.25) is smothered in their secret
sauce and grated cheese.
Daily 11am-midnight.
Café do Mercado
Mercado Público Loja 73
T
51 3029
2490.
Best Brazilian coffee in the market, noted for
cappuccinos (R$5.40) and espressos (R$3.50), with a few
tables inside and outside on the plaza. You can also buy
freshly
performances (Mon-Fri 8.15-11pm, Sat & Sun 12.30-3pm &
8.15-11pm).
Daily 11.30am-3pm & 7.30pm-midnight.
★
★
Gambrinus
Mercado Público Loja 85
T
51 3226
6914,
W
gambrinus.com.br.
Visit the city's oldest
restaurant (founded in 1889 and named for the uno
cial
patron saint of beer) for a posh, old-fashioned southern
Brazil experience where you can sample some real classics:
rabada
(oxtail), a fillet of beef with fried eggs, or salted cod.
Filet mignon
costs from R$28 and most steaks are R$35-46.
Mon-Fri 11am-9pm, Sat 11am-4pm.
Haiti Lanches
Av Otavio Rocha 421
T
51
3224 2179.
This 1955 diner oozes character, with a bar, huge cake
selection and tightly packed eating area (get a coupon
before you enter), serving classics such as “
a la minuta
”
(stew), or you can walk up to the second floor for the lunch
buffet (daily 11am-3pm; R$13 plus R$3.10/kg).
Mon-Sat
6.30am-10pm, Sun 10am-6.30pm.
roasted
coffee
beans
here.
Mon-Fri
8.30am-7.30pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
★
Chalé da Praça XV
Praça 15 Novembro
T
51 3225
2667,
W
chaledapracaxv.com.br.
Porto Alegre
institution, opposite the market, in a gorgeous chalet
dating back to 1885 (with Art Nouveau alterations in
1911), and a menu of the usual café snacks and drinks -
grab a chair on the outdoor terrace to soak up the scene.
Daily 11am-11.30pm; happy hour daily 6-7pm.
Confeitaria Matheus
Av Borges de Medeiros 421
T
51
3224 2179.
Classic downtown bakery and café founded in
1947, with a bustling interior and an amazing cake selection.
Popular for breakfast (order the
dupla café cortado
, coffee
with steamed milk, and the calorie-packed
sanduíche
farroupilha
, a baguette with cheese and ham). Coffee costs
from R$2.
Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat 7am-9pm.
Galpão Crioulo
Parque Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho
T
51
3226 8194,
W
churrascariagalpaocrioulo.com.br.
A huge
and always reliable
churrascaria
in the city centre near the
Centro Cultural Usina do Gasômetro, with a bewildering
selection of meats in its
rodizio
and a good range of salad and
vegetable offerings (it's the usual all-you-can-eat set-up). In
the evenings there's
gaúcho
music and traditional dance
OUTSIDE THE CENTRE
Chez Philippe
Av Independência 1005, at Fernandes
Vieira, Independência
T
51 3312 5333,
W
chezphilippe
.com.br.
Housed in a beautiful, early twentieth-century
residence, this is arguably Porto Alegre's best restaurant and
certainly its best French restaurant. The French chef - Philippe
Remondeau - is imaginative, and not afraid of combining
local ingredients with traditional recipes. Although expensive,
the five-course menu at R$128 per person is good value.
Mains cost R$60-105.
Tues-Thurs 7.30-11.30pm, Fri & Sat
7.30pm-midnight, Sun noon-3pm.
★
Na Brasa
Av Ramiro Barcelos 389, Floresta
T
51 3225
2205,
W
nbsteak.com.br.
In the opinion of many locals this is
Porto Alegre's best
churrascaria
- quite something in a city
where people appreciate meat. Located between downtown
and Moinhos de Vento, this unpretentious-looking restaurant
boasts
rodizio
offerings of the highest quality and an excellent
and tremendously varied salad bar. Dinner costs around R$50
