Rio de Janeiro Jazz at The Maze Inn Palaphita Kitch Cabaret das ...

Brazilian nightlife: Rio and São Paulo
Brazil's two biggest cities couldn't be more different. In Rio de Janeiro the beach is a
religion, in São Paulo it's work. But they have one thing in common – great nightlife.
Just ask the locals...
The Guardian, Saturday 19 June 2010
Article history
Have a butcher's ... Z Carniceria bar, São Paulo, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Jazz at The Maze Inn
This B&B is on top of a hill in a favela (don't worry, there's a constant police presence)
and is one of the coolest places in Rio right now. As well as beds, it has a great view
across to Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf – and on the first Friday of the month owner
Bob Nadkarni puts on a live music night of jazz, bossa nova and Brazilian standards.
You can dance around the terrace, and if you've had too much to drink stay the night. In
the morning see a sunrise you'll never forget.
• Rua Tavares Bastos 414, casa 66, Catete (+ 55 21 2558 5547, jazzrio.info). A combie
runs up the hill from the corner of Rua Tavares Bastos and Rua Bento Lisboa. Doubles
from £38 B&B
Celina Schlieckmann, textile designer
Palaphita Kitch
On the edge of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas – known simply as "Lagoa", or "Lake" – this
bar and restaurant has views of Corcovado mountain and the Christ the Redeemer
statue. Nice atmosphere with open-air seating, beautiful people and stunning views. The
place specialises in making drinks and cocktails with tropical Brazilian fruits. Try the
caipirinha made with tamarind. Perfect for happy hour.
• Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, Parque do Cantagalo, Lagoa (palaphitakitch.com.br)
Silvio Maurício Gomes, head concierge of Sofitel Copacabana
Cabaret das Rosas
This city-centre club is run by by Adriana Lima, of the famous Dama de Ferro
electronic-music club in Ipanema. The vibe at Rosas is 1920s' Berlin burlesque set in a
beautiful colonial building with the top floor turned into a stylish bar/club with live
performances, antique furniture and great cocktails. Take care walking around this area
– get a cab to the door.
• Rua Conselheiro Saraiva 12, Centro
Nadia Nightingale, writer and PR, based in Rio

Bar dos Descasados
This cool bar is up in the arty Santa Teresa neighbourhood, in the swanky designer
Santa Teresa Hotel, once a coffee plantation mansion. It's beautifully romantic and
away from the bustle of downtown – perfect for a caipirinha at sunset.
• Rua Almirante Alexandrino 660 (santa-teresa-hotel.com), rooms around £250 per
night NN
Olimpo restaurant
Few Cariocas (Rio natives) know about this excellent restaurant with its panoramic
view of Guanabara Bay. It was designed by the great Brazilian architect Oscar
Niemeyer and is in Charitas, Niterói, on the other side of the bay. You can get there by
boat – the ride alone makes it worthwhile. Take a ferry at Praça XV, in the city centre,
to Charitas and get off at the restaurant pier, also designed by Niemeyer.
• Estação Hidroviária de Charitas, Avenida Quintino Bocaiúva (+55 21 2711 0554,
restauranteolimpo.com.br)
Christina Baum, guest programmer of Brazilian Words at the London Literature
Festival at the Southbank Centre
Jazz and caipirinha ice-cream
For the best ice-cream in Rio, go to Amarena on Avenida Barata Ribeiro in
Copacabana. It does fantastic flavours – everything from caipirinha and ginseng to
exotic Amazonian fruits. Then cross the street to Modern Sound, the best CD shop in
Rio, and listen to free jazz concerts at the bar (it also has a bistro). Or walk to the beach
and watch the breathtaking sunset at the Forte de Copacabana.
• amarena.com.br; modernsound.com.br/ingles; fortedecopacabana.com CB
Carioca da Gema
This is the perfect place if you want to dance samba, drink beers and caipirinhas and eat
Brazilian snacks such as bolinho de bacalhau (codfish balls), pastel de queijo (cheese
pasties) and mandioquinha frita (fried manioc). It hosts all kinds of Brazilian live music
and everyone is up for a dance.
• Rua Mem de Sá 79, Lapa (barcariocadagema.com.br) CB
São Paulo
Z Carniceria
The bottom end of Rua Augusta is where the beautiful people hang out, and one of the
best bars in the area is Z Carniceria, in a former butcher's shop. With hooks hanging

from the white-tiled walls combined with red lighting, it feels a bit trashy, but in a sexy
way. It does delicious snacks and, ironically, the vegan options are great: try the veggie
version of the house's classic meat sandwich, buraco quente.
• Rua Augusta 934, Consolação (zcarniceria.com.br)
Bebel Abreu, graphic designer (mandacarudesign.com)
Alberta#3
Alberta#3
This place opened last month in República, the old city centre, which is being
modernised. In the basement classic rock'n'roll is played, and on the first floor there are
cosy couches and a bar with a retro vibe and an interesting mix of arty and media types.
• Avenida São Luís 272, República (alberta3.com.br)
Isabela Lages, lead singer of cabaret trio Suíte
Ó do Borogodó
This tiny bar is a great place to listen to good live samba bands, both old and new. Since
it's really tiny, it gets full really quickly and then you can only get in once someone else
leaves . . . although this is part of its charm. It's packed with young people, mostly
students, and the music is always good. The best time to come is on a Sunday night. It
opens at 7pm – be sure to get there early.
• Rua Horácio Lane, 21, Pinheiros
Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá, comic book artists. They will be appearing at Brazilian
Words (details above)
Mercearia São Pedro
This is always full of writers, artists, fashion designers, directors and actors. It used to
be a grocery and a video store, but now it's a restaurant and a bar, although it still sells
books. It's open for lunch (delicious and not expensive) and doesn't close until late. It's
open every day, but Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best nights.
• Rua Rodésia 34, Vila Madalena FM & GB
NEU Club
This is a great place if you want to dance all night to a good range of rock and pop
music. Saturday is the best night, when the dancefloor is a sea of deliriously happy

people. It opens at 11pm and soon enough there's always a long line of people waiting
to get in, so don't get there too late.
• Rua Dona Germaine Burchard 421, Água Branca (neuclub.com.br) FM & GB
Studio SP
This is one of the best places in town to check out new Brazilian bands. You can hear
everything from DJs to jazz to mangue beat, music from the northern city of Recife. On
weekdays there is no entrance charge for early-evening shows – a bonus in this
expensive city.
• Rua Augusta 591 (studiosp.org)
Juliano Zappio, publishing director, Jungle Drums, the magazine for Brazilian
culture in London