Bar do Mineiro

Bar do Mineiro is a traditional bar and restaurant on Rua Paschoal Carlos Magno in Santa Teresa, and one of the best-known places to eat in the neighbourhood. With tiled walls, it has the look of a typical carioca bar.

The dish everyone talks about is the pastel de feijoada, served alongside a more traditional version of the pastel. Other favourites listed by Riotur, the city's tourism board, include bean pastries and chicken pastries made in the cabidela style, and carne seca cooked with squash and served with rice, beans and sautéed couve greens. The bar is also known for its cachaça, with more than 20 brands of Brazil's sugarcane spirit on offer, and for cold beer.

Desserts follow the same comforting style, with Romeu e Julieta and doce de leite served with cheese.

The bar is also a piece of neighbourhood culture. A 2022 Santa Teresa guide in Elle Brasil called the feijoada the house's flagship dish, recommended the bolinho de jiló com linguiça, a fritter of jiló with sausage, and described how the owner, Diógenes Paixão, shares stories about figures from Brazilian culture. The same guide noted that the bar has an art collection on display, with works by a range of artists, which gives the room more character than most bars of its kind.

Riotur lists the bar as open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 until midnight; check before visiting on a Monday or a public holiday. The phone number is +55 21 2221-9227.

Santa Teresa is a hilltop neighbourhood above Lapa and the centre, and the historic tram passes through it on the way from Carioca to Dois Irmãos, making a stop here a natural part of a tram ride. Largo do Guimarães, the small square at the heart of the neighbourhood, is one of the tram's main stops.

The bar suits groups of friends, couples and solo travellers who want to try classic Brazilian bar food at a modest price and to explore the long cachaça list. For a more formal meal in the same neighbourhood there is Aprazível, and the Escadaria Selarón links Santa Teresa with Lapa.