Oro

Oro is the restaurant of chef Felipe Bronze, one of the best-known names in Rio's dining scene, and it holds two Michelin stars in the 2026 Michelin Guide Brazil. It occupies an elegant space on Avenida General San Martin in Leblon, a block from the beach.

The cooking aims to fuse Brazilian roots with avant-garde technique, and fire is the main element of the kitchen. Guests choose between two menus, called Afetividade and Criatividade, which roughly translate as affection and creativity. The Michelin inspectors single out oysters with guava granita and biquinho pepper, along with a sequence of snacks eaten by hand, some of them with Japanese inspiration. The wine side of the meal is led by sommelier Cecilia Aldaz.

Oro first came to wider attention when Latin America's 50 Best gave it its One to Watch award in 2017, and it entered that list in 2018. The 50 Best describes the experience as cooking with fire, hands-on and built on local ingredients, and has highlighted dishes such as an oyster with caipirinha, a cassava and rump steak tartare and a roasted tomato and persimmon moqueca.

For those who enjoy watching chefs at work, a counter for four faces the kitchen, the best seats for seeing the fire-based cooking up close. The dining room is air-conditioned, valet parking is available and credit cards are accepted. Reservations are handled by the restaurant directly.

As one of the city's two-star restaurants, Oro is a destination for a special evening rather than a casual meal, and its price level reflects that. It suits couples and food-focused travellers, and the Michelin Guide also describes it as suitable for families.

With the restaurant a block from Leblon beach, a walk on the seafront before dinner is easy to fit in. The restaurant can be reached on +55 21 3841-6859, and details are on its official website.

Oro sits alongside Oteque and Mee among the Michelin-starred restaurants in this guide. Where Oteque is defined by its single seasonal menu and Mee by its pan-Asian cooking, Oro's signature is its open fire and Felipe Bronze's take on Brazilian flavours.