Rio is a city with a lot of fun things to do. You can wake up, take a walk on the beach, go for a good hike, visit a museum and end the day with a great night out in one of Rio’s many samba/rock/dance clubs. Unfortunately, eating out in the city is not always so simple. The prices aren’t terrible, but Rio’s streets, outside of the hyper-rich areas of Leblon and Ipanema, are filled with tiny ‘lunchonettes’ that all make the same food. Rio’s dining scene doesn’t compare to New York’s or Paris’. This usually doesn’t bother me too much because I don’t eat out very often. But when I suddenly get an urge for something different—Japanese, Indian, Ethiopian – my options are much more limited here than they were even in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin.
Still, I’ve gotten a chance to try out a few Japanese restaurants here in Rio. People say that the Japanese food in São Paulo is actually much better than anything you can get here. I can believe that, given São Paulo’s large population of nipo-brasileiros. But I still think that one restaurant in Rio, at least, deserves mention.
I have gone to Samurai over and over. The very first thing that appealed to me was Samurai’s awesome location next to Flamengo Park, which is a great place to take a walk, lie on Flamengo Beach or play sports. The restaurant doesn’t only benefit from its surroundings, though; once you step through the front door you find a beautiful space. It’s a little bit cramped, especially when full, but the decor is lovely. The sushi chef stands behind an appealing wooden display filled with food for the rodízio, there are Japanese paintings on the wall, and the interior is painted in neutral tones, making the atmosphere very calming, but not so dull as to be soporific. Samurai’s service, however, is truly standout. Rio has notoriously bad customer service. In fact, I’ve heard locals and tourists alike complain about it. But Samurai has super friendly and attentive waiters and staff.
But above all, obviously, is the food, which is delicious and fairly inexpensive for a nice night out. You can choose from various types of sushi and sashimi, and combination dishes with both included. You can also enjoy a few types of udon dishes and a variety of other Japanese fare. In addition to the Japanese dishes, the restaurant also serves some Chinese food, but I wouldn’t recommend going there for Chinese. It seems like most people go for the Japanese, and there are restaurants in Rio that specialize in Chinese food.
Samurai looks even better when you consider your other options. I recently went to Key Zen, another Japanese restaurant, in Copacabana, and was very disappointed. The food was mediocre, the waiter and staff were rude and rarely present, and the prices were actually a little higher than Samurai’s. I think this may have to do with the restaurant’s location just a few blocks from Copacabana Beach, which is much more famous than Flamengo Park. Any place with many tourists in the area will have inflated prices because of the constant flow of foreigners paying for food with advantageous exchange rates. The location itself must be more expensive, also raising prices. Unfortunately, the food at Key Zen clearly suffers. To add insult to injury, the restaurant was unbearably hot and crowded. And noise from a huge TV broadcasting Brazilian football games mixed with boisterous conversation at the table of 12 next to my girlfriend’s and mine. We moved outside and sat at a tiny table. Needless to say, it was not the greatest dining experience I’ve had.
So if you’re in Rio, skip Key Zen and do yourself a favor and go check out Flamengo Park and Samurai. They’re well worth it.
Kyle Rolnick fell in love with traveling at a young age while touring the U.S. crammed into an old minivan with his large family. That love has taken him all over the world, including a year-long stay in India.
After graduating from college, he worked at a law firm in San Francisco and then moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he arrived speaking not a word of Portuguese, ready to tackle yet another new city.
He still resides there, teaching English to a variety of students, including those preparing to enter the Instituto Rio Branco, Brazil’s only school of diplomacy. In his free time, Kyle likes to read and make music. You can find his work at www.myspace.com/kylerolnick.
Kyle is a native of Madison, Wisconsin and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
