Rio Roots Food Tour with 12+ Tastings

A person holding a plate with a sandwich. 1

A person pouring a liquid from a bottle into two small white bowls on a granite countertop. 2

Rio Roots Food Tour with 12+ Tastings

By A Chef's Tour

Free cancellation available

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Features

Free cancellation available
4h
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Overview

Think Rio de Janeiro is all beaches, samba, and caipirinhas? Think again. Join us for a culinary adventure through Centro, Rio's historic heart, where traders, immigrants, writers, politicians, and everyday Cariocas have been eating, drinking, and debating for centuries. Over 12+ tastings, you'll explore hidden bars, bustling markets, and old-school eateries that most visitors walk straight past.

Along the way, feast on Lebanese kibe and esfiha in the city's historic Saara district, snack on golden cod fritters, grilled sardines, slow-cooked beans, and succulent pork picanha, sip a refreshing lime batida made with cachaça, and sink your teeth into one of Rio's most legendary sandwiches stuffed with roast pork and sweet pineapple.

Between bites, you'll discover grand churches, one of the world's most spectacular libraries, lively markets, and the stories that shaped the city. Come to Rio de Janiero for the beaches, stay for the food.

Activity location

Centro
- Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Meeting/Redemption Point

Igreja de São Francisco de Paula
- s/n Largo São Francisco de Paula
- 20051-070, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Rio Roots Food Tour with 12 Tastings

4h
English

Travelers

Language options: English

Starting time: 10:00

Price details

P 3,835.38 x 1 AdultP 3,835.38

Total

30% off

Until Sun, Jul 5

What's included, what's not

Max 8 exclusive guests, smallest group size in Rio de Janeiro (private tour or 9+ available)
Bottled water included
Moveable feast with 6-7 stops around the streets of old Rio de Janeiro
Led by professional foodie guides
12+ food tastings included, more than any other Rio de Janeiro food tour
Alcoholic drinks excluded (except a Cachaça at a botequim)
Pick up and drop off from hotel excluded

Know before you book

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Activity itinerary

Centro

Rio de Janeiro is a city of contradictions. Granite mountains plunge into the Atlantic, colonial churches sit beneath modern towers, and office workers in pressed shirts squeeze into century-old bars for a quick beer and a plate of something fried. Behind the beaches and carnival clichés lies another Rio, one built on immigration, trade, working-class traditions, and an obsession with food. Our Rio de Janeiro tour takes you into the historic Centro district for 12+ tastings, exploring the flavours, stories, and characters of the city. Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of vendors means we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal so no-one is disappointed: ✖️ Pescatarians, no seafood diets, gluten intolerance, and pescatarians would have a reduced number of tastings ✖️ Unsuitable for severe allergies due to the risk of traces and cross-contamination, halal, vegan, vegetarian, and lactose-free diets

Centro

Beneath the shadow of historic churches and grand imperial architecture, we begin in Centro, the beating heart of old Rio. As we wander streets that have witnessed revolutions, royal visits, and centuries of trade, our first stop is one of the city's oldest cafés. Here, locals have gathered for generations over strong coffee and sweet pastries. We start with a mini madrilenho, a delicate custard and guava-filled bread that reflects Rio's long-standing Portuguese influences.

Real Gabinete Portugues Da Leitura

From there, we enter the Saara district, a bustling neighbourhood shaped by waves of Lebanese immigrants who arrived seeking opportunity and helped transform the city's food culture forever. Inside a family-run eatery, we'll sample crisp kibe de carne and flaky spinach and ricotta esfiha, washed down with an ice-cold Brazilian tea. Along the way, we'll pause inside the breathtaking Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, a literary masterpiece often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful libraries.

Centro

Continuing through Centro's maze of historic streets, we stop at a beloved institution that has been serving Cariocas for decades. Here, golden bolinho de bacalhau emerge fresh from the fryer while slices of succulent pork picanha suína showcase Brazil's love affair with perfectly grilled meat. To accompany the feast, we'll raise a glass of batida de limão, a refreshing cachaça cocktail that has fuelled countless conversations across Rio's bars and botequins.

Mercado Popular da Uruguaiana

Passing the colourful façade of the Santuário de Santa Rita, we make our way to a modern botequim. This is the Rio many visitors never see. Plates arrive with grilled sardines, tender beef tongue, and slow-cooked feijão, simple dishes that reveal the city's deep Portuguese and working-class roots. The atmosphere is lively, the recipes time-tested, and the stories flow as freely as the drinks. A short stroll later brings us to Mercado Popular Uruguaiana, one of Rio's great marketplaces. If fortune is on our side, we may catch a local confectioner preparing coquinho queimado, a sticky coconut sweet that has delighted generations of Brazilians. But save room, because one of the city's most legendary sandwiches awaits. Stuffed with slow-roasted pork and sweet pineapple, the pernil com abacaxi is a masterpiece of sweet-and-savoury balance and a Carioca favourite for decades.

Centro

We finish as Rio does best: with something sweet and strong. A warm cassava flatbread filled with coconut and condensed milk provides a final taste of Brazil's remarkable diversity of ingredients. Then comes coffee. In true Rio fashion, it's laced with a splash of cachaça, offering a fitting farewell to a city where celebration, conversation, and good food have always gone hand in hand. There's more to this Rio de Janeiro food tour than the dishes themselves. It's an opportunity to understand the communities, traditions, and hidden corners that shaped one of the world's most fascinating cities. While it's possible to wander these streets alone, you'd be hard-pressed to uncover the stories, characters, and flavours that our tastemaker guides bring to life.

Location

Activity location

Centro
- Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Meeting/Redemption Point

Igreja de São Francisco de Paula
- s/n Largo São Francisco de Paula
- 20051-070, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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