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Bar Urca

4.4 (129 reviews)
ModerateBrazilian, Bars
Closed 8:00 am - 10:30 pm

Bar Urca Photos

BAR URCA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

Recommended Reviews - Bar Urca

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Reviews With Photos

Cindy L.

Bar Urca Antonio was amazing and a perfect location to stop at to have a drink on our way back to our hotel. I have never had a colder beer in my life. It comes out of the freezer and it has plenty of frost on the bottle, plus they put it inside what they called their beer condom (a Styrofoam container for the bomber beers). We started downstairs, ordered beer, grab and go, at this famous little place and walked Across the street to the wall to watch the sunset. The history is great, and it's right across from Rio's famous skyline wall. We moved upstairs where my new friend, Antonio took care of us. It was a tiny little place upstairs that serve some great food, with maybe about 10 tables if you're lucky enough to sit by the window you could look at the sky line. I WOULD recommend, the coldest beer EVER!

Cheng Wei W.

Best meal in Rio! Seafood is so fresh and delish n priced reasonably . You cannot miss this meal when you are in Rio!

Shrimp in pumpkin and are fantastic server
Shawn H.

We just had a few appetizers and one large dish. But the food was fantastic. The restaurant is located upstairs, if you just want a few fried things to snack on they are available for grab and go at the downstairs stall. We had the shrimp with catupriry and crab pastels which were both phenomenal. For our main course the pumpkin filled with shrimp looked too good to pass up. And we were right. Creamy and rich with so many shrimp that you were likely to get at least 2 per spoonful. The pumpkin was not just for show, and it added a nice counterpoint to the rich shrimp broth. The service was old school, very friendly, and carried out by older more mature men. All this and the restaurant overlooks a beautiful bay with docked boats.

This might've been one of the best meals of my life.  Don't miss an opportunity to enjoy Rio's Bar Urca.
Tracey A.

The hike down from Sugarloaf Mountain didn't cause me to work up an appetite. Nor did the stroll past the picturesque beach, Praia Vermelha, and down neighboring streets. I almost succumbed to the charm of a busy restaurant sitting just above Praia da Urca before my son reminded me that my desire was to go to Bar Urca. Though Bar Urca was mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook that wasn't what caused me to forge ahead. It was something else that I couldn't recall until arriving there. Rounding the corner from the military post above Bar Urca, the landscape of patrons lining the seawall came immediately into view. Drinks in hand, fried goodies being noshed, I knew immediately: this was a place I'd seen Anthony Bourdain at in his series, "No Reservations". There's an upstairs restaurant which I wanted no part of. The day was gorgeous and a place along the seawall called. Purchases are made across the street from the seawall, downstairs from the restaurant, at a confusing counter. It was a relief to know that Bar Urca employs an English-speaking "concierge" who they called down to help with the ordering process (the first few things I tried to order were not available). Fried calamari they had, and from there I took the concierge's suggestion for some other perfectly fried seafood appetizers then pointed at several savory, pastry-wrapped items to round out the meal. Caipirinha and icy cold beer were a given. More perfect food and drink could not be imagined in this astoundingly idyllic setting. I lined my plates along the seawall to form a point of interest for the camera. For a moment, a very long moment, I was Anthony Bourdain. From the setting to the food, the drinks, and the company, Bar Urca was perfection. There's a reason you should seek out Bar Urca for an afternoon. It will remain a lasting memory long after you've savored the last morsel of food. I'm not certain what all they serve here but you can't err if you do as I did - drinks, some fried seafood appetizer platters, and some selections from the case. Ordering is a bit confusing if you don't speak Portuguese but that concierge helps immeasurably. Grand total for the first round of food and drinks ran about $45 US. The food left me sated but more drinks were called for if only to provide a reason to sit on that wall a little longer. If you're a tourist you are no doubt headed to Sugarloaf Mountain. Make time for Bar Urca as well. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

On the wall
Naomi K.

Gosh, last time we were here it was a holiday and it was soooo packed. This time we went on a weekday and an overcast one at that. So nobody was out and it was super easy to get a couple beers and other drinks and sit by the wall and relax. The view isn't quite as pretty when it's dreary outside but at least you're not cooking in the mid afternoon sun. This is definitely a good place to stop by after hiking up pão de açúcar. The town of Urca is cute and worth the short walk through the quite neighborhood of houses. Good choice of harder liquor but limited beer options. There's also food upstairs to accompany a midday snack.

Sobremesa+ last beer
Francisco L.

Waited for 40 min but was worth it. Had some kind of Portuguese paella and for dessert or Sobremesa as they call it , bananas with icecream + beer. Total bomb Delicious Must in Rio!!

Rodrigo T.

This is an amazing place to have dinner with your special someone or group of friends!! The views of the bay at sunset are incredible. The chef has created an amazing menu that specializes in the regional Brazilian cuisine and has add some classic favorites with an interesting twist.

Monica S.

If I were to live in Rio, Urca would definitely be my neighborhood of choice. With its tree lined streets, casual cariocas chatting along the low seawall, and colorfully petite fishing boats that dot the inner harbor, this seafront respite harkens back to simpler times. Capturing all the action (and views) the area has to offer is Bar Urca - and to think I'd almost left Rio without paying this excellent locale a visit! My dining companion suggested we opt for the traditional Camarão na Moranga - literally shrimp in a pumpkin - and the presentation alone was worth the order. Served up in a beautiful pumpkin, we lifted off the top to find a hearty stew filled with shrimp. Served next to rice, this dish was awesome. The ambiance of the place is rather old-fashioned, but that's certainly part of the appeal. After your meal, you can head downstairs to the outside bar and grab some beers to enjoy along the sea wall. I highly recommend it!

Tiffany H.

Nice spot with a great view! The food was delicious and the service was quick yet friendly. We sat outside in the shade after placing our order. The cod ball was different but tasty - just try it! The coprinina was refreshing!

Sippin' on cervejas
Nicole B.

the open air bar is AMAZING and the view from the sea wall is unparalleled. One of my favorite spots in Rio. I know about 2 words in Portuguese but the staff called someone over who politely helped us order in english. We got the fried shrimp plate and the octopus calamari with two (large) beers. The beers were a light pilsner, the perfect refreshment for a hot day. The food was also exquisite, the calamari was fresh and the shrimp came with a dipping sauce that was BOMB.COM. At around 50 American dollars, it felt like a good deal. It didn't hurt that the view is gorgeous. An absolute gem in Rio!

Cheese, Beef, & Fish empanadas
Rebecca R.

Perfect spot for an afternoon snack! We had just finished our one tourist attraction of the day, Sugarloaf Mountain and were looking for a bite to eat. Decided to be adventurous and ditch google maps for a bit and instead just walk until we stumbled upon anything that looked good. We first stumbled upon the town of Urca, which was pleasant enough. Super cute town along the water with great views and gorgeous homes to check out while you walk around. In our stroll we then came across Bar Urca. We opted to not do the whole indoor restaurant thing this time and to instead take our snack to the waters edge. We ordered a variety of delicious empanadas....beef, cheese, and fish along with a large beer that came in a small cooler with two glasses. We took it over to the stone wall that lined the water to enjoy the weather while taking in the views. A must do if you're in the area!

Caudino de fruto do mare

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10 years ago

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11 years ago

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11 years ago

Great spot to get a feel of Carioca lifestyle. Best little seafood pastries in Rio and really cold original recipe Antarctica beer

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11 years ago

Great restaurant! We had the shrimp in a pumpkin, out of this world!!! Very friendly and helpful staff with some english.

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Bar Urca Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Bar Urca

We came after visiting Sugar Loaf and enjoyed walking through the cute neighborhood to get here.

Mentioned in 3 reviews

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Boteco Belmonte - Coconut creme with tapioca ice cream

Boteco Belmonte

4.1(53 reviews)
4.6 kmCopacabana
$$$

Decent food, but very expensive for what it is. You can get a meal directly on the beach with a…read morebetter view for less

Here you will have to get some street parking as there are not that many paid parking spots and I…read moredid not happen to see any lots around, I would say to just either walk here if you are around or take the term of bus. The place is pretty spacious and have a lot of sitting in a balcony style at the outer bother of the restaurant that they provide stools at the side walk. The place is very busy at night so some wait should be expected but we came at a Sunday night and it was just a 5 to 10 minutes wait nothing too crazy. Once we sat down the same old, not enough menus for the people on the table story. they gave all 3 of us 1 menu and the waiter came super fast to get drink orders.... I Never been here so I did not know what to order and just with one menu was extremely hard to get the orders so we asked him to come back in a bit and bring us more menus. He did the menus but once we were ready it took a long while to have him actually take the orders, as a matter of fact we just asked someone else for our food, but the guy was a buster lol so he had to cll the waiter who came a long time later and that when we realized that we still had not had our orders in the system yet, a mess really. Finally we got our drink orders in and we wee happy. I was planing on getting an adult beverage but it all took so long and the place has no A/C so I got super warm and decided to get a water instead, so here is a prime example that bad service caused me to spend less as a result and the worse was that is was just cause I was too hot and didn't have a proper menu count and a waiter portly taking orders to expedite the drinks. Here the Brazilian people make a salary and the service is automatically charged on the bill, here in this country is notoriously know for BAD SERVICE as regardless of the quality of service they will make the same amount of money so the wait staff could not care less. A interesting thing and very smart that I noticed here was the fact that they have some waiters walking around with trays of shots, or trays of small appetizers, they go from table to table to up- sell the items, this was genius cause if I am not intentionally looking for an appetizer and now it is so close and accessible I will probably get one, and that Is exactly what happened to us. I ordered a couple of appetizers, these people are geniuses. EMPADA DE CARNE SECA COM CATUPIRY- to me this was a disaster, it was super salty and incredibly odd, I based on this little appetizer would never eat carne sea again. BOLINHO DE CAMARAO COM CATUPIRY- this one was much better than the fist one I mentioned but still I was not very happy with the flavor. it did taste like the eat of the city had taken a toll on the flavor of this appetizer. LARGE PIZZA AMATRICIANA- we got the large, but if you are like me from America I must tell you that the large here is not the same as a large out there in the US. this large was finished by 3 people and with very little effort. however I must say that again this pizza just as the appetizers was a disappointment to me, the only positive I can say here on this pizza is the fact that I loved the oregano taste in it. this was a thin crust pizza with bacon in cubes, the cubes were too cooked and they felt almost like rubber, they supposedly had onions added to the pizza, I could not find not one onion on this pizza, this pizza was blend very blend. Over all in my opinion, I am not sure why this place is so busy. the service is nothing special, there is no wifi, they do not know how to count to give a proper amount of menus. the place has no A/C and the food is at best mediocre. I will not be back.

Photos
Boteco Belmonte - Chocolate mousse

Chocolate mousse

Boteco Belmonte - Picanha to share

Picanha to share

Boteco Belmonte

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Botequim Informal

Botequim Informal

4.1(26 reviews)
3.5 kmCopacabana
$$

This restaurant has really become one of my favorite places to dine at while traveling to Rio. We…read moregot the feijoada and it was incredibly good. If you like a little spice with some of your food, be sure to discard the tobasco sauce and ask for the molho pimenta especial. Be sparing with how much you use, it can get pretty ridiculous. The service was great and the staff was friendly. I don't think they speak much English, descriptive hand gestures and menu props are welcome and likely offensive. I'm stopping here again before I leave. Our meal for two came out to around R$100 for four drinks and feijoada to share. Portion sizes are large.

We have come here multiple times for happy hours and now with the World Cup to sit back, relax and…read morecheer on the games with their 3 TVs. Its not that big of a space, but the open air concept, makes the space feel larger. We've gone in groups of 6-8 and people have enjoyed their beer, caipirinhas, and juices. For food we tend to split a Churrasco Misto: which comes on a hot plate cuts of beef, chicken and sausages. Rice and traditional farofa comes along with this dish. the only thing missing from it are Fries, but we always put in a separate order. Besides the Churrasco Misto, there are other versions of the Hot plate dishes: Only picanha, a Chorizo plate, and a seafood plate (which offers shrimp, octopus and squid and mussels). They also have other individual dishes and traditional brazilian bar food. For dessert we have had their Doce de Leite Pasteis which are great to share. Their Petit Gateau was ok, simple, nothing amazing. But if you are interested for something sweet to end the day they work too.

Photos
Botequim Informal - Our view from outdoor seating.

Our view from outdoor seating.

Botequim Informal - Churrasco Mista for 2 People

Churrasco Mista for 2 People

Botequim Informal - Outdoor seating

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Outdoor seating

Bar Urca - brazilian - Updated May 2026

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