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    Gaia Art & Café

    4.5 (20 reviews)
    ModerateVegetarian, Vegan
    Closed 12:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Gaia Art & Café Photos

    GAIA ART & CAFÉ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - Gaia Art & Café

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    Suco Ótimo y Mulher Linda
    Erai B.

    Love Sunday morning here. Music, usually there are meal specials. The vibe overall is a beautiful peaceful representation of the love for life the "Cariocas" have. If you're lucky ask for the racket. I'll take a picture here and they'll let you catch your own Mosquitoes as well if you want. There usually aren't many but if you're lucky this is one of my favorite games Lol :-) Love Rio!!

    My brownie was here.. I ate it all!
    Nessa V.

    I am a gluten/dairy free vegetarian, in Brasil it is extremely difficult to find a place that accommodates my needs. I am so grateful to have found this cute and creative restaurant! I just ate a gluten free, vegan brownie and it was amazing!

    Tables
    Naomi K.

    We found this place because it was the furthest place at the end of Leme. They advertise it as a vegan or vegetarian restaurant but they have somethings that aren't marked as either on their menu so there's options for everyone. They have have a fold out menu with colorful pictures listing the food and another condensed menu listing the same items but with prices. The last menu lists their drinks. They have a good selection of Noi beers listed, but they only had the Bianca left. I tried the blueberry and pear juice which was a good combination. The shiitake mushroom pizza took a while, but it seemed like it was just made to order and tasted pretty good with a thin vegan crust layered in cheese mushroom and sun-dried tomato. It was a personal pan size but fairly generous in portion. The Carioca quesadilla had fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and tomato wrapped in a tortilla with a cup of pesto sauce on the side. The pesto was amazing and really gave the sandwich flavor (which was a bit bland on its own). For dessert I had to have a pastel de nata which fortunately wasn't vegan (an egg custard) and the inside tasted pretty good though the pastry itself was a little soft. The cappuccino here wasn't that impressive for a cafe but the rest of the food was pretty good. There's unisex bathrooms in the back behind the counter and a cute communal sink creatively made from a silver bucket with a hidden drain. Service was friendly and the manager was around keeping her eye on everything. Seems like they speak English so there are plenty of gringos. I would like to come back here and listen to some live music.

    Vegan Burger.
    Ethan L.

    My wife and I found this place in Rio just yesterday. The food is delicious, fresh and very vegan friendly. We went 2 days in a row because it was that good! The staff was very nice and helpful. I highly recommend the quinoa burger and the frozen cappuccino. Very tasty!

    A galery of fun photos and a small stage for live music.
    Diego M.

    As a non vegan nor a gluten person you would feel awkward here, but is not the case. They got soda drinks, beer (even gluten free ones). The missing meat plates is a hands down for me. My wife on the other hand love it.

    Nice and ecological :)
    Stefan K.

    Nice and ecological :) A bit expensive and portions are not really big. Even in that small cafe sometimes live music is being performed.

    Get the little chocolate pot de creme . Amazingly decadent! Paired perfect with an espresso!

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    Great Service, live music in the night (added to price). Food was great, had a nice relax feel.

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    Gaia Art & Café Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Gaia Art & Café

    The 2nd day I ordered Falafel burger & a mojito (was too sweet) but the burger was awesome....

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Bio Carioca - The inside

    Bio Carioca

    3.9(22 reviews)
    2.7 kmCopacabana
    $$

    I hate when I take non-vegan friends to a vegan restaurant and they enjoy it more than I do…read more It was my fault, I've never had gnocchi in my life before and they make a vegan version of it here! Too bad it tastes like crap. Blechhh. The mushroom sauce was worthy, but the gnocchi itself was mushy and made me think I was eating half digested food. The amount of parsley on top also made me feel like I was eating grass. *Insert joke about how veg*ns eat nothing but grass* So why 4 stars? Because everything else on the table was so good! It actually took every fiber of my being to try and enjoy my dish while we tasted each others. Stir fried noodles? Amazing. Italian sandwich? Unexpectedly savory and full of flavor. I had to feign 'fullness' and stop eating. I was actually still pretty hungry but the gnocchi was that bad. :( We all had dessert and those were just super decadent and yummy! The caipirinhas and beer were all cold, refreshing, and perfect on a warm day. So yeah, I just chose the bad apple on the menu. Better luck next time. Oh! One more thing, the chef here? Can we say absolute Brazilian Eye Candy? Yummy, I wish I could trade my dish in for him. And I think he saw us (my and my 2 girlfriends) catching glances roughly every 2.5 seconds. A good looking man that can cook? Wonder who the lucky lady is! ;D

    So, many traditional Brazilian dishes and items feature meat. As a pescatarian, I can of course…read morehave fish (which I love), but I was a little nervous about how many things I'd actually be able to eat and enjoy during my time here. Well, come to find out, Brazil actually has a little vegetarian and vegan movement going on. Surprised? I was too, but glad that I found one veggie spot in Copacabana, Bio Carioca. There's a really low key vibe here, pretty much a no-frills environment. Yet, you can find an abundant amount of options, even featuring gluten free and vegan options. I was there for breakfast (which, isn't really a prime meal there, so, it's nice to find places serving it), so started out with a Cafe (an espresso shot, if you want more of a traditional "coffee", order an americano). Then, since I'm an egg fanatic, and even though it didn't seem like the most "exciting" thing on the menu, I ordered Omelete com pimenta biquinho e alho poro (leek and local bell pepper). You also get a choice of cheese in any of your omelets, mozzarella or ricotta. I chose ricotta, but, they messed that up and gave me mozzarella, whatever. The omelete was good, but what I especially loved was the local bell pepper, different from any domestic pepper I've had. These tiny little guys packed a lot of flavor, and a little bit of heat too.

    Photos
    Bio Carioca
    Bio Carioca
    Bio Carioca

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    Prana Vegetariano - Acarajé de palmito

    Prana Vegetariano

    4.8(17 reviews)
    3.8 kmCosme Velho
    $$

    Vim almoçar aqui enquanto estava visitando minha familia no Rio de Janeiro. Éramos um grupo grande…read moreentão fizemos uma reserva, que foi muito boa idea por que estava bem cheio. Por causa do local, tinha muito mosquito, mais e só pedir um spray que eles tem no bar-problema resolvido rapidinho. A comida foi maravilhosa! Minha tia pediu um acarajé e a couve-flor crocante como entradas para dividir enquanto esperávamos o resto do nosso grupo. Os dois pratos foram muito bom. Como meu prato eu pedir o nhoque de aipim- foi muito bom, mais bem diferente do que eu esperava. Não sei si chamaria esse prato de nhoque, mais foi muito saboroso. Também foi um prato bem grande então levei um nhoque entero pra casa pra comer mas tarde (e ainda estava uma delícia no próximo dia). Minha prima e vários outros pediram o steak de berinjela com risoto de limão. Muito muito bom também. Com certeza voltaria aqui si tivesse mas tempo no Rio...voltarei na próxima viagem.

    Food was amazing. Service very friendly. Really nice ambiance as well. Would highly recommend to…read moreanyone. We had the feojoada, nhoque, and the smash burger. We also tried all three of their juices (red fruit, passion fruit/mint, lemon/ginger), which were great. Our two kids also enjoyed the food. Only issue is that the address in Yelp and Uber is incorrect. They moved from their original location. This restaurant is very close to the Botanical Gardens at 37 R. Lopes Quintas, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro. When going, use the address in Google Map.

    Photos
    Prana Vegetariano - Steak de berinjela

    Steak de berinjela

    Prana Vegetariano - Nhoque de aipim crocante recheado

    Nhoque de aipim crocante recheado

    Prana Vegetariano - Menu changes every day. Food around lunch time, smoothies and snacks later in the day.

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    Menu changes every day. Food around lunch time, smoothies and snacks later in the day.

    New Natural

    New Natural

    4.4(17 reviews)
    4.1 kmIpanema
    $

    Definitely not vegetarian, has a lot of meat and seafood. Honestly, it's not the most appetizing…read morelocation downstairs, feels a bit crowded and haphazard, but they do have a good selection, especially veggies which can be hard to find in Brazil, and the upstairs seating area is nice and breezy. I am not sure what is organic, however the food does taste healthier than normal, with less salt and oil. Pick a plate, pick what you want, and get it weighed before you eat. Pay after. I have been to tons of these kilo type restaurants, love the concept and wish they had these in the states. A great place to come get a bite to eat, catered to the portions you want.

    Living year-round at ground zero for the organic/locavore movement it's easy to forget that much of…read morethe rest of the world doesn't have the access or ability to eat similarly. I'd eaten at New Natural's take out counter three times before learning the name of the place then did a double take when I saw the yelp listing describing it as an "organic shop" and "vegetarian restaurant". Travelers hailing from Northern California will find nothing here that resembles any organic shop or vegetarian restaurant they've ever been to. What New Natural is, from my point of view, is a) a bakery serving savory, meatless pastries and b) a buffet serving all sorts of things including non-vegetarian items. All the other Yelp reviews currently focus on the buffet (laid out in a small, very hot room behind the bakery) which I only viewed but didn't eat at. Let me tell you about the bakery: There, for BRL $6 apiece (less than $2 US) I chose many flaky, buttery pastries that easily constituted a meal even though they were consumed from a paper bag while standing in front of the store. Upon each visit they were offering a special - buy 2 get the 3rd free - which made this the cheapest meal one could imagine. Cheap and good and very near to Ipanema Beach. Many shops offer the traditional Brazilian pasteles but these were not those; these weren't greasy or fried. Of the pastries sampled, the fan favorite was one filled with tomato and ricotta. Wash a couple of these down with some fresh juice from the refrigerated case and you can be back on the beach in no time. I can't vouch for the buffet and I don't know about the organic or vegetarian labels. All I know is that this is the place for excellent, freshly made, savory, meatless pastries. They cost a mere pittance and fill you up darned good. If you're hitting Rio on a budget - or just seeking a quick, filling snack - New Natural's bakery counter is heaven sent. Just don't be searching for an American looking organic shop or you'll never find it.

    Photos
    New Natural
    New Natural
    New Natural - Buffet style. Really fresh really good

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    Buffet style. Really fresh really good

    Boteco Belmonte - Coconut creme with tapioca ice cream

    Boteco Belmonte

    4.1(53 reviews)
    2.6 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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    Joaquina - Tapioca ice cream

    Joaquina

    4.3(52 reviews)
    0.5 kmLeme
    $$

    After looking for authentic Brazilian food we came across this place & decided to give it a try…read more Drinks we had Moscow & Caperita both good, nice taste & good on the alcohol. On the food we tried Cassava crisp , lord all mighty was this good, great combo w the meat & the cassava. Next the Joaquin's picadinho , really good as well great flavors, great taste to the meat & the shredded rib rice , it was very good nice taste to this dish. We managed to have room left for dessert & had the Tapioca ice cream, another yummm really good & just the right amount of sweetness. This place seems to be very popular, we tried to come back another day but the wait was too long & we just didn't have the time to spare otherwise we would have waited. Nice looking place inside, we sat outside where they have a nice set up service is great they are very attentive, prices are reasonable & the food was delicious for sure worth the try.

    Came here and had a great experience. Service was good. Servers were able to make us comfortable…read moreand speak English, which was nice. It's a cute chill spot for dinner and drinks. Honorable mentions: Shredded Beef Rice- was delicious. Rice cooked to perfection and the beef had amazing flavor. Joaquina's picadinho- beef was a salty for my taste but flavors were delicious. Tapioca Shrimp- these were sooo good appetizers. Good size shrimps and the flavors were delicious. Pasteis (shrimp)- delicious! Came with 2 smaller empanada-type pastries. We wanted to order Pork Rinds and Mini Shrimp Burgers but ran out early that day. We ate around 8 pm so go earlier if you want to try. Definitely a great culinary experience.

    Photos
    Joaquina
    Joaquina - Veggie Stroganoff, Chef's Rice, Fish in Shrimp Sauce

    Veggie Stroganoff, Chef's Rice, Fish in Shrimp Sauce

    Joaquina

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    Gaia Art & Café - vegetarian - Updated May 2026

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