The artisanal town of Embu das Artes is a quaint one. You'll find small pedestrian-only streets…read morelined with small home decor and furniture boutiques along with tons of pop-up stalls filled with jewelery, shoes, knick knacks and other (sometimes) hand-crafted items. The options on where to eat are many, but we wandered off the heavily populated path to O Garimpo. The outdoor seating area is called the Bier Garten and for good reason, the menu is chock full of German delights and the beer menu is surprisingly varied (an uncommon find in a small town). The indoor seating was just as lovely and the clientele either already knew this place existed or happened upon it as we did. I'm guessing it's the former because both dining areas filled up rather quickly. The bratwurst I ordered wasn't my favorite, but that might be simply because (as it turns out) I don't like bratwurst style sausages. I'm more into the red sausages like chorizo (which you won't find here, sadly). My date went with the fish topped with capers and while it was pretty smothered in sauce, it was still a nice white fish that came lightly breaded in panko. For those craving Brazilian food, O Garimpo also offers items like bolinhos and feijoada and actually lots of other stuff too. A well-known fact is that this place offers great live music, typically rock.

What happens when you have a Brazilian man with a German wife and a Brazilian lover? Or is it a…read moreBrazilian wife and a German lover? Whatever the situation is, you get O Garimpo, a quaint restaurant in Embu that serves up both Brazilian and German dishes! After walking around the marketplace for quite some time, my friend's grandpa was getting hungry so we decided to break for lunch. My friend's mom frequents O Garimpo while in Embu, so we walked up the hill from the marketplace to the restaurant. Its kind of hard to tell where O Garimpo is...if you blink you could easily miss it. The actual sign that says "O Garimpo" is a small brown sign, so you should look for the "Biergarten" sign over a walkway instead. When we went on a Saturday around 12:30pm, the restaurant was busy but not packed. We were seated at a table outdoors looking over the garden next to the restaurant. The views of the garden were nice and peaceful...such a change in scenery from the hustle and bustle of the marketplace down the hill. My friend's mom and aunty ordered several of O Garimpo's Brazilian offerings that we shared family style, and everything was delicious. We had feijoada (black beans w/chunks of meat), crispy pork skins, and a savory seafood stew with sides of Brazilian rice, oranges, and veggies. Though it didn't seem like we ordered enough, the feijoada was surprisingly really filling! I don't eat beans on a regular basis at home, but the bean dishes in Brazil, especially O Garimpo's feijoada, were spectacular. The seafood stew had a mix of shrimp, squid, fish, and peppers, and the spices used in the stew reminded me of curry. I mixed a little bit of everything together and, although it looked gross, it tasted great! The service here was also noteworthy, as waiters checked on us frequently to make sure we were all good. O Garimpo is definitely a great spot to eat at if you are visiting Embu! TL;DR - great service, German and Brazilian menu options, and amazing feijoada!

Cute little restaurant with great service and food! They have a squirrel park in the back and a…read moretrampoline which is perfect for the little ones while waiting for the food.