Eating at LaMole is more of a trip down memory lane rather than a culinary indulgence. This place has been open forever, and I can remember coming here when I was just a little kid. My favorite thing to get was gnocchi al forno, and I usually burned the hell out of my hard palate from eating it too soon after it came out of their oven.
No, their food here isn't haute cuisine, but many of the dishes are tasty, and it's a good place to have a beer, share a plate, and do some all-important people watching on a nice little side street in Rio. I sort of liked the old-school feel of having a zillion waiters hovering all over, changing your couvert plates and refilling drinks rickety split, all the while having the sights, sounds, and smells of a city I have loved for so long surround me.
So, if you didn't grow up in Rio, LaMole is probably not the place for you... try one of the trendier places you can find on Yelp. But if you did grow up here, and are coming back to visit, then you may be pleasantly surprised that this little place still survives and will pretty much be the same as you remembered it. read more