Before I arrived in Brazil, I laid down an unltimatum with my long-suffering girlfriend; "Let's eat local food, we're going to Brazil, no Pizza, no burgers!". After a week, I cracked when I saw the Pizzaria de Cidade.
I love Pizza, despite my outburst. I especially love it when it has been cooked in a wood fired oven, which is what drew me towards it's welcoming doors. We were greeted by an enthusiastic waiter who showed us to our table and then faded discretely into the background until we wanted to order. Waiters for me should be like ninjas, always lurking in the background until they're needed, when they should silently swoop in and with a flash of their pen slice through their notepad.
The pizzas on offer were pretty standard in their combinations, think traditional rather than experimental. I'm all for banana and chocolate pizzas, but let's keep some food serious. We ordered the Neapolitan, big enough for two people. It arrived piping hot and smelled utterly amazing. The taste did not disappoint, the garlic was amazingly flavoursome but didn't crowd out the cheese and tomato.
One interesting feature of the restaurant is it's collection of olive oils. If Mad Max ever got re-envisaged in Brazil, I know where I'd be heading to refuel my car... They had what looked like hundreds of different bottles of oil, which the waiter would visit and bring over 4 bottles which he thought would complement the pizza in different ways. It was a nice extra touch that made the experience even more enjoyable.
To sum up then, I really loved eating at the Pizzeria, they got everything right and served some delicious and authentic pizza. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in Paraty. read more
