Paraty guide · Restaurants

Where to eat in Paraty: the reception guide

Paraty has more good restaurants than you will have days. This is not a list of the best ones: it is what we actually recommend at reception when someone asks where to eat tonight. Many of these places open only in the evening, so it is worth checking before you set out.

Seafood moqueca in a dark pan: a fillet of white fish, prawns, squid rings, peppers and tomato — Seafood moqueca, at Refúgio. Photo: Refúgio / Unsplash

For a special evening

Banana da Terra. Chef Ana Bueno’s kitchen, thirty years in the historic centre and by now close to a culinary landmark of the town. It is where we send anyone who is celebrating something. Book ahead.

Quintal das Letras. In the historic centre, quiet, for dinner without hurry.

Bartholomeu. Contemporary, in the centre.

For any evening

Pupus. Contemporary cooking with the sea at the centre of the menu, in a room of turquoise shutters and green tiled floors. Out of that kitchen come things like the paella de frutos do mar, with seasonal seafood, pearl rice, roasted onion, lemon mayonnaise, coriander and black pepper; the couve flor al Josper, cauliflower grilled over coals with cassava cream, green curry, black-eyed-pea vinegar, flowers and PANCs (Brazil’s wild edible greens); the tataki de peixe do dia, the day’s fish seared over the fire with tucupi, nori, a salad of flowers and PANCs, and salsa macha; and the texturas de peixes, cured with roe, smoked over raw sugar, and the crisp skin with cane molasses.

Seafood paella in an iron pan seen from above: octopus tentacle, mussel, squid, roasted onion and yellow rice — The seafood paella at Pupus.

Tataki of the day’s fish: seared medallions wrapped in nori over a tucupi broth, with grilled avocado, chilli and sesame — The tataki of the day’s fish.

The dining room at Pupus: turquoise doors and windows, green tiled floor, woven lampshades and round wooden tables — The room, by day.

Thai Brasil. Rua do Comércio 308A, in the historic centre. Do not confuse it with Thai Paraty: they are two different restaurants, and this is the one we recommend. The best Thai food in town.

Punto Di Vino. Italian, with an Italian owner: pizza, pasta and risotto, live music that never gets in the way, and a very pleasant courtyard.

Refúgio. Near the quay. On a moonlit night the light falls on the water of the bay and the view makes the dinner by itself.

A laid table at Refúgio: coral-blue plates on raffia mats, flowers, candles and an antique mirror on a stone wall — The table laid, at Refúgio.

Primitivo. Meat, mostly.

Fugu. Japanese.

Dolce Vita. For pasta.

Worth leaving the centre for

Casa Paratiana. On the Estrada da Pedra Branca, next door to the Paratiana cachaça distillery. Also Ana Bueno, and here she cooks caipira country food: suckling pig cooked in a tin, chicken cuscuz. There is a 120,000-litre vat in the dining room. If you have already been to Banana da Terra, this is the other half of the same story.

Marina. At the far end of Pontal beach, a few minutes’ walk from the hotel along the sand. The chef came from São Paulo and the food is good.

After dinner

Sarau. Rua Marechal Deodoro 241, in the historic centre, a few steps from the Igreja Matriz, with good tables outside. Later the music gets louder and people end up dancing inside: it is the liveliest place in the centre, and excellent if that is the evening you want. We recommend it for the drinks and the music. We cannot speak for the food, we have not had dinner there.

Quintal Verde. Live music, a relaxed room, good drinks and friendlier prices. Pets welcome. And it opens for lunch, which around here is rarer than it sounds.

Good to know

Nearly everything is dinner only. Most of these restaurants do not open at lunchtime. If you are planning to eat out at midday, check before you cross the bridge.
On public holidays and during FLIP, book. The historic centre fills up, and the best places are taken days in advance.
Reception will book for you, just ask on WhatsApp.

Updated September 2026