Where to Eat in Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is the capital of Minas Gerais, and figuring out where to eat in the city is genuinely a challenge, since there are so many restaurants for every taste and budget.

Minas Gerais cuisine reflects a meeting of different races and cultures, and because of that, it has a wide range of traditional dishes. Among the main ones, without a doubt, are chicken with okra, tutu de feijão, feijão tropeiro, crispy roast suckling pig, vaca atolada, and pão de queijo. But don’t be fooled into thinking Minas Gerais food culture is only about savory dishes.

Its sweets are also nationally recognized, like goiabada cascão, which pairs with Minas cheese to make the famous Romeu e Julieta.

We went to check out some of the most recommended spots in the city, and we’re listing them here in order of how much we liked them, to help you plan your own itinerary.

Xapuri Restaurante

Xapuri Restaurante (Instagram) is a traditional Minas Gerais spot in Pampulha. We think you should add it to your must-visit list, since the food is delicious. The best tip we can give you is to arrive early, especially on holidays or weekends, since the lines here run for miles.

We ordered several portions to try a variety of dishes, like: fried cassava with mozzarella (R$24.00), fried pork ribs served nice and crisp (R$79.90), sausage with onion made in-house (R$46.90), and pork belly cracklings (R$39.90).

There are other starter and main course options too, just to illustrate: half a chicken with beans, collard greens, okra, and angus (R$109.90), pot-roasted pork loin with rice, tutu, and golden potatoes (R$105.90), aged picanha with beans, egg farofa, and potatoes (R$218.90), most serving 2 people.

The desserts are also genuinely Minas Gerais style, and charged by weight, meaning you can try a bit of everything. On your way out, finally, there’s complimentary coffee with corn cake, also really tasty.

Xapuri Restaurante

Location: Rua Mandacarú, 260 - Trevo. Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday, 11 AM to 6 PM.

Ah Bon Bistrot

A restaurant carrying the charm of a Parisian bistro, known for its pâtisserie and confectionery. So we took the chance to try both the savory dishes and dessert.

The first thing worth noting is that its menu is quite extensive, leaning contemporary, so it offers everything from fish to meat, or just a good salad.

We visited the Vila da Serra location, and we loved everything. Beyond the beautiful neighborhood, the restaurant has a lovely atmosphere, attentive waitstaff, and on top of that, a wine cellar that catches your eye the moment you walk in.

For starters, we ordered Canastra cheese pastel (R$26.00), which came out nice and crisp with generous filling. Next, for the main course, we chose a mini moqueca with fish, squid, and shrimp (R$98.00), and sesame-crusted tuna with balsamic reduction and pupunha spaghetti with truffled parmesan cream (R$79.00). Both dishes were really good and generously served.

To wrap things up, we ordered profiteroles with cream ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert (R$25.00), also generously served, easily enough for two people.

Ah Bon Bistrot

Location: Alameda Oscar Niemeyer 1033 lg 10 - Vila da Serra, Nova Lima. Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 AM to 11 PM, and Friday and Saturday, 10 AM to midnight.

Taste Vin

At Restaurante Taste Vin (Instagram), the head chef is Rodrigo A. Fonseca, specializing in French cuisine and especially soufflé, the house’s flagship dish, offering several different flavors, including both savory and sweet.

For starters, we ordered a Serra do Salitre soufflé (R$85.00) — the texture is genuinely unique and eye-catching, and the best part is when you cut into the gratinéed cheese layer on top.

For main courses: Carré D’Agneau à la Plancha, grilled lamb chops with white beans and confit garlic (R$120.00), and Confit de Canard, confit duck leg with 3 different preparations, and Andrey chose the sauce mûre et salade verte (blackberry sauce and green salad, R$117.00).

For dessert, like the night before, we ordered the profiteroles with cream ice cream and warm chocolate sauce (R$32.00).

Taste Vin

Location: Rua Curitiba, 2105 - Lourdes. Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 7 PM to 11 PM, Wednesday to Friday, 7 PM to midnight, Saturday, 12:30 PM to 4 PM and 7 PM to midnight.

Salumeria Central

Located in a corner great for photos, beneath the arches of the Santa Tereza viaduct, Salumeria Central (Instagram), right near Praça da Estação, is a great stop for a day exploring downtown.

The name “salumeria” refers to an Italian-style delicatessen, selling handmade ham and salami, and the restaurant carries these specialties.

A laid-back spot with several beer options, a good wine list, and seating available both indoors and outdoors.

We came to try the Panturrilha Salumeria, pork shank served with olive-oil confit potatoes and vegetables (R$58.00). We ordered it as a starter, but without a doubt, it works well as a main dish, and we found it delicious.

For our main course, we ordered the Mexido Central, rice, beans, cracklings, smoked ribs, bacon, sausage, collard greens, and eggs (R$41.00), and Tornedor de Filet in jabuticaba sauce, filet mignon with Canastra cheese risotto (R$85.00).

We went to Sorveteria São Domingos for dessert.

Salumeria Central

Location: Rua Sapucaí, 527 - Floresta. Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 11:30 AM to 3 PM, Wednesday to Thursday, 11:30 AM to 10 PM, Saturday, noon to 11 PM, and Sunday, noon to 7 PM.

Sorveteria São Domingos

Sorveteria São Domingos (Instagram) is the most traditional ice cream shop to visit in Belo Horizonte.

Founded by small Italian farmer Domingos Dias da Silva, who opened a small grocery store and a restaurant at the Oliveira market in 1929, initially also selling just a few ice cream flavors, in southern Minas Gerais, after striking it lucky prospecting and finding thirteen diamonds in Estrela do Sul.

In 1934, success took off when he moved to BH, and it continues to this day — that spot where the ice cream is traditional and served without toppings. They use fresh fruit and milk from the family’s own farms to produce more than 260 different flavors, though you won’t find just 50 different ones on any given day.

That little spot with a tiny door, where a massive line always forms — we ordered chocolate, Belgian strawberry, and condensed milk flavors, and we loved visiting, an absolute must-stop in the city.

Sorveteria São Domingos

Location: Avenida Getúlio Vargas, 792 - Savassi. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10 AM to 10 PM.

Cervejaria Capapreta

Andrey really enjoyed Cervejaria Capapreta (Instagram), and I found the way you get to try the beers here genuinely interesting. There are several breweries worth visiting when eating your way through Belo Horizonte, and we’ll leave you a tip to check out Walls too.

You pour your own beer, in whatever amount you’d like, then hand over your card, which gets charged against the balance you’ve loaded onto it.

Cervejaria Capapreta

Location: R. Nova Lima, 185 - Jardim Canadá, Nova Lima. Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.

Liver with Jiló at the Belo Horizonte Mercadão

We consider Belo Horizonte’s Mercadão a must-visit when exploring the capital. There, you’ll find a traditional dish served at several bars, paired with a nice cold beer: liver with jiló.

Andrey tried it and thought it was well worth stopping to savor this local specialty, an unusual tip for where to eat in Belo Horizonte.

At the market, we’d also recommend trying the Serra da Canastra cheese and the Viçosa dulce de leche, found at several stalls on site.

Liver with jiló at the Belo Horizonte market

Location: Avenida Augusto de Lima, 744 – Centro. Hours: Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 6 PM; Sundays and holidays, 7 AM to 1 PM. Admission: free.

Glouton Restaurante

We went to try the tasting menu from Chef Leo Paixão’s restaurant (Instagram), serving contemporary cuisine. Eight courses are served for a fixed price of R$350.00, paid 48 hours before your reservation via WhatsApp.

The waitstaff are extremely well-trained and courteous, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the plateware the dishes arrive on is also eye-catching. But personally, I didn’t love almost any of the dishes, only the snack and the soup served in the sequence.

I can go into a bit of what I didn’t like: the shrimp was extremely salty, though beautifully presented, and some dishes lacked flavor. For the main course, I chose beef rib barbecue with fake charcoal and spiced red cabbage sauerkraut, where the fake charcoal was extremely hard and tasted burnt. On top of that, I didn’t think it paired well with the dish at all, and the dessert was missing something to really shine.

My critique unfortunately isn’t a good one, though it might’ve been the specific menu we got or just an off day, but it’s not a restaurant I’d go back to when eating my way through Belo Horizonte.

Glouton Restaurante

Location: Rua Bárbara Heliodora, 59 - Lourdes. Hours: Monday to Saturday, 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM.

Read more in What to Do in Belo Horizonte.