Where to Eat in Jalapão

Where you eat in Jalapão depends a lot on where your guide takes you, since meals are included as part of your tour package.

So there’s not much point researching restaurants ahead of time — the towns you’ll pass through don’t have major restaurants or much in the way of local specialty food.

Get ready to eat pretty much the same thing every day: rice, beans, stewed beef or chicken, with occasional variety like mashed potatoes or rice fritters — always home-style cooking.

No vegan options, and surprisingly, no fish either.

Drinks aren’t included in any of this, and they charge a lot for them. They also only mention the price when it’s time to pay, while constantly asking if you’d like something to drink the whole meal.

If your guide tells you to arrive early and wait, do it — even with a reservation, food is served self-service style, and at most places, once it’s gone, there’s no more coming.

Yes, you read that right! If you don’t get there in time, you might not get to eat at all, since walk-ins without reservations can eat there too. Don’t ask us to explain the logic — so then, what’s the point of reserving in the first place?

The same goes for breakfast at the inns — get up early.

Only on the last day, unlike the rest of the trip, did the final restaurant we visited actually restock food once it ran out.

On some days, you won’t eat at a restaurant at all — instead, the guide packs a lunch, which is actually quite good.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Restaurante Dona Almerinda

Kicking off our Jalapão food guide with our very first lunch, at Restaurante da Dona Almerinda.

You eat right in her home, just before the first stop of the day, which for us was Lagoa do Japonês. The food is simple but tasty. She mentioned they used to serve dessert, but stopped doing so after the pandemic.

This was the only place we saw pequi served, though on the side rather than mixed into the rice — we love pequi, and it’s worth trying here.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Espetos Grill

For dinner, we were in Ponte Alta and ate at a skewer restaurant. You choose your skewer, and it comes with sides: rice, feijão tropeiro, vinaigrette, and seasoned cassava.

A simple, solid spot right in town, with generous portions. If you’re still hungry, you can add extra skewers for an additional cost.

No dessert option.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Rancho Extremo

We spent two nights in Mateiros, and had dinner at the same restaurant both nights — the setting and the food were both good.

Self-service, with staff plating your food based on how much you want, and the food itself was decent.

There’s one dessert option: dulce de leche, served in a small coffee cup.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Fervedouro e Restaurante Rio Sono

This is the craziest one — our advice is to wait in line, get there early, and load up your entire meal in one go, since once the food’s gone, there’s no more coming.

The food was okay, but the highlight here is the jalapa cachaça, made from the tuber that gives Jalapão its name, which you can only find here — it’s not exactly tasty, but worth trying at least once.

Located in Mateiros, no dessert available.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Restaurante Recanto do Cerrado

Located at Fervedouro do Buritizinho, in Mateiros, with several types of cachaça to sample.

We tried cashew, coconut, pineapple, and murici — pineapple was the best, but as always, try them all! And enjoy the setting while you’re at it.

Andrey tasted through the lineup and really enjoyed it! The food was decent, no dessert.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Restaurante do Fervedouro das Macaúbas

We only stopped here for ice cream to beat the heat, made with local fruits. We tried coco catolé and “bruto” (custard apple) flavors — coconut was our favorite.

Where to eat in Jalapão: Cachoeira das Araras and its restaurant

Located in São Félix, this is the best restaurant we’d recommend for eating in Jalapão — the best food, and the only one that actually restocks when food runs out.

Same menu options as elsewhere, but noticeably better flavor. Still no dessert.

Pousada Cachoeiras do Jalapão

Our final stay, in São Félix, included dinner at the inn. The food was okay — if there’s a better option nearby, we’d suggest picking that instead. Again, no restocking, and the staff weren’t especially warm, though it’s still a good place to stay.

Beyond where to eat in Jalapão, here’s what to try

Amor Perfeito

There’s a small cookie made in the town of Natividade called Amor Perfeito, which is delicious, sold near Lagoa do Japonês since it’s close to the production area, at a fair price.

We also found it in Palmas, at Afetto and at a gas station convenience store, though pricier than at Lagoa do Japonês — still worth trying.

Cajuí

Genuinely delicious — a smaller cashew fruit, but noticeably sweeter, growing on trees all over the region. Worth picking straight from the tree to try, or juicing.

Final tips on where to eat in Jalapão

The stops your guide takes you to are set by the tour agency, but with a friendly conversation, you can usually get them to adjust things a bit. We did this for our fervedouro tours, and our itinerary turned out spectacular — so we’d recommend trying to negotiate your route too. Have a great trip!

Learn more about our trip in Jalapão and Palmas.