Where to Eat in Paraty's Historic Center

Paraty is a charming town, and even though it’s small, it holds a genuine culinary, cultural, and historic paradise. With that in mind, here are our tips on where to eat in Paraty’s historic center.

As we mentioned in our post on Paraty, the town was named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, recognized for innovative practices that support both urban development and sustainability policy.

Paraty has dozens of restaurants, but we’ll share our experience at four of them here.

Alambique Antonio Mello

This spot is, without question, wonderful to spend time at, with great service and spectacular food. The owner is the brother of the owner of Cachaçaria Coqueiro, and the interior of the restaurant is themed around the family’s history. Owner Antonio Mello was there himself and walked us through everything with real warmth — it was genuinely wonderful hearing the family stories and seeing the old photos.

We ordered fish cooked with plantain, served with rice and farofa, and we loved the flavor — it was delicious.

The restaurant is on Rua da Cadeia, 65, next to the Igreja Matriz, and it’s honestly our top recommendation for where to eat in Paraty’s historic center.

Price: R$140, including draft beers and a juice.

Candeeiro Música e Gastronomia

We had a great experience here — the inside of the restaurant was pleasantly cool, and while the food took a bit to come out, once it did, it was really flavorful, and well worth the price. It’s located on Rua da Lapa.

We ordered a seafood platter with grilled fish, squid, and shrimp. The dish also comes with a salad and watercress rice, and it was really flavorful, and without question generously portioned — so much so that we took leftovers home for the next day.

Price: R$120 for two people, though it would easily serve three.

Boteco da Matriz Bar e Restaurante

A really pleasant spot, with the option to eat outdoors or inside, at rustic wooden tables set in an 18th-century mansion — the indoor section is great too, but since it was hot out, we chose the street-side tables. Located on Rua Tenente Francisco Antônio, 57.

For our main course, we ordered shrimp bobó, served with rice and farofa, which was delicious and generously portioned, easily serving two people.

For dessert, we ordered a condensed milk pudim, which was good, though a bit firm.

Andrey also took the chance to try a local craft beer from the Maré Paratii brewery, called Abissal, a Strong Ale with a fairly bold flavor.

Price: R$142 for two people, with drinks — an iced tea and a beer.

Avenida Grill Restaurante Bar

Honestly, we weren’t fans of this restaurant, nor of the service, and we ended up ordering a pizza, which turned out to be an even worse call — the crust was clearly a pre-made supermarket base, the toppings were disappointing, and we’d even gone with four-cheese, so it was a real miss on our part, though the space itself is pleasant.

Located on Avenida Roberto Silveira, 16, about 200 meters from the historic center, this restaurant serves Brazilian and South American food.

Price: R$110 for two people, with a draft beer and a juice.

Find recommendations on where to grab ice cream in Paraty’s historic center.