Where to Eat in Penedo, RJ: 6 Restaurant Tips

In Penedo, the good restaurants aren’t cheap, and there are plenty of options, so it’s worth doing your research on where to eat in Penedo, RJ. You can eat really well at several restaurants here, so we have plenty of great tips for the town.

We’ll list the restaurants in the order we liked the food and the space best.

Restaurante Jardim Secreto

Without question, this restaurant is simply unmissable, with a genuinely romantic atmosphere and a beautiful garden that hides the building itself, creating a real sense of secrecy.

An Italian, Brazilian, and international à la carte restaurant, on the pricier side, but worth every cent — the space is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the staff are incredibly friendly. This earns it our #1 spot.

The space is small, so we’d recommend making a reservation to guarantee a table.

Main course: we ordered chorizo cooked in butter with herbs, and pirarucu fish wrapped in banana leaf, with coconut rice and hearts of palm bobó, both equally spectacular.

Dessert: chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.

Location: Avenida das Três Cachoeiras, 3899, Penedo, Itatiaia.

Enoteca Serrana

Honestly, we really loved this restaurant too, and it only lands in second place because Jardim Secreto’s atmosphere is simply unbeatable. Service was excellent, including from the owner himself, super friendly, who personally greets guests here, and the food is just as divine.

Not to mention the wide selection of wines the restaurant carries, along with the excellent pairings they’ve built around the dishes. An à la carte contemporary restaurant.

Main courses: a Steak with Roti Sauce and a Truta Serrana, served with a simply delicious farofa — so good, I actually told the owner he should figure out a way to sell it.

Dessert: Petit gateau served with Finnish cream ice cream, walnuts, and blackberry sauce, and just like the main courses, everything was cooked to perfection, with the chocolate cake still melting inside.

Location: Avenida Casa das Pedras, Jardim Martineli, Itatiaia.

Loazô Restô

Run by the same owners as Enoteca Serrana, with a spacious, pleasant setting, the wife, Ana, who’s also on site, is really polite and friendly, though we found the space quite cold, given how close it sits to a waterfall — and the food was good. We just thought the other two restaurants were better, and given its higher price than the previous two, Loazô Restô lands in third place for us.

Starter: mixed mushroom bruschetta.

Main course: Magret de Canard, where Andrey thought the duck could have been cooked a bit less, and confit codfish, which I thought came with too many bones, making it a bit tricky to eat, though the flavor was delicious.

Dessert: doce de leite petit gateau with artisanal coconut and tapioca ice cream.

Location: Rua K, 85, Penedo, Itatiaia.

Borbulha Restaurante

An à la carte Brazilian and contemporary restaurant with great value, where the owner is extremely friendly and talked with us not just about how much he loves listening to vinyl records and his own collection, but also about a new bar he’s likely opening upstairs soon.

Main course: trout with banana and cheese, plus a side of white rice, which was really tasty.

Dessert: chocolate Petit Gateau with vanilla ice cream.

Location: Avenida das Mangueiras, 1771, Penedo, Itatiaia.

Restaurante Korvapuusti Penedo

In short, this is an à la carte Brazilian restaurant despite its Finnish name, with an open, airy space.

Main course: picanha at a fair price, and honestly, genuinely appetizing.

At the time, we hadn’t planned on writing a blog, so we don’t have a photo of the food to share.

Location: Rua da Vela, 101, Penedo, Itatiaia.

Guela Seca

We had dinner here on a second trip to the area, and, similar to our previous visit to the town, we chose picanha as our main course.

A Brazilian à la carte restaurant with an open, laid-back atmosphere — the food was tasty, though we thought the live music was a bit too loud.

Sides: rice, fries, farofa, and vinaigrette.

Location: Avenida das Mangueiras, 1068-1274, Penedo, Itatiaia.

Craft Breweries — Where to Eat Well in Penedo

Andrey loves beer, especially craft beer, and we bring some home from everywhere we travel — so here are our tips for the area.

Penélope Premium Beer

Located inside Pousada Vale dos Pássaros, an open-air spot that’s genuinely pleasant. Andrey loved the beer we tried at Restaurante Jardim Secreto, and the waiter there was actually the one who recommended we check this place out. There’s an interesting detail here too — the baseboard tells the history of beer, dating back to 4000 BC. Location: Rua Harry Bertel, 226.

Casa do Fritz

This spot is a restaurant, but there’s also a standalone shop for anyone who just wants to buy beer, where they also sell t-shirts, cups, fridge magnets, and there’s a café attached. Their grape-flavored beer stands out. A really pleasant spot. Location: Avenida das Mangueiras, 518.

Trevisan Cervejaria

Located inside Restaurante Gastro Bar, with several types and flavors of beer. Location: Rua das Velas, 76.

Ice Cream Shops — Where to Eat Well in Penedo

We’d recommend two ice cream shops whose flavors we loved. Here are our tips on where to get ice cream in Penedo, RJ.

Fuê Gelateria

Without a doubt, if you want ice cream to go, this is the place, located at Rua das Velas, 100, inside Santa’s house.

Finlandês Sorveteria Artesanal

We fell in love with this ice cream after trying it for the first time in Paraty. Location: Rua das Velas, 32.

Chocolate Shops — Where to Eat in Penedo, RJ

Every one of these shops is pleasant, and you’ll rarely regret a visit — we enjoyed everything we tried, and each offers great value.

Tonttulakki Skulaat

A chocolate factory inside “Little Finland,” with chocolates in all sorts of types and shapes. Location: Rua das Velas, 100.

Casa do Chocolate

A factory outlet shop with chocolate in every shape, also selling jam and doce de leite — but that’s not all, since this is also where you request authorization to hike up to Pico do Penedinho. Location: Avenida Casa das Pedras, 10.

Joulupukki Penedo — Santa’s Chocolates

Delicious chocolate! Location: Rua das Velas, 106.

Zermatt Chocolates Finos

Located in “Little Finland.”

With these tips on where to eat in Penedo, RJ, your visit to the town is bound to be delicious.

Learn more about our trip in Penedo.