5 unusual restaurants in Manaus

Brazil is one of the most visited places by travelers worldwide. Tourists are attracted by the beauty of the exotic nature of the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas (Amazonas), the sights of Manaus, the friendly attitude of the locals, and the unusually delicious food. In the menu of several hundred restaurants in Manaus, everyone can find food to suit their taste, even the most demanding. Although the Manaus restaurants have not been awarded the honor of having a Michelin star, and there are no establishments with fashionable molecular cuisine, they have more – enthusiastic responses from tourists.

Special features of the cuisine in Manaus restaurants

The Manaus cuisine is compared to a cultural melting pot, where the national cuisines of many countries are mixed and where Brazilian, Portuguese, and local Brazilian cuisines are the main ones. Still, here you can also enjoy Italian pizza, Japanese sushi, or spicy Chinese dishes. The main food for the locals is fish, the main protein supplier in the diet: fish is fried, marinated, stewed in cassava sauce. Meat is brought to the kitchen of Manaus restaurants from the best farms, local and imported from all over Brazil fresh fruits and vegetables are present on the table all year round. The locals' most popular drink is orange juice with ice: you can drink freshly prepared juice even on the street, which is especially pleasant in hot weather. Here they drink a lot of tea-mate and, of course, coffee. In Brazil, coffee is heavily overcooked, and it tastes slightly bitter to Europeans, but the bitterness is removed by adding milk. The Amazon forest is rich in fruits and berries whose names are unfamiliar to us, and we will be pleasantly surprised, for example, by a cocktail of dark purple acai berries (açaí), rich in iron. Smoothies, juices, and ice cream are made from this berry, and its bitter taste softens the cloying sweetness of other desserts with added sugar. Alcoholic beverages are represented by Cachaca, which is made from sugar cane. Cachaca is a very strong drink, so it is rarely drunk in its pure form; basically, Cachaca is added to a cocktail made from a mixture of lemon and sugar, called caipirinha. For tourists in search of Manaus restaurants, often the deciding factor is the unusual nature of the institution.

What defines a singularity restaurant?

There are several criteria here – it can be the restaurant's location, an interesting architectural solution, an unusual design and interior, service features, and, of course, a peculiar restaurant menu. In Manaus, you can find dozens of restaurants that belong to the category of unusual. For tourists, for example, the permanent system of "churraskeria", which involves serving huge portions of meat dishes for a symbolic payment, is unusual. The restaurant's promotion may also be unusual: for example, during the World Cup in Brazil, warnings in a number of restaurants about paying for uneaten food left on a plate caused surprise. True, it turned out to be a joke, but the country recalled the world food problem in such an unusual way.

Floating restaurants

Unusual restaurants on the water in Brazil – by ship, barge or boat-are not uncommon, but in Manaus, a stay in such a restaurant can be called unusual: lunch on the river, where the eyes of an alligator can look at you from the water, will be unforgettable. The recreation program for guests of floating restaurants includes fishing, and with a fishing rod, you can catch not just a fish but a predator-a piranha. In the menu of such restaurants, of course, Brazilian dishes from freshly caught fish. Not far from Manaus, there is a restaurant on the water, Dona Marilda, the unusual feature of which is that the Amazon river dolphins come to the restaurant, lured by the restaurant owner. Dolphins can be admired, you can play with them, and you can swim, however, for a separate nominal fee.

Restaurants in the hotel

We are talking about the Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel, located a few kilometers from Manaus. This is an eco-friendly hotel, the peculiarity of which is that it is located on the spreading branches of trees. However visitors and waiters do not have to climb the branches: the hotel rooms are built on stilts, steps lead to the rooms. You can get acquainted with the surrounding flora and fauna without leaving your room – curious little monkeys and unusual birds can sit on the branches near your window and accompany you to restaurants. The restaurant menu literally includes what is under the feet of the hotel's visitors: fish are caught here in the river, cocktails are made from tropical fruits plucked from nearby trees. In the main restaurant, meals are served in a buffet-style; the menu includes traditional dishes and drinks and desserts made from local exotic fruits (graviola, tapereba, kupuasu, acai). However the main thing is not the menu: a visit to the restaurant, located on the top of a tree at a height of 22 meters from the ground, will be one of the unforgettable impressions.

Revolving restaurant - Restaurante Ginatorio

The restaurant's unusual nature attracts many tourists; in the evening, tables must be booked in advance. When the restaurant rotates, visitors will see the most beautiful panoramic views: the city center and the famous opera house, river ships and artfully constructed bridges-in the evening, all this turns into an unforgettable spectacle with thousands of sparkling lights. The dishes of this restaurant are similar to the international and local Brazilian dishes that are included in the menu of many restaurants in the city. Still, everyone can find something special for themselves: for example, fruit sauce for a fish dish, acai ice cream, etc. The combination of the enjoyment of delicious food and the impressive visual effect of the iridescent lights will be a vivid episode of your stay in Manaus.

Restaurants with unusual dishes on the menu

This list includes restaurants with the best chefs who have created real masterpieces with a unique taste and aroma, the basis of which is Brazilian cuisine and nature. The guarantee of quality is the restaurant's brand. In 2019, the first place among all the restaurants in Manaus, attracting visitors with unusual combinations of products when preparing traditional Brazilian dishes, was the Coco Bambu restaurant, which received a certificate of distinction and the title of "Winner".

1. Coco Bambu

The menu's basis is fish, different in size and taste, but not forgotten and lovers of meat dishes. Here you can try octopus dishes, which is unusual in itself, but the institution's special glory was brought by the preparation of a variety of dishes from shrimp. Incredibly, the shrimps gave the culinary imagination of the chefs a lot of space. For example, the dish "Beira Mar Shrimp", which is served with special sauces in a pumpkin and peppers, onions, chestnuts and tomatoes, or the dish "Light Shrimp", steamed in foil along with carrot julienne and white wine. Some snacks' names sound tempting: "Prawns on Tamandare Beach" or "Lula in Dora" - and I am drawn to find out what lies under these names. Not every high-end restaurant can boast of making its own wines, and Coco Bambu has its own Luiz Duarte winery in Portugal. The restaurant is famous for its unusual desserts. The incongruous is combined: a coconut baked in the oven with a ball of ice cream or a hot chocolate cupcake with cream ice cream-sounds like the names of dishes from molecular Manaus cuisine. The restaurant's "highlight" is the preparation of food on individual order of the client-this is done by a special service Coco Bambu For One.

2. Banzeiro

Banzeiro Restaurant is one of the top ten restaurants in Manaus in the ranking compiled by the influential Brazilian magazine Veja Magazine. Are you wondering what kind of food is popular in Brazil restaurants? The popularity of the restaurant was an unusual cooking local fish pirarucu and Tamaki. These species form the basis of local food. Still, the chef of the restaurant Felipe Sadler managed to go non-traditional for cooking this fish, for which he received one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary field. Tamaki is a huge fish; according to Schaedler's recipe, the restaurant serves grilled ribs from this fish – an ignorant person may mistake them for pork because of their impressive size. Another recipe is tambaki, fried with a crust of Brazil nuts and fried banana. Cheese, rice, capers and mushrooms can be served on the side. Pirarucu unusual is cooking after the smoked fish served with coconut milk, banana, nuts and rice. The stuffed fish received admiring responses from gourmets. Taking into account the taste preferences of Europeans, the chef also developed recipes with a touch of French dishes, such as fillet of local perch (huarini tucunare) with pickled sauce. Sweet tooth and kids will love ice cream, tapioca, cassava cake, or cream from papaya. In any case, their unusual taste and aroma will never be forgotten.

3. Choupana

The restaurant's unusual interior sets up visitors to get acquainted with traditional food: the roof is covered with straw, the interior decor is similar to the decoration of a village house. The Choupana tradition is reminiscent of the local hospitality: at the beginning of lunch, visitors are served a small fish soup for free. The creative Choupana chefs team went to soup Takako, which is based on strong fish broth yellow – this soup even sold on the streets. But the soup prepared in Choupana is called delicious even by sophisticated connoisseurs: the unique taste of the dish is given by tapioca, dry shrimp and garlic. Fans of the first courses will also appreciate the soup called cassava is known for its.

4. Churrascaria Bufalo

Churrascaria Bufalot's unusual atmosphere will greet you as soon as you step through the door: the waiters are dressed in clothes typical of these places, including riding boots and red neckerchiefs. In this restaurant, the serving of dishes is unusual: the waiters one by one go around the tables; each brings a certain dish. So they can go around the visitors countless times, until the visitor puts a special sign on the table – a circle, the red side up, showing that the client is literally fed up. The system, called rodisio, is also adopted in some other Manaus restaurants. Among the restaurant's unusual dishes, it is necessary to note the dish of leaf-cutting ants (sauva), so named because they very skillfully cut off the leaves of plants. The dish impresses with its subtle lemon aroma, inherent in these insects. The fish is prepared unusually: it is first marinated in a mixture of lime juice and vegetable oil, then wrapped in a banana leaf, covered with chopped tomatoes, pepper, and grilled.

5. Moquem do Banzeiro

In this restaurant, you can get acquainted with the unusual serving of vegetarian dishes. Basically, it offers Brazilian cuisine, so that vegetarian tourist can taste Brazilian products. This is Farofa and Brigadeiro. Farofa is the toasted cassava flour that is added to many dishes to give them a stringiness or to enhance the flavor of other dishes; brigadeiro is a mind-blowing dessert, a favorite treat of locals and tourists. Brigadeiro is prepared from condensed milk, cocoa powder, and butter; the delicacy is given the shape of a ball, sprinkled with crushed chocolate and coconut shavings. The hard-looking ball has a very tender, stringy filling. Cortado coffee with milk is served as a drink. Unfortunately, it is impossible to visit all the Manaus restaurants in one trip, but the list of unusual restaurants will help you decide in advance.