Búzios: see the best restaurants, hotels and beaches – 11/22/2023 – Tourism

It’s difficult to find a place in Brazil with the characteristics of Búzios. It’s a small city (about 70 km2), with all the charm that small cities have — but without the provincialism of some beach destinations, which make us bored on the third day of the trip or stuck in resorts trying to enjoy everything they have. offer, making it worth the investment.

There is a lot to do and see in this cosmopolitan and lively peninsula, 180 kilometers from Rio and an eight-hour drive from São Paulo. Beach and gastronomy, two of the good things in life, intertwine in the resort, one complementing the other in a delicious way.

Going to Búzios means wearing flip-flops all day, having good drinks by the sea and eating very, very well, at any time of the day in the many options that the city offers.

Orla Bardot, start with it, is a seaside road just over 600 meters long along Armação beach, in the Center. It starts at the pier, the “final point” for aquataxis, small fiberglass boats in which, for around R$20, you can go from one beach to another feeling the wind on your face. Wow, good stuff.

Fun fact: there, on Rua do Cais, the only cinema in the city operated until August. The Gran Cine Bardot was perhaps, in its almost 30 years of operation, the only projection room in the world where eating popcorn was prohibited. “It makes the floor very dirty,” claimed its owner. The cinema was missed.

You may already be wondering, but it’s worth remembering why there are so many mentions of Brigitte Bardot, honored with a cinema, waterfront and statue in the city: she introduced the fishing village to the world in 1964, and became a kind of “godmother”. from Búzios.

A portion of fried squid with caipirinha at the friendly O Barco, near the statue of the three fishermen, is a good pitstop to continue the walk along the coastline to Praia dos Ossos. It’s a good spot for a swim, with calm seas and a strange and recent wave of morbid tourism to the house where Angela Diniz was killed by Doca Street, in 1976. It’s become an ‘instagrammable spot’. Human beings are really crazy.

Azeda and Azedinha beaches are right next to Praia dos Ossos, just climb a small hill to see a stunning view from the top. With very clear waters, they are accessed by a long wooden staircase (“Stairway to Heaven”, I hum as I go down).

It is on this route, between Orla Bardot and Ossos, that one of the most beloved and folkloric characters in Búzios may approach you (hopefully): Sassá, a little man who rides a bicycle and sells oysters by the dozen. The approach deserves an award. “Ostrasss aphrodisiacsss….”, he usually says, softly, almost close to the ear, usually to couples who are sitting on the sand. Genius.

Mealtime can be enjoyable even for those with small, energetic children. Run for decades by a family of fishermen, A Peixaria, also on Orla Bardot, serves the best grilled fish in the region (the gin and tonic is also great), and has, right in front of it, a natural playground: the beach of Armacao. Without waves, children will have fun collecting shells, playing in the sand or something similar. Children being children and you there, in a good way.

Búzios, to give you an idea, is a city with basically one main street (Avenida José Bento Ribeiro Dantas), two-way. It cuts through the peninsula, which on one side has places like the boring Foca beach and the delightful Ferradura beach, with its mansions, calm waters and some unbearable banana boats, that giant inflatable banana that gives a rocking horse so that the people fell into the water, in a previously scheduled “scare”. Not everything is perfect.

For those who want to escape the crowds along Ferradura, an option is the day use of Tawa Beach, on the left corner. Showers, sun loungers, massage sessions and a great bar service, with a variety of snacks, are an option for those who want a feeling of exclusivity.

The only downside: they don’t offer towels — let’s face it, it wouldn’t hurt to give extra cuddles to those who pay between R$150 and R$200 to be there. The value is converted into consummation.

And Geribá? Well, Geribá is good for surfing, with excellent surfing schools and a very wide strip of sand. It is the busiest, best-known beach, and has a captive audience. The truth is that there is no ugly or bad beach in Búzios. A phenomenon.

A few kilometers away, you reach Praia Brava, in a slightly more arid area, where the charming Rocka is located, a restaurant with rustic-chic decor, umbrellas and cushions comfortably scattered along the path that leads to the sandy strip.

Rocka’s menu is way more chic than rustic. Where else have you seen a beachside bar serving Beluga and Ossetra caviar? They have it on the menu. It starts at R$710 for a 15-gram can, but don’t be alarmed. You can have a few good glasses of wine (R$42) and choose less ostentatious options.

Less interesting beaches are nearby, such as Forno and the naturist Olho de Boi. To visit the latter, nudity is mandatory, as on all naturist beaches in the world. I did not go. I’m not able to give an opinion.

A good place to stay is in the Center or close to it. Good options are Armação, Praia do Canto or Morro do Humaitá, where one of the best hotels in the region is located, Villa D’Este (daily rates from R$1,487, double, with breakfast). Highlight for the outrageously beautiful heated infinity pool.

At Villa D’Este is one of the best restaurants in the city, Altto. It’s a good idea to make a good deal with the “conje”. Low lights, quiet music, impeccable service and the best orecchiette with octopus, delicate semolina pasta, (R$ 120) ever. The night will be good…

Another romantic attraction worth a visit is the Thai Ban Thai. It is located inside the A Concept Hotel & SPA, on Manguinhos beach, and is run by chef Marcos Sodré, who for years kept Sawasdee at Orla Bardot, another respected Thai — and from where the most successful starter was imported: the miso eggplant, fried in a sesame tapioca crust. A must.

On the same straight as Orla Bardot, but heading towards Praia do Canto, is the best-known of Buziano’s points: Rua das Pedras. It’s a very popular place and, according to the teenage section of the family, “the biggest zero to zero” in terms of flirting. Could it be. But it’s impossible not to stroll around there at some point. Just like you can’t help but stop by Chez Michou, a Jurassic creperie, with the same menu for 25 years and a vibe that’s hard to describe, it’s so cool. Go, just go.

At Porto da Barra, in Manquinhos, the great tchan is the view of the best sunset in the city and varied food options — such as the shrimp pastries with bottled beer at Bar dos Pescadores, on the edge of the Cais (a classic) , and Belli Belli, in the same place for ten years, the oldest restaurant there. Well-served dishes such as the golden one with cashew nut crust and pumpkin risotto cost around R$60. The good value for money keeps the house always full.

It’s worth checking out Nami, in the right corner, a Latin Asian gastrobar with modern decor and dishes such as tuna tartare tacos with wasabi (unforgettable), and an interesting cavaquinha roll, a Búzios version of the lobster roll.

The two best kept secrets in Búzios are off the city’s main gastronomic routes. With the kitchen under the care of German chef Jan Rabe (who has worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants), and the salon run by his wife, the friendly Frenchwoman Valérie, Rabe Boulangerie began ten years ago, as the name suggests. , like a bakery.

It supplied its perfect baguettes to more than 40 hotels and inns in the city. Little by little, they started investing in bistro food and nowadays they offer delicate dishes at very fair prices. Take the menu du jour as an example. For around R$50, the option a few days ago was dill-marinated tuna over radish carpaccio with mustard seed vinaigrette; sea ​​bream and shrimp over sweet potato and white wine sauce; dessert banoffee. It is good or not?

In the city center, on a street parallel to Rua das Pedras, a little flower-filled house hides the best and most pleasant Argentine restaurant in Búzios. Café Porteño is an oasis amidst houses with staff at the door showing their menus (the horror). Under the command of Ricardo Nisivoccia and Karina, father and daughter, you can eat the best empanadas that a human being can offer, as well as salads, risottos and exquisite meat dishes. The dulce de leche crepe ends with a flourish.