Foz do Iguaçu Restaurant Tips by acemj Top 5 Page for this destination

Restaurante Zaragoza: Spanish

This place was just down the street from my hotel, so on my first night in town before I really had my bearings, I decided to stop here and grab a bite to eat. When I arrived and asked to sit outside on the patio, the waiters looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care. It was beautiful outside and I was hungry.

Favorite Dish: I ordered a Brazilian wine since after all I was in Brazil. They actually had a pretty good selection of Spanish, Portuguese and Argentine wines too. I personally like red wine, so when I said, "vino tinto, por favor" the waiter corrected my pronunciation. Around here, it sounds more like "teen choe". The wine label said I had ordered a Miolo Selecao, which really wasn't too good (11% alcohol content for a red wine usually doesn't do the trick), but I wasn't going to let that ruin the great atmosphere (you know . . . me and the waiter who thought I was a crazy gringo who couldn't even pronounce a simple word in Portuguese).

I also had a bottle of still water . . . total bill was just under 40 reais (less than 14 bucks US).

For dinner, I ate something on the menu called "A Zaragoza" figuring it must be a specialty of the house. It turned out to be a fresh trout from one of the local rivers grilled and served with rice, vegetables and potatoes. It was great. Just like fresh caught fish cooked over a fire. Yum.

By the way, fish in Portuguese is peixe and trout is truta.

Address: Rua Quintino Bocaiuva, 882

Comparison: more expensive than average

Phone: 45 574 3084

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

Website: http://www.restaurantezaragoza.com.br

Oficina do Sorvete: I scream for ice cream

I stopped at this ice cream shop on Avenida Jorge Schimmelpfeng because it was hot and the place was packed with locals. There is an air conditioned indoor section, a non-air conditioned indoor section as well as a great patio full of chairs. I wasn't sure what all of the flavors were in Portuguese and no one here spoke any English, so I played it safe and ordered some vanilla and some dulce de leche. Both were good, although my favorite ice cream shop in the world (Vivoli Gelateria in Florence, Italy) still doesn't have anything to worry about.

Address: Av. Jorge Schimmelpfeng

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Ice Cream

Barbarela: Fresh, fresh, fresh

The girl at the tourist information office told me about this place and I was definitely grateful for her advice. I sat at the counter and ordered a chicken sandwich served on wheat bread. It was really fresh and great. The highlight of this place, however, will be the juices or sucos. They have a great selection of juices served in their very own little carafe and either with or without milk (in other words, it will either come kind of frothy, but without milk or more like a juice milkshake). I ordered a strawberry and guarani juice which was wonderful!

Address: Avenida Brasil 1119

Comparison: least expensive

Phone: 45 523 2252

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Other

Tempero da Bahia: Some like it hot

Since I really loved the food in Salvador, I figured I'd try this place to get one last sample of moqueca (a coconut milk, cilantro, dende oil based stew). Yum. If you like your food a little spicy and you enjoy fresh seafood ingredients, you'll definitely dig this place.

Favorite Dish: Try the moqueca de siri (crabmeat stew)

Address: Ave. Parana 1419

Comparison: more expensive than average

Phone: 45 523 9242

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 4

Theme: Other