5 Best Restaurants in The South, Brazil

You may be surprised at the quality and authenticity of the Northern Italian cuisine at this small restaurant in Porto Alegre. Among many excellent choices are garganelli (a variety of pasta from Emilia-Romagna) with salmon in wine sauce and fettuccine nere (fettuccine with a black tinge of squid ink) with caviar sauce. A house novelty is the Italian-gaúcho risotto, made with sun-dried meat, tomatoes, and squash. The decor is sober, with candlelit tables and cream drapes covering most of the walls.

On the second floor of the Marina Ponta da Areia complex, this restaurant has a grand view of the Lagoa da Conceição, with surrounding green hills as the backdrop. The fare, carefully created by chef Fedoca, a diver himself, includes a wide variety of seafood and pasta options. Fedoca's moqueca (a fish, shrimp, octopus, and mussel stew), inspired by the famed Bahian dish, is the house specialty, as are the lobster dishes.

Porto Alegre's best-known restaurant has been in business at the same spot, steps from city hall at the Mercado Público, since 1889. The walls are covered with Portuguese tiles, antiques, and period photographs exalting those early days. The restaurant is a popular happy-hour spot for politicians and businesspeople. The menu varies daily from beef to fish dishes. One of the highlights is the large Brazilian grey mullet stuffed with shrimp (served Friday and Saturday).