Review of Rio de Janeiro's Oldest Restaurant - 138 years and counting

[ihpguy]

I found this very interesting. I walk past this place all the time. At least 2-3times a month. And for about 5 months, a couple times weekly as I was dating a guy who worked down the street from this restaurant. As the article states, it really just look like any other lanchonete in the city and no reason at all to make a special stop at this one among the thousands of others. Not to far of a walk to Club 117 and even easier via the metro)only two stops or the onibus 422 which stops the next block up on the other side of the street in front of Livreria Galileu.

Café Lamas: Classic Meals, with a Side of History

From the street, Café Lamas looks almost intentionally nondescript. A fluorescent-lit bar with a glass case of snacks and a few metal chairs would make it identical to any other lanchonete (snack bar) across the city, if it weren’t for the shadowy doorway behind the bar’s aisle.

Behind that door awaits a blast from the past. Café Lamas is Rio de Janeiro’s oldest restaurant – a respectable 138 years old in a city that is rapidly putting on a new face as it buzzes with Olympic, hotel and condominium construction – and the place radiates a sense of history and tradition. Bow-tied waiters politely bend as guests enter the dining room, which is dimly illuminated by lamps on ornate cast-iron mounts. Frosted lettering on mirrors around the dining room promotes the “new delicious Lamas dessert,” which proud co-owner Milton Brito admits is actually no longer new. An all-white statue of a curvaceous woman wrapped in the Brazilian flag sweetly smiles down on diners from one wall. The statue was once colored the green, yellow and blue of the flag, until a member of the military visited Lamas during the 1964-85 dictatorship and demanded that the colors be removed. “He thought it was somehow against the national flag,” explained Brito.

The Brazilian Communist Party held its meetings in Lamas during the same period, as did many of the first members of Brazil’s now-ruling Workers’ Party. That’s because Lamas was a rare venue that stayed open around the clock. “It was always frequented by artists, journalists, writers, businessmen, university students,” said Brito, adding that being open 24/7 made it a place Rio’s all-night carousers could set as a fail-proof location to meet up with friends. “Because it didn’t close, everything happened at Lamas.”

In 1976, the construction of the metro forced the restaurant to move to a new location about two blocks away. “People said, ‘Lamas had to accept progress,’” Brito said of the eviction. While the original Lamas hosted all-night pool tournaments and drinking contests, the newer location seems to have tamed its old capacity for vice, closing at a more “respectable” 3 a.m., with some black-and-white photos on the wall the only evidence of the former pool hall. And while Lamas may have once been a Communist Party stronghold, its menu prices today are far from proletarian. Indeed, as Brito is proud to note, the restaurant’s eclectic mix of distinguished guests has included Walt Disney, Bianca Jagger and current Supreme Court justice Joaquim Barbosa, seen as a national idol for taking a hard line against Workers’ Party politicians involved in a corruption case called the mensalão, or the “big monthly payoff.”

As for the food, keep in mind this dica (tip): traditional Brazilian cuisine is first and foremost about fellowship. Heaping portions are meant to be shared among several diners. Though artesanal dishes with small portions and attention to detail are increasingly popular in Rio’s chic contemporary eateries, to old-time cariocas (like the ones who run Café Lamas), this trend is just a little too individualistic. Cariocas also often value pure ingredients over spice, meaning that Lamas’s menu leans heavily in a meat-and-potatoes direction.

Yet there are Lamas dishes that will grab the attention of even a well-traveled eater. The molho de alcaparra, a buttery sauce with capers and parsley, is a Portuguese-influenced side dish that makes a rich dip for the cebola frita, fried onions, or the batata portuguesa, which is a bit like a thick potato chip. The filé à Osvaldo Aranha – a filet mignon au jus covered in crispy toasted garlic bits – is named for a well-known early-20th-century politician and diplomat who committed suicide in the nearby former presidential palace, who took his beef this way at Lamas.

Café Lamas also stands out for its fine selection of domestic and imported bottled beers – a rarity in a city that gets its kicks from a pale draft beer called chopp. Índica, a crisp India Pale Ale made by Brazil’s Colorado brewery, is a refreshing palate cleanser between rich courses. For dessert, a must-try house specialty – found nowhere else in Rio – is the creme de abacate com licor de cacau, a moussey avocado ice cream drizzled with cacao liquor and garnished with a lime wedge (cariocas treat avocados as a sweet). Another quintessentially Rio dessert is the goiabada com catupiry, guava paste served with a slightly salty white cheese.

A gringa friend in Rio, initially overwhelmed by the large portions of meat-centric plates and heavy sauces, told us she came to understand the local approach to dining when someone gave her the following dica: Think of eating a traditional Brazilian meal as “laying bricks” – consuming heavy, hearty food to build up strength before a long day at work. At Lamas, part of the fabric of Rio de Janeiro, cariocas have been happily laying those bricks for decades.

Address: Rua Marquês de Abrantes, 18 loja A, Flamengo Telephone: +55 21 2556 0799 Web: www.cafelamas.com.br Hours: 9:30am-3am

[Guest parisrio2000]

IHP I eat here somewhat often. Cafe Lamas has good food and is open late. It has an "upscale" clientele, etc.; their signature dish is the File Oswaldo Aranha; however be aware that the price for this steak dish is as high as at any high-price Manhattan steakhouse, and the quality considerably less in my opinion. Unfortunately Rio is grossly overpriced these days.

I wouldn't recommend walking from here to 117; while the walk isn't very long, it can be daunting for someone who is not familiar with Rio, and is not particularly scenic. Take the subway; or a cab won't run you more than about $5 to 117.

[ihpguy]

Well, if anybody goes to Cafe Lamas and is scared away by the prices, one of my favorites is right around the corner with large portions, great prices and wonderful quality. Both meat and veggie offerings with almost the best acai and great sucos. The strangest thing about the place is that some of the customers eat a bowl of acai as a starter before getting to their meal. Like Mom letting me eat ice cream before the liver or lamb chop or tough roast beef. NOT.

Rotisseria Sirio Libanesa (just past Extra)

Largo do Marchado, 29 - towards the back of the galeria.

They have three storefronts

1)sit down tables with waiters

2)stand-up/take-away counter

3)lunch bar with stools and counter service.

http://www.rotisseriasl.com.br/

I personally like to walk from Largo do Machado and observe all of the flora and fauna, the old architecture. Especially the old, rounded-front police delegacia at the corner with Pedro Americo, Catete Palace/Museu da Republica and just the vibrant street life all along that stretch. I'll admit that it is more than a bit different from Copa or Ipa, but that is part of its charm. For me, kind of nice to walk on saner sidewalks with turn-of-the-century two and three story buildings and not to be on overly-crowded sidewaks lined with fifteen story apartment buildings.

[RA1]

Thanks for the two reviews. I enjoyed them both.

Best regards,

RA1

[Strafe13]

I echo RA1's comments. I'm particularly interested in the second place reviewed. It's nice to find restaurants to dine at outside of the touristy areas. I look forward to visiting there next month.

[Gotti]

If you never heard about that history, if you never heard about that people, if they don't have any meaning in your life, why should you care? Just because is there? And what's worse, overcharging for meanlingless? Get a life!

[msclelovr]

If you never heard about that history, if you never heard about that people, if they don't have any meaning in your life, why should you care? Just because is there? And what's worse, overcharging for meanlingless? Get a life!

Because he wants to experience a different culture and country, and learn a little about it and its history (that's why I travel). Surely that's a good thing to do, and I see no reason for you to be so dismissive.

[Gotti]

I do not regret my remark. Brazilian political figures have no meaning in the world and most of them (with very few exceptions) in Brazil itself. Can you name a Brazilian politician that influenced somehow the world order? Why incentivate a tourist with his hard earned dollars to eat an inflated piece of steak just because somebody meaningless ate there 70 years ago?

Want culture? Go see Tarsila do Amaral or Di Cavalcanti paintings at MASP in São Paulo.

In day by day life and you talking Brazil, if not Pele or Carmen Miranda you should not bother.

Well Sergio Mendes, having a beer at the bar he used to play...maybe...

[ihpguy]

I went to the BBCC here and saw the Tarsila retrospective. TWICE. I'd prefer to gaze at the affordable art on display at 117.

[ihpguy]

Going back to the original post about Rio's oldest restaurant, I'd did go there. I'm not sure what PR2K consumed, but I was quite pleased. A bit of a cross of an indoors Amarelinha and a one-story Columbo without the Belle Epoque. Fine gracious service, wonderful waiters in white jackets and nice food. Being a thrifty sort for certain things, and dining alone as three different people I called where not available to join me, I chose one of the promotional plates which are available Mondays through Fridays. I think most everything else on the menu are for two. I had a very,very nice cold rare filet mignon and salad russe for 24Reails. A splurged and had well-priced "Batatas Portuguesas"or what in the US is called "Cottage Fries" cooked up individually and served right out of the fryer, for 16Reais. I think at Amarelinha on the Praca Floriano they go for22Reais now. Wonderful. FATGIRL ALERT: The neighboring table order ""Batatas Prussianas" which is something new for me to see in Rio de Janeiro. Cross-hatched cottage fries that with those delicate little spaces one can load up with even more mayonnaise or ketchup.

I was non-plussed with the avoacado icecream mousse dessert. Don't waste your money for that. Go to the sucos next door and order an abacate natural. You're wallet and tummy will enjoy it just as much for 1/3 of the price.