Emporio da Arte was recommended by one of my best friends who came with her husband. We are far away from downtown (close to the park) but we figure it out that bus services work until late hours between the city and the park (bus no 120). We decided to try the Emporio da Arte and we love it. We went there twice.
My five stars go to the service (all of the waiters are amazing, and the owner Luis likes to welcome and talk to everyone), the ambiance (cute hipster place with great handicraft art from Brazil that you can bought) and the food, that it is the best you can get in a small city like Foz (for those who spend in dollar is a really best deal). Caipirinhas are really good there. Let's go through the food:
(1) pastel de angu (polenta dumpling -3 stars): I might be very picky with pastel de angu as they are so good in my state in Brazil. The polenta dumplings came in different fillings.
(2) bolinho de mandioca (big yuca dumpling with different fillings - I got the ones with dried tomato and cheese; smoked ribs and meat and cream cheese - 5 stars). This is the best starter for sure! So tasteful. They are big, so we order one for each one and we shared.
(3) Pecadinho (traditional steak strips - 5 stars): this is an outstanding dish. It is a simple dish but with a lot of flavor on it. Meat was perfect and well seasoned.
(4) Tilapia with potato (3 stars): tilapia was well cooked and seasoned, but it nothing innovative. It goes well for those who are picky with food.
(5) Bife a cavalo (fillet mignon with fried eggs, yuca flour with bacon and zuccini - farofa, salad and grilled banana - 4.5 stars). It is a solid dish. The fillet mignon was very tender and well-seasoned (though not medium rare as I ordered), the egg was well-cooked and the farofa was AMAZING (very moist and tasteful). I replaced grilled banana by potatoes (I do not like grilled banana, but if it is your thing, try it, please).
(6) duck confit (4 stars): duck confit was well-cooked. I found it delicious, but sides were standard (though they include orapronobis as a side, a typical Brazilian vegetable that resembles a little bit collard greens).
(7) Suspiro (merengue with vanilla ice cream, pineapple and argentinian dulce de leche - 5 stars): I can have this dessert every day. It is more on the sweet side, but it is so good when you try all at once. read more