This is the go-to place for some of my best friends who live here in Recreio dos Bandeirantes…read more When you arrive, instantly you see the outdoor patio seating area and it is always busy. As you walk in, you'll see it is the same. This is a good sign for a restaurant! Each time I have been to ASA Rio, service has always been very professional and very fast. The restaurant is always very clean. The food has always been excellent. And it should be then obvious why this restaurant is always busy! Last night I had a fantastic cut of beef, cooked medium rare exactly as I requested. It was tender and flavorful. For the two sides , I had a Caesar salad which was very underwhelming, with very little flavor, but the redeeming value was the Brazilian cheese used so that was a bit of a welcome surprise compared to the usual shredded parmesan we have back in the United States, and I had grilled vegetables. The grilled vegetables were flat grilled, not flame-grilled as I anticipated yesterday you were moist and soft yet with the right amount of firmness and they had what I believe was a garlic aioli but just a little bit of salt and it was delicious. One of our group ordered a hamburger and french fries and a hamburger looked good. He shared the french fries with us and they were a bit flavorless but abundant. Normally we would all have acai for dessert, the 300, but tonight we did not. It is always delicious, high-quality and a treat. Parking at ASA Rio is on the street and can be challenging. In the past, there was an open parking lot across the street that we would use but it was closed last night.

Asa is certainly a restaurant that has good food , whatever you order from them. But , in my…read moreopinion , there are more bad drawbacks than good points. To give examples about it , i would say that the attendance and the time for the food come to you are a really bad points about restaurant. Moreover , it's a expensive restaurant for the quantity and quality of the food. In sum , if you want a place to eat , and thought on Asa about it , i would recommend you choose another restaurant.

Casa Momus is such a romantic italian spot located right in Rio's Lapa neighborhood…read more The street it lies on is filled with other cute bars, restaurants, and art installations. The interior of the restaurant is romantic and charming. To start, we ordered the bruschetta appetizer. The appetizer had three different kinds of bruschetta (cheese, classic tomato, and prosciutto). While i liked the cheese bruschetta, i thought overall the dish lacked flavor. Next up were our entrees: The gnocchi gorgonzola and seared sesame tuna. The sauce on the gnocchi was rich and creamy, a fairly simple dish that was well executed. The seared tuna was perfectly cooked with the best vegetables on the side. Highly recommend. For dessert we opted for the chocolate mousse. This felt like the highlight of the night. It was so rich and creamy and had the perfect garnish of slivered almonds. Excellent spot for dinner in Rio! Great service, tasty italian food!

Post-theatre Saturday night, I went to meet friends for dinner at Mangue Seco on Rua Lavradio…read more Wait, this review is supposed to be for Casa Momus no? Well, by the time I arrived to Mangue Seco, my friends were asking for the check because they didn't want to eat there after appetizers. I came with a French friend and he happened to know the owner of Casa Momus, a lovely Italian man. So he fixed up a table for us and we went over to Casa Momus's open air patio. As beautiful and electic-sophisticated this restaurant is, people still prefer to eat outside in Rio, and who can blame them? We happened to go to Casa Momus on the second Saturday of the month, after the monthly Antique Fair happens on Rua Lavradio, so Casa Momus had a very busy afternoon, and they were completely out of salads. We made do with the other Italian options, however! We were a group of 7, and got a bottle of white, some caipivodkas, and of course, cerveja. The people who already had their appetite spoiled at Mangue Seco ordered the appetizers, such as the sesame crusted tuna, roasted eggplant, and octopus a la gallega. My friend and I, who had not eaten yet, ordered the salmon and filet mignon, respectively. I was more impressed by the appetizers than the entrees. The appetizers were perfectly portioned, quite a bit of food, big enough to be entrees and shared. Moreover, the fish was perfectly cooked and the octopus insanely tasty (but perhaps that is because octopus a la gallega is the best way to cook it!), accompanied by a zesty and vibrant olive pâté. I thought the appetizers seemed more dynamic, whereas the entrées we ordered seemed a bit traditional. I regretted not getting the fish of the day after I ordered the salmon (only because I truly love salmon and it's not very common in Rio), because the salmon was perfectly cooked, beautifully presented, and atop a bed of puree of chickpeas and ratatouille, but it was rather unremarkable. I'm a fan of bolder flavors and more interesting culinary combinations. But for traditional mainstays, the salmon and filet mignon were perfectly cooked and quality dishes. It was clear that everything that we ate was of quality, and professionally presented. I'd love to come back to Casa Momus on a weekday, perhaps for lunch and sit inside on the first or second floor (both gorgeous and with very different decor) and try more of their salads and appetizers. As it is an italian restaurant, it seemed that their pastas are good, as well. However, I may just be too light of an eater for Rio in general! I'll definitely be back here, perhaps one of the best restaurants in all of Lapa (not a very restaurant friendly area in general) and definitely of Rua Lavradio.