Food & Cuisine in Florianopolis
Restaurants and bars in Florianopolis serve up a wide range of cuisines to suit the palate of even the fussiest of eaters. Seafood is a well known favourite in Florianopolis, and with the ocean on its doorstep, you can't get it any fresher.
No matter what your budget, the food in Floripa is sure to satisfy!
A few questions that spring to the minds of travellers when planning a holiday are where and what am I going to eat? If these questions have crossed your mind check out our Florianopolis Restaurant Guide for details on the types of cuisine you are likely to encounter and some suggestions for the best places to eat out in Florianopolis. You can also enjoy a Florianopolis shopping spree between enjoying a meal in some of the finest restaurants in Brazil.
Food & Cuisine in Florianopolis
Popular Dishes and Local Cuisine
Being an island, seafood is extremely popular in Florianopolis. The influence of the Portuguese Azorean culture is also dominant in Florianpolis cuisine. Popularly called the ‘cultura açoriana', shrimp forms a very important dish here. One can easily find shrimp cooked in different styles - fried, steamed etc - at the various restaurants and served in sequence. The people of Floripa call it ‘sequência de camarão'. Fresh fish served with rice and beans makes up a traditional meal. Tainha, which is similar to the stripped mullet, is a delicacy in the winter months. Most often it is stuffed and baked. Due to the Florianopolis tourism increase, many Italian, Japanese and Mexican restaurants, and American styled fast food joints serving burgers and pizzas have also cropped up in the city centre.
In the 1820s a lot of Germans immigrated to Florianopolis and one can find beer, sausages and sauerkraut along with the traditional Arroz e Feijdo on the menu. A must have is the sweet Intisica or cane juice.
Where to Go
There is a great choice of restaurants in Florianopolis for both the regular and budget traveller. If you happen to be on a budget, visit the downtown Floripa restaurants which offer great buffets that are served by the kilo at reasonable prices. You will find sumptuous food, salads and fruits on the menu.
A number of options also exist in the Municipal Market in the centre of Floripa which continues to hold its historic and cultural appeal. Charming Florianopolis restaurants serving traditional Brazilian food, with an over abundance of fish and local wine, will satiate any traveller. If you are booked in a Florianopolis hotel with kitchenettes in the room, then stroll to the Central Market and do some shopping. The variety of fresh vegetables, fish and meat are unlimited.
Box 32, a stand-and-be-served style stall in the Central Market, is extremely popular with both locals and tourists. Happy hours start in the afternoon and you'll find all sorts of people in there. As the sun sets, Florianopolis' night life comes alive with some of the best bars in the world. Recently a local bar was even voted the best in the whole of Brazil.
Waterfront restaurants in Florianopolis serving a range of seafood at affordable prices dot Costa da Lagoa. Boats leave for Costa da Lagoa from the Lagoa centre marine on a regular basis. Sambaqui is another destination for food lovers, with restaurants overlooking the ocean offering a great view of the sunset. Sambaqui and Santo Antonio de Lisboa are on the west coast, sandwiched between Jurerê and downtown Florianopolis. They are laidback fishing villages with Portuguese style colonial architecture which are definitely worth seeing. Apart from experiencing the local lifestyle you have to try the sequência de camarão, which is a shrimp sequel. The shrimp cooked in Portuguese style can be had steamed or fried with garlic and will be served with either rice or salads, making for a complete meal without burning a hole in your pockets. Some Florianopolis restaurants add molluscs to give it that little extra something. Sequência de camarão is definitely one of those unforgettable seafood preparations.
Lagoa and its neighbourhood unquestionably have some of the best seafood restaurants in Florianopolis. The centrinho, Portuguese for ‘small centre', is lined with shops, boutiques and bars which are a unique mix of Brazilian tradition and foreign influence.
