Fasano Hotel

Had a meal here which was very good. Venician inspired menu with a great range of antipasti, seafood and meats. The few BBQ charcoal grilled items brings it back to Brazil. I dug into a ray of carpaccio and a grilled cod on a bed of purée. It was good, no excellent.
Lets forget for a moment that the hostess lost our reservation and had a pretty bad attitude about it and that the AC was super aggressive, not quite sure it lives up to the 5*. But stepping into the newest addition of the Fasano family (deaigned by Starck) you immediately feel like a rock star and almost expect to bump into Puff Daddy or Madonna and that's worth something.
As much as I appreciate and love VIP areas, there is absolutely NO access to their legendary pool area, not even if you have a spa appointing. It's really disappointing.

Jobi / Portugese bistro

From the outside Jobi looks like a an overly crowded dirty Irish pub. This place is legendary, but you have to try it or hang outside with some choppies (draft beers) to see it. It's buzzing with life, the walls speak their own story with old posters, faded pictures of football player and musicians and tacky images of Rio. White shirted bow tie waiters (only men) hover effortlessly between thenvery close tables, the service is super quick and they luckily swing by often to refill you beer glass. The menu is a mix of different things, I spotted a few French dishes and the word pasta appeared a few times but we went directly for the unknown - the dried meat with bean paste, rice and veggies, a classic Portugese dish. Coming from a Scandinavian country with loads of dried something food, which often comes with a crispy, smelly, fishy sensation - this is however not that dry in that way. Imagine your mothers Christmas duck the next day, that's how is - stringy beef pieces and lightly salted. Absolutely delightful and highly recommended.

Venga / Catalan tapas

One of the best meals I've had so far in Rio. There are plenty of great places in Leblon and on this street especially, but this little gem in particular took my fancy. It's pretty true to the Catalonian tapas I've tried in Barcelona, of cause nothing beats the real deal but so far away from its origins it's pretty good. Even the decor is really cute, white tiles and hams hanging from the ceiling.
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Venga Tapas Bar
Rua Dias Ferreira, 113 - Leblon

The love for crêpes

This little chain offers pancakes and great salads with 40 different toppings to choose from.
It is just such a great alternative to some of the (too many) fried options the street snack world offers. They also have a good range of crêpes but don't expect it to have anything in common with the French savory pancakes, it's more a distant cousin: A dense dough-filled pillow with your preferred filling and a huge amount of cheese. If you like mozzarella and in general melted cheese in moderation please tell them to hold back.

Bibi Crêpes.
Rua Cupertino Durão 81, Leblon
http://bibisucos.com.br/site/v4/