Taste a World of Delights with Natal Food and Drink

Natal food and drink has a distinctly Brazilian flair, with unique dishes and drinks that the Brazilians are fiercely proud of. If there’s something South American cultures love to do, it’s eat! So when you’re visiting Natal, you simply must take advantage of the many Natal restaurants available to you in the city.

When trying food and drink from Natal, it’s good to keep in mind that even if you’ve visited other parts of Brazil before, you’re still going to be confronted by new flavors and tastes! Much like the country itself, food in Brazil varies greatly from region to region. So, to keep you informed, here’s a brief look at a few of the culinary delights you may encounter when heading to a Brazilian restaurant in Natal:

• Acaraje: a tasty food often sold by street vendors, an acaraje is a deep-fried ball of black-eyed peas, served in halves with a spicy shrimp and peanut paste in the middle, called vatapa. This dish can also be made for vegetarians, substituting hot peppers and green tomatoes for the shrimp.

• Carne del Sol: sun-dried meat, typically beef and sometimes salted or spiced.

• Churrasco: a Brazilian barbeque! “Churrasquieras” are skewers of meat that are placed on top of a grill and cooked to perfection. Most restaurants will allow you to choose your own condiments, should you desire to add any, while most native Brazilians prefer their churrasquieras simply with a beer and a soccer game on television!

• Feijoada: a delicious stew of black beans, beef, and pork; usually there are several types of sausage included in the dish as well as salted pork trimmings. The stew is made in a large clay pot, and the broth is thick and a rich brown color. It’s typically eaten with rice, and tastes wonderful with a glass of red wine.

What about Brazilian drinks? Here are the two most popular drinks in Natal, which you simply must try:

• Cachaca: as the national spirit of Brazil, Cachaca has a long history of over 400 years as a favorite Brazilian drink! It’s made from sugar cane in a process very similar to that of rum, though Cachaca uses freshly fermented and distilled sugarcane juice instead of molasses. Cachaca also tastes fantastic after a few years of aging.

• Caipirinha: an exotic, traditional cocktail that blends together Cachaca with sugar cane, ice and crushed limes. The ingredients are all thrown together and then muddled with a blunt spoon or a masher, and garnished with a twist of lime!

Since Brazilians in Natal take great pride in their culinary mastership, you never need to wonder when ordering these dishes from Natal restaurants! Though you do want to be sure to try the local specialties – and if the foods described here don’t please your palette, simply ask your server to recommend something! He’d certainly be delighted to help you choose a dish or drink you’re sure to enjoy.

Here are a few local restaurants that you might also be interested in visiting while in Natal. The Natal food and drink offerings at these places have been highly recommended by travelers in the past, making their way into guidebooks as top choices in Brazilian cuisine for visitors to the city:

Tabua de Carne
Av. Eng. Roberto Freire 3241
Ponta Negra – T. 3642-1236

Sabor Regional
Rua Fabricio Pedrosa 45
Praia dos Artistas – T. 202-4407

Farol Bar e Restaurante
Av. Gov. Silvio Pedrosa 105
Areia Preta – T. 202-2005

Enjoy the wide selection of Natal food and drink offerings while you’re in the city, and don’t be afraid to try new things!

From Natal food and drink back to natal.info homepage