By Mary Bolling Blackiston, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Eat in Rio, a three-year old publishing company specializing entirely in gastronomy, is an increasingly popular resource for food-lovers looking to discover new restaurants in Rio. Their service includes a guidebook (in Portuguese) as well as vouchers for use in 184 restaurants, offering a two main courses for the price of one.
While the vouchers are a huge attraction, Eat in Rio emphasizes that it is a guide above all else, not a discount service. This comprehensive guide aims to maintain interest in older restaurants, while constantly remaining on the lookout for new ones.
From Glória to Barra, Eat in Rio also looks at a diverse range of neighborhoods throughout the city of Rio. Its selection also steps outside the city to include restaurants all around the state of Rio, from neighboring Niterói to Nova Friburgo and Teresópolis. There are places suitable for all occasions, such as parties, dates, breakfasts or even just a simple “lanche” (snack).
Eat in Rio proudly claims that each restaurant selected has been chosen for a reason. The elected restaurants were picked by the team because they each had something that made a team member want to go back.
According to Eat in Rio, “Not all [restaurants] are sophisticated, some are even simple, but, in common, there is always something “above average”, whether it be in the gastronomy, the charisma of the chef, the friendliness of the wait staff, the atmosphere of the restaurant…”
Furthermore, to add to its appeal and legitimacy, customers can rest assured knowing that no financial compensation was received by any of the restaurants. The only requirement was that the restaurant gave the client one free main course with the voucher.
Carioca Carla Cristina da Costa has used Eat in Rio a few times before and says that it fulfilled her expectations, but states, “I was annoyed when I received by email a promotion to buy a book for Eat in Rio, much cheaper than what I had paid on the site weeks before.”
She continues, “Another observation is that when they sell [the voucher], they don’t make it clear to the customer that each establishment has it’s own policy regarding the use of the voucher. Only after you buy do you know, for instance, that depending on the place, you need to make a reservation before to use the voucher or otherwise it’s not accepted at all hours or days of the week.”
The book tries to help mitigate any disappointing experiences, and they say to always refer to the specific page of each restaurant before using their voucher, checking “open hours and possible limitations”.
Finally, the company also provides the opportunity to buy gifts, which can be customized to fit the desires of each buyer. The present comes in the form of a box, and the cover can be personalized to include a photo of the restaurant of the buyer’s choice, along with a text of three hundred words.
The price of Eat in Rio starts at R$68; with the purchase of the book, the client also receives vouchers for some or each of the restaurants (depending on the purchase). For more information on the guide and to make purchases, check out their website.