Rio de Janeiro Nightlife Guide for Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Singer Luana Mallet debuts her album Retrato Paisagem on the Blue Note’s intimate Copacabana stage — a collection of original compositions rooted in bossa nova and MPB, performed with a small acoustic ensemble. The room seats around 200, tables fill fast on album-launch nights, and the ocean-facing terrace is open between sets. Two sessions tonight: the 8 pm sitting is the dinner show, the 10:30 pm session is drinks only and more relaxed. The Blue Note on Avenida Atlântica is one of the few rooms in Rio where you can hear original Brazilian music at concert-hall quality with the Atlantic behind you. On a quiet post-Carnaval Wednesday with 29°C and clear skies, the terrace between sets is worth the price of admission alone.

Practicalities: Av. Atlântica, 1910 – Copacabana. House opens at 5 pm for happy hour on the calçadão and piano bar (free entry). Concert hall access from 7 pm with ticket. Manobristas available. Smart casual — no beachwear. Book via Eventim or the Blue Note website. Metro Cardeal Arcoverde (Line 1) + 10-minute walk along the beachfront.

Leonardo Bessa takes the Carioca da Gema stage for the midweek samba session — a rising voice in the new generation of Lapa sambistas confirmed on the venue’s own homepage. The house helped pioneer the revival of Lapa as a live-music district in the early 2000s. Twenty-five years on, it remains the neighbourhood’s most reliable weeknight samba house — three floors, intimate rooms, and nightly programming from Monday to Saturday. Wednesday is one of the quieter nights, which makes it the ideal evening to hear the music without the weekend crush. The house has won prizes for its musical programming and its gastronomia de boteco is solid — come for dinner and stay for the samba.

Practicalities: Av. Mem de Sá, 79 – Lapa. Opens 6 pm; music from 8:30 pm. Open Mon–Thu 6 pm – 2 am, Fri 6 pm – 4 am, Sat 9 pm – 4 am. Three environments: salão, varanda, and mezanino. Reservations via Sympla or phone. Card accepted inside; entry bracelet system tracks consumption. Metro Cinelândia (Lines 1/2) + 8-minute walk.

The three-storey casarão on Rua do Lavradio houses over ten thousand antique objects and one of the best live-music stages in Rio. Wednesday is the quietest night of the week — far fewer tourists than the weekend crush — which makes it the best evening to actually hear the music and talk to the bartenders. The Palco Scenarium hosts rotating samba acts from 8 pm. The dancefloor fills by 10 pm with a mix of gafieira dancers and first-timers. Elected one of the ten best bars in the world by The Guardian, and it earns the title on a Wednesday more than any other night. Seven environments across three floors — the main stage is visible from all of them, and the antique décor hits different after midnight.

Practicalities: Rua do Lavradio, 20 – Centro. Open Wed–Thu 7 pm – 1 am, Fri 7 pm – 2 am, Sat 12 pm – 6 pm (feijoada) and 8 pm – 3 am. Tickets via Sympla or at the door. Card accepted. Metro Cinelândia or Carioca (Lines 1/2) + 5-minute walk.

Since 2005, this narrow cobblestoned alley off Rua Joaquim Silva has been one of the most authentic samba addresses in Rio. Márcio Pacheco runs the bar — cold beer, caldo de mocotó, pastéis de angu, and a rotating cast of musicians who play because they want to, not because they were booked for a festival. The weekly Encontros Casuais roda with Inácio Rios and Mosquito anchors the Thursday programme, but the Wednesday session draws a smaller, local crowd that spills out towards the Selarón steps. The post-Carnaval haze has lifted by now — tonight will be relaxed, intimate, and exactly what Beco do Rato was built for.

Practicalities: Rua Joaquim Silva, 11 – Lapa. Opens at 6 pm; roda starts around 8 pm. Cover from R$25 at the door. Cash and card accepted. Confirm tonight’s act via WhatsApp (21 97968-3670) or Instagram @becodorato. Five-minute walk from the Arcos da Lapa. Metro Cinelândia or Carioca. 18+.

Some things in Rio do not close for Carnaval, and they do not close after it either. Nova Capela has been open on Avenida Mem de Sá since 1903 — or rather since 1967, when the original Capela was relocated from Largo da Lapa to its current address further up the avenue. The restaurant was designated a Patrimônio Cultural of the city in 2011. The famous cabrito assado — roast goat served with arroz de brócolis and batatas coradas — remains the anchor of the menu, a Lusitanian comfort dish inherited from the Portuguese founders. Garçons in white jackets circulate between tables decorated with watercolour paintings and a small chapel that may have given the house its name. After midnight, when Lapa’s clubs thin out and the last sambistas drift home, Nova Capela is where the city’s journalists, musicians and night workers gather for a final chopp and a plate of bolinho de bacalhau. On a Wednesday after Carnaval, when most of the neighbourhood is running at half speed, the Nova Capela is a warm room with cold beer and the steady reassurance that Lapa has survived worse than a hangover.

Practicalities: Av. Mem de Sá, 96 – Lapa. Open daily from 11 am; Wednesday hours until the last customer leaves (confirm via @nova_capela). Cabrito for two ~R$175. Bolinho de bacalhau ~R$13. Chopp Brahma ~R$12. Card accepted. No reservations — first come, first served. Air-conditioned interior. Metro Cinelândia or Carioca. Five-minute walk from Beco do Rato.

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