Food & Cuisine in Sao Luiz
In Brazilian food you will find the aromas and tastes of Africa. It is a colonial hangover and nurtured over the ages with dishes prepared from bananas, coconuts, fish, peppers and palm oil. Southern Brazil is the home for the ‘Churrasco', a choice selection of charcoal grilled meat. Coffee is as native to Brazil as football. Brazilians also profess a liking for ‘batidas', fruit beverages made with rum. Mate, a tea-like beverage and the universal beer are not far off in the popularity stakes. Sao Luiz follows this epicurean tradition and cooks up some of its own.
If you want to taste the best that Sao Luiz has to offer in terms of local delights, head over to the Historical Centre and its nightly food stands.
Our Sao Luiz Restaurant Guide below tells you all about the wonderful food and cuisine to be found in Sao Luiz, as well as the best places to find it. Many of the Sao Luiz restaurants, cafes and bars are situated amongst the best known Sao Luiz shopping spots, perfect for grabbing a quick bite between buying that perfect Sao Luiz souvenir. For more information on Brazilian food and cuisine take a look at our Brazil Restaurant Guide.
Food & Cuisine in Sao Luiz
Wining and Dining in Sao Luiz
If you want to taste the best that Sao Luiz has to offer in terms of local delights, head over to the Historical Centre and its nightly food stands. Have your fill and more with the choicest of stuffed crabs (casquinha de caranguejo), shrimp stew (ensopado de camarao), fried fish (pescada frita), shrimps (camarao) and crab cake (bolinho de caranguejo). And never miss out on the city special called ‘arroz de cuxa'- rice cooked with crushed shrimp and garlic, and flavoured with stewed leaves of two native plants. Eating out in Sao Luiz is a foodies delight!
The Historical Centre's eating places cater to tourists but with a menu full of Brazilian dishes like stewed sea food and grilled steak, along with side dishes like farofa (toasted manioc flour) and deep fried pastries called ‘empanadas'. A better run of Sao Luiz restaurants can be found along the less frequented parts of Lagoa de Jansen.
Just look around and you will find the ubiquitous Big Mac or KFC just around the corner at the city centre. Their arrival has played the piper in bringing other multinational food chains too.
Sao Luiz has its own share of high class eateries catering to the well heeled. Most Sao Luiz resorts are at the beach front and serve up exotic but expensive Italian, Lebanese or Japanese fare.
Small bars are a part of the Sao Luiz Old Town landscape but with most of the population converging on the beaches during weekends, these watering holes usually wear a desolate look. Lagoa da Jansen, near the beach Ponta d'Areia, and Calhau are two of the more prominent places to visit if you like your ale.
Make a beeline for Casa dos Produtos Regionais if you have a sweet tooth. A delectable assortment of local confectionary awaits you with sweets, liqueurs and preserves made with local fruits like buriti, murici, cupuaçu or bacuri.
Local Cuisine
Cuisine is shaped by history and Sao Luiz's culinary palette bears that out. Derived from the best of European and African cultures, with a sprinkling of the Brazilian Indian, it is as unique as it is appetising. The local produce inspires a menu with the best catch of seafood. The staple is fish and crab with rice. The most well known dish in Maranhao is the Arroz-de-Cuxa, prepared with typical delicacies, herbs and condiments from the region and dried shrimp, and served with white rice accompanied with shrimp pie. Crab frittata and a shrimp delicacy (caldeirada de camarão) made with coconut milk are also popular. Regional food draws heavily on seafood and local spices. Restaurants in Sao Luiz give a lot of importance to hospitality through local cuisines. The famous ‘afogado' and the almost staple ‘cuxa' with rice are must haves.
Maranhão has its own answer to Coca-Cola. And it's called ‘Guarana'. The ingredients are supposedly secret but the drink is pink, sweet and very popular.
As you walk on the streets of Sao Luiz, you will be hailed from the food kiosks along the pavement. Cheese buns or Pão de Queijo are acknowledged fast food on the streets. Even if you are a committed vegan, don't despair - for Sao Luiz and the region, though very seafood oriented, abounds in a variety of fruits and vegetables too.
