My Review of Two Michelin Star Restaurant Oro Restaurante
During our recent trip to Brazil, our first stop was at Rio de Janeiro, where we explored some of their popular beaches and tried out their delicious cuisines. One restaurant Michael and I booked in advance was a two Michelin Star restaurant called Oro, located at the corner of San Martin and Gen. Venancio Flores. If you’re thinking of dining there, check out my Oro Restaurante review below!
This restaurant is located just a street away from the popular Copacabana and Leblon beaches. The entrance of this place is very sleek with some modern, abstract hanging art and the door itself is very inviting. They offer valet services – although we ended up taking an Uber there since Ubers are very cheap in Brazil.
Reservations was relatively easy to get for this place, but we did book a month in advance as we wanted to be sure we got a spot on the particular night we were there. I’d recommend booking as early as you can – at least a month out.
When reserving, you get the option of sitting in the dining area or at the chefs bar/hightop area. We opted for the chef’s bar so we can watch how the chefs cook and prepare the food while we waited.
It’s a surprisingly small area with, I believe, an upstairs area as well. When we entered, the hostess offered to take my jacket and purse and sat us down at the high-top bar area.
The menu essentially had two options: you are given all the small bites with a choice of either two mains to choose from or all four mains. We both went with all the small bites plus all 4 mains (and the desserts). We didn’t think much of this but in the end it actually turned out to be a lot of food!
Check out the menu below:
The dinner is started by them handing out these small plates with what looks like a small circular white mint. But don’t be fooled! They’re actually mini towels that grow with a bit of water! It was the funniest thing to watch!
After we cleaned our hands we were given our first small bite which was a very oyster in a round white bowl. I’m not an oyster person so I asked Michael to eat mine for me but even he couldn’t eat it. He had his but said it was too salty and large for him. He usually eats oysters but this one was too much for him.
The waiter was very accommodating and asked if there was something wrong with my dish. I simply explained that I don’t normally like oysters, so they offered me something different for me to try. Very nice of them to do so!
I will say that one big plus about the restaurant was their service. The waiters were very informative of each dish and with each dish they brought to us, they explained what it was, where it came from (if a specific fish or meat) and what ingredients were used. Our waiter also mentioned which of the dishes and bites were his favorite.
Here’s a collage of all the bites we got that night. They are ordered by which we received them (top left to bottom right – as if you’re reading a book).
My favorite was their Banh Mi mini burger. The meat was cooked just right and the bread was soft with the perfect texture. I also loved the sauce they had in their burger.
Next up were the four main dishes, along with two desserts. The first photo is a black cod (almost seabass texture and taste) with bok choy dish in a miso soup. The top right is a kimchi rice dish which is a favorite for the waiter we had. I also liked this dish as well. It was just the right amount of spicy. Then the middle left was their lamb and hummus dish, which I also liked. At this point in our dinner we were both very full and wished we had taken the other course option of only two main dishes. We would’ve each selected two and shared between the two of us. Oh well!
And finally, the last main dish was a pork dish. The flavor of this dish was surprisingly very good too! For such small dishes and bite size appetizers, we didn’t think we were going to get full so quickly. But by the end of it we had realized that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.
The last two pictures are of the desserts we each got to pick. I picked their “Tudo coco” or “All coconut” dish and Micheal opted for the “Chocolate e gergelim” one. I personally liked mine better. I especially liked the gelatin-like frosted drops. They tasted so sweet but not too overly sweet. It was the perfect blend of sweetness and creaminess with crumbled cake. Micheal’s was good as well. The chocolate coffee ice cream tasted creamy and the perfect amount of sweetness. I also really loved the texture and thickness of the chocolate drops – they tasted and had the texture of fudge.
After finishing our drinks and taking a breather from all the food we ingested, we asked for the check to head back home. They gave us a small parting gift which contained a few chocolate bon-bons in a to-go box for us. How thoughtful of them!
Would I rate this a 2 Michelin star? Yes, I would. I found the service to be very professional, the restaurant to be well decorated , intimate and comforting to dine in (however small it was), and I also found the servers and staff to be well informed of all the dishes. I can also say that their English was pretty good and not difficult at all to converse with them.
The food itself was tasty. Nearly all the dishes had so much flavor in them. I can’t speak for the oyster or sea urchin ones as I skipped those (not my cup of tea). But otherwise, everything we well presented in small, bite size finger foods. The main dishes were large enough to fill you up. I’d recommend if you are going as a pair to opt for the course where you pick two main dishes instead. This way each of you can pick two different ones and then share amongst each other. We were very full by the second going into the third main course, and we may have enjoyed our desserts more if we had more room for them!
Don’t forget to check out my other Michelin Star restaurant reviews from other parts of the country & world!
Overall, I do give this a two star myself and if you’re traveling to Rio De Janeioro, Brasil, please check out Oro Resaurante while you are there! Hope you enjoyed my Oro Restaurante Review review and that it entices you to check them out!
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