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German Restaurants in Rio de Janeiro

While the south of Brzzil, birthplace of the blonde, blue-eyed supermodel Gisele Bundchen, is famous for its German settlers and Bavarian influence, Rio de Janeiro's culinary scene is better renowned for its Portuguese and African influences. It is a pleasant surprise for German visitors to the city, then, to find that they needn't suffer withdrawl symptoms from their favorite national dishes. There is a surprisingly large number of German restaurants to be foud in Rio de Janeiro, all of which serve imported (if steeply priced) German beers and lagers to wash down those sausages and sauerkraut. The first port of call for anybody in the mood for German food and drink should be Santa Teresa, where there are three German restaurants to be found within 20 minutes' walk of each other. The best-established of these is our top pick, Mike's Haus, which was fanously the hangout of choice for Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs during his many years spent exiled in Rio. While Mike's Haus has now opened a second branch on Santa Teresa's main bar and restaurant strip, the original, oposite the little white castle on Almirante Alexandrino, is the best place to come if you want to escape the tourist hordes and have a quiet meal and a drink. The apfel strudel with ice cream is highly recommended. Also in Santa Teresa is Adega da Pimenta, which serves up a hearty 'German Feijoada', with German sausages used to replace the traditional meat off-cuts in the Brazilian national dish. In Centro, both Bar Luiz and Bar do Brasil are famous for the quality of their German food as well as extensive lists of imported German beers, while Bar Lagoa, with its picturesque views, is one of the few German restaurants that would make a suitable destination for a romantic meal.