After flying overnight to Rio you might think that a late dining experience is not in order, but with three nights, don't skip ORO where the Michelin Star is well earned and the experience is super fun.
On arrival we got a mini gin and tonic and a choice of menus: Criatividade for R$555 (there are just over 4 reales to the dollar, so this is about $110US)
or Afetividade for R$615. We went with the lesser menu which included all the pre-main course "With hands" courses as well as two main courses each and dessert. It's way more than enough and with the paired wines it comes to R$735, just under $180US. See the FB photos to realize what an amazing deal this is!!
Cave Geisse Brazilian Blanc de blanc sparkling wine arrived and if you know anything about Brazil, it is indeed a wonderful wine country, though limited export. Our server James was from Australia and we explained that we like to dine slowly and savor everything(with extra wine pours) and he was fine with that. Sam ordered a Brahma beer which was so huge it lasted through the entire 3 hour meal!
First came the Oyster on pork crackling with caipirinha sorbet while Sam got a gazpacho with smoked veggies(as he does not eat fish).
Next was shrimp with pumpkin on a tapioca crisp(not sure what Sam got) with Ximxim or local chicken stew with yucca, okra and dried shrimp that had a nice spice to it. Salted cod arrived on a kale chip with chorizo and then the piece de resistance was the Rump steak tartare with squid ink(none for Sam) and bone marrow that was out of this world.
Grilled bread with butter also arrived as we switched to a 2017 Cantarutti from Fruili in Italy. Another set of "with hands starters" arrived as they come in groups: Corn bread with coffee and fennel seed(no licorice taste here) was paired with Squid, fresh coconut and moqueca(Sam got a blini with polenta)
as well as Oxtail with heart of palm and watercress mousse.
So you thought the starters were finished! NO WAY! Intense umami-based eel with rice and apple mousse was next with a Quail egg tempura with charred apple and quid ink.
The final "with hands" dish was Pork rib with pickled pineapple" and by now we had switched wines to a 2013 Riesling Kabinett from Baron K. Knyphausen in Rheingau, Germany which Will quickly dismissed as too fruity and sweet and got a replacement chardonnay or such.
The servers work in teams here and while James explained most of the dishes, all were timed perfectly and we truly appreciated the excellent service and attention. The main course wine was a Chateau Ksara Cinsault/Carignan/Grenache/Mou
Yes there were desserts and we chose one of each to share which were all quite amazing:
Green papaya pollen with fermented honey and Tulha cheese(from a local farm in Sao Paolo) french toast
Corn cake with peanut ice cream and guava with acai
but the winner was the Chocolate cream biscuit with Banana and Passion fruit ice cream.
An amazing Madeira was paired with the desserts and I recall ordering an Uber to get us back to the hotel 15 minutes away after an exhausting first day in Rio culminating in what was a truly memorable meal!
