Restaurante e Bar Garota de Ipanema — Restaurant in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

This was all news to me until now, lol. The song "The Girl From Ipanema"? What?? So, this is the actual restaurant where the song was written in. Apparently the writer would see her walking to the Ipanema Beach. Hmm, kinda creepy since she was 17 and he was 40+.

ATMOSPHERE: The open-air corner spot sports a blue tile roof with a bistro look. The inside has a fun vibe with music memorabilia of the infamous song. Street bands may come to the window-side tables so expect to be hounded for a tip. Seating is plentiful.

MENU: Salads, seafood, meat, poultry, pasta, sandwiches, pizza, dessert. Very overwhelming menu. The popular dishes were the meats that are grilled at your table on portable grills, but we wanted something light.

FOOD: Caldo Verde I had no idea what to expect as the "Portuguese-style soup" they make is probably different than the one I'm used to in Hawaii. I took a chance and was positively rewarded! The soup was pale in color like miso soup, with bits of ham, slices of cabbage leaves and potato. Very good flavor with savory and veggie notes.

Stroganoff de Filet Mignon We were expecting the traditional cream-based gravy but instead received an orange-colored sauce that was sweet. Though the meat was tender, we couldn't get past the sweetness and threw in the towel not even halfway through. Pass.

SERVICE: Nothing outstanding. Like at most places in Rio, you need to ask for your bill.

Oddly, our male server asked for a cash tip even though I was paying with a credit card. After simply stating that I had no cash, he pushed everything through.

TIPS: Try to pay with cash. My credit card got compromised while in Rio and I'm not sure where it happened, so this tip appears on all my reviews where I paid with it.

The table where the song was written is available to sit at.

OVERALL: Stick to the basics like grilled meat, cool...

I was here it’s friends today, we were excited about this place because of it’s history (look it up if you don’t know), however, the service was beyond ridiculously slow. My food arrived maybe 45 minutes after I ordered it, and was a little too salty, but other than that, wasn’t bad. My friends ordered fried bacalao fish balls/patties. After waiting for them for over an hour, we asked the waiter, who said that they were out so they are making them from scratch and that it takes some time, but they’re almost ready now. After about half an hour more, they still haven’t arrived so we told the waiter that if they don’t come out very soon, we’ll just cancel. He promised they’d be right out. After about 15 more minutes, my friends got a plate of a mixture of old and new patties. Some were hot and tasted good, and others were cold and tasted stale. Of course we sent them back. The waiter should have let us know from the beginning that it would take a long time to make, and let us decide if we wanted to wait or order something else. And then after such a long wait to mix new with old?! As if we wouldn’t notice??? I think this place is counting too much on the history and story of the place that it’s allowing itself to give terrible service with mediocre food....

We really liked this place. I think it's really meant for the special steak dish but it was so big that it wasn't something only two people could handle. Even our fish fish we had to share. Service was wonderful and we had a great time. We really liked this place. I think it's really meant for the special steak dish but it was so big that it wasn't something only two people could handle. Even our fish fish we had to share. Service was wonderful and we had a great time.We really liked this place. I think it's really meant for the special steak dish but it was so big that it wasn't something only two people could handle. Even our fish fish we had to share. Service was wonderful and we had a great time.We really liked this place. I think it's really meant for the special steak dish but it was so big that it wasn't something only two people could handle. Even our fish fish we had to share. Service was wonderful and we had a great time.We really liked this place. I think it's really meant for the special steak dish but it was so big that it wasn't something only two people could handle. Even our fish fish we had to share. Service was wonderful and we had...