Full-time at the Copacabana

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This was published 14 years ago

Full-time at the Copacabana

Steve McKenna lets his hair down, and his belt buckle out, in the hottest spot south of Havana.

WHAT Lindoia bar and restaurant.

WHERE Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

HOW MUCH Meals from 8 real ($5).

WHY GO Copacabana may well be the world's most famous beach but away from the golden sand lies one of Rio's most fascinating and diverse neighbourhoods.

It's a place where the rich rub shoulders with the poor and dishevelled, plush hair salons trade next to seedy nightclubs and gourmet coffee shops are sandwiched between grungy cafes and juice stalls.

One of the best things about Copacabana is its dizzying array of dining spots. You'll never go hungry here, whether you're after sophisticated world-class cuisine, a ramshackle 24-hour burger joint or an all-you-can-gorge-on buffet restaurant.

During my recent stay in Rio, there was one place I found impossible to walk past without popping in for a bite to eat.

I was first attracted to Lindoia by its gaudy interior design. A blaze of blue and yellow azulejo tiles adorned the walls and all the tables inside and on its foyer outside were full, except for one.

My sister and I grabbed the vacant spot and were handed a menu as thick as a doorstep.

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Befitting its status as a popular haunt for locals, it was in Portuguese with some dodgy English translations tacked on for the benefit of passing tourists.

I chose the Brazilian dish, feijoada a stew of rice, black beans, beef and pork, with lashings of orange, vegetables and cachaca while my sister, a vegetarian, favoured mixed salad and Piamontese, rice blended with mushrooms, cauliflower and cream cheese.

As we waited for our food to arrive, we soaked up the atmosphere. Two blocks from the beach, Lindoia first opened in the 1950s but judging by its decor and smoky, rough-round-the-edges feel, it appeared no one had laid a modernising finger on it since.

Some of the customers looked part of the furniture, notably a white-haired man in a vividly colourful floral shirt, who was cracking jokes with the waiters and a group of young ladies at the table next to him.

When the clock struck 7pm, the night's entertainment began. Below a television showing a Brazilian football match, a singer-guitarist started playing samba tunes, prompting the white-haired man to leap from his seat, take the hand of one of the ladies and begin dancing in the middle of the restaurant.

The locals started clapping their hands, cheering and singing, encouraging the old man even more (not that he needed it). My sister and I couldn't stop laughing.

The food arrived 15 minutes later. Our table was stuffed with trays of food. There was barely enough room to fit our drinks.

It was surreal to be eating while the odd couple danced inches away from us. But it was great fun, the food was tasty and the bill, including beers, came to just 30 real.

I dined at Lindoia half-a-dozen more times and was stunned by the size and quality of the portions, whether it was a basic chicken fillet and chips, churrasquinho (a Brazilian-style barbecue) or, at lunchtime, a stacked cheese and ham sandwich. What propelled it a notch above a bog-standard eatery was its atmosphere and character. Just thinking about Lindoia brings a smile to my face.

FREE STUFF Most bars and restaurants in Brazil tag on a cover charge if there's live music on, so it was a refreshing change to see Lindoia bucking the trend. Artists perform most nights of the week from 7.

BONUS The beach, of course. Even if you're not a sun worshipper, it's impossible not to find something intriguing on Copacabana.

The 4.5 kilometre-long curved bay is a microcosm of Rio life, where surfers, body builders, soccer players and bikini models come out to play and vendors and kids from the favelas (slums) do their utmost to sell you snacks, sunglasses, T-shirts and Brazilian flags. Old ladies walk their tiny poodles, while buff joggers and cyclists thunder past.

The standout building on the stretch is the Copacabana Palace, a luxurious hotel built in the 1920s that can count among its past guests Mick Jagger, Orson Welles, Bing Crosby, the Supremes and the Shah of Iran.

Staying or dining there is too pricey for most but some can't resist a peek inside and take afternoon tea at the hotel (75 real).

DETAILS Lindoia, Av NS Copacabana, 198, Rio de Janeiro, phone +55 21 2543 0649. Copacabana Palace, Av Atlantica 1702, phone +55 21 2548 7070, copacabanapalace.com.br.

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