Curitiba offers many bars and restaurants with diverse cuisines, from classic pub food to Ukrainian, Italian, and Japanese dishes. To help guide travelers visiting the capital of Paraná, I’ve put together a list of the places I’ve had the chance to visit on my recent trips, whether for lunch, dinner, or a quick snack.
When planning your itinerary, always check the opening hours, as many restaurants and attractions in Curitiba, including the Municipal Market, are closed on Mondays.
Bars and Restaurants for Curitiba’s Traditional Dishes
To get a taste of Curitiba’s unique food culture, you must visit at least one of these restaurants to try carne de onça, pão com bolinho, and rollmops (pickled fish).
Mercearia Fantinato
Mercearia Fantinato is a traditional boteco (a casual, local bar) in Curitiba, famous for its carne de onça, which many locals consider the best in the city. They have two locations, but the one on Rua Mateus Leme is the most well-known. It’s housed in a building from 1953, with a charming old-school grocery store vibe adapted into a comfortable space.
Here, I tried the famous large carne de onça with one of their draft beers. At this restaurant, the carne de onça is prepared right at your table with fresh ingredients: raw beef tenderloin, salt, onion, olive oil, pepper, sweet paprika, and chives, all mixed until it resembles a meatloaf.
Besides carne de onça, they also serve other Curitiba specialties like pão com bolinho (a bun with a meat patty) and barreado, a dish from the Paraná coast.
Quermesse
Quermesse is another famous boteco in Curitiba, known for its appetizers like meat croquettes, savory pastries (pastéis), cheese rice balls, and various meat snacks. To sample some of the city’s classic food, I tried the carne de onça and the rollmops, a pickled herring fillet rolled with onion.
Bar Cana Benta
Bar Cana Benta has two locations in Curitiba, one in the Hugo Lange neighborhood and another at the stunning Ópera de Arame. I visited the one at Ópera de Arame, where I was able to try the pão com bolinho since I was interested in the city’s traditional dishes.
Baroneza
I stumbled upon Baroneza by chance one Friday night while walking through the Juvevê neighborhood. It’s the perfect spot for those looking for pub food (comida de boteco) and live music. On Saturdays, they often serve feijoada. I took the opportunity to try their bolinho de costela do Baran (a rib croquette), a large meat pastry, and a Harden draft beer.
Restaurants for Special Occasions in Curitiba
For a truly special dining experience, I recommend Terrazza 40, where you can enjoy a view of the entire city from over 1,000 meters high, and Antonina 336, which specializes in traditional dishes from the Paraná coast. For these restaurants, it’s highly recommended to make a reservation, especially if you are with a group.
Terrazza 40
Located in the Champagnat Towers, Terrazza 40 is a restaurant on the top floor of a 40-story building, offering a panoramic view of Curitiba from 1,050 meters high. The service and atmosphere are excellent. It’s the ideal place for lunch or dinner with the most beautiful view in the city. They serve a variety of meat dishes, including Uruguayan and Argentinian cuts, as well as pasta, salads, drinks, and wines.
The same space also houses Confeitaria Curitibana, a confectionery where you can enjoy the sunset. The confectionery operates in two shifts, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Since it only has 28 seats, a reservation is a must.
Antonina 336
Named after the coastal town of Antonina in Paraná, the Antonina 336 restaurant serves caiçara cuisine from the Paraná coast, aiming to revive and modernize the region’s flavors. One of their main dishes is barreado, a traditional stew from the coast, along with grilled fish, crab croquettes, and fresh oysters with honey vinaigrette and sea salt. Reservations are highly recommended.
Barreado is a beef dish cooked slowly for about 14-16 hours in a seasoned broth, inside a sealed clay pot. The result is meat so tender it falls apart, turning into a delicious and juicy shredded beef. Traditionally, barreado is served with manioc flour and white rice.
Ukrainian and Polish Food in Curitiba
Curitiba has a large number of Ukrainian and Polish immigrants who brought their traditional dishes, which have become part of the city’s food scene. Examples include pierogi, borscht, and vareniki. While visiting the capital of Paraná, be sure to try some of these dishes at Ukra Bar, Barbaran, and Tadeu do Pierogi’s food cart.
Ukra Bar
One of Curitiba’s top bars, Ukra Bar is a place I recommend for trying Ukrainian food like borscht, vareniki, holubtsi, paska, and chicken Kyiv. I tried all these dishes and recommend them—they reminded me of the Puzata Khata restaurant chain I used to frequent in Ukraine. This bar also has an interesting signature drink, the borchirinha, a caipirinha made with vodka, beetroot, and ginger, inspired by the borscht soup.
Barbaran
Barbaran is a traditional Curitiba bar where you can also try Ukrainian dishes like vareniki, borscht, and holubtsi, in addition to the city’s typical pub food. This bar might be easy to miss when walking down Augusto Stellfeld Street, but it’s recognizable by the tryzub (the coat of arms on two of the flags in the image) on the door of the Ukrainian Society of Brazil, which is in the same building. It’s a place with great value for money, frequented by Curitiba residents of all ages.
Tadeu Rei do Pierogi (King of Pierogi)
Tadeu Rei do Pierogi’s food cart is a Curitiba institution, known for its delicious pierogis, a stuffed dumpling typical of Polish cuisine (similar to Ukrainian vareniki and Russian pelmeni). I waited in line on a Sunday during the Largo da Ordem Fair to try his pierogi, the bigos (which can be filled with sausage or mushrooms), and the Pączki doughnut.
The cart operates in a different location each day of the week:
- Largo da Ordem Fair: Sundays
- Alexandre Gutierrez Street: Tuesdays
- Hugo Lange: Wednesdays
- Água Verde: Thursdays
- Praça da Ucrânia: Fridays
- Batel: Saturdays
Where to Eat at Curitiba’s Municipal Market
At first glance, Curitiba’s Municipal Market is surprisingly clean and organized. It’s frequented by locals who go there to buy fresh, high-quality products and to eat traditional Curitiba dishes. If you’re not from the region, you can buy typical products like pinhão (pine nuts), erva-mate, and the pickled fish rollmops at Armazém Zelma.
Since the market has a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, and shops, I’ll mention a few I visited. If you’re in Curitiba for a few days, I recommend visiting throughout your stay to explore the diverse dining options.
Box do Eliseu
At Box do Eliseu, I took the opportunity to try the bolinho (meatball) and the pão com bolinho, which are among Curitiba’s typical foods. This place is known for making the best meatball in the city, and it truly lives up to its reputation. Excellent service, fair prices, and they also offer home-style meals, natural juices, and coffee.
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Anarco Restaurante
During one of my visits to the Municipal Market, I had lunch at Anarco Restaurante, founded in 1991 by Ilsa Artusi Agottani, a descendant of members of the Socialist Colony Cecilia. It’s an ideal restaurant for those who love Italian cuisine, with pasta, wines, and mignon steaks being among the house specialties.
Colônia Cecília
For cakes, sandwiches, and coffee with colonial products, a place worth stopping at in the Municipal Market is Colônia Cecília.
- Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Sundays, until 1:00 PM.
Armazém Zelma
Armazém Zelma has been operating in the Municipal Market since 1960. It was here that I bought the pickled fish rollmops and also found a brand of chimarrão yerba that I had never seen in Santa Catarina.
When you visit Curitiba, you should at least try the carne de onça and pão com bolinho, as they are typical dishes of the city that you won’t find in other Brazilian regions. If you’re heading to Morretes, trying the barreado is mandatory, and in this post, you’ll find a guide on what to do in that city after your scenic train trip through the Atlantic Forest.
Originally posted 2025-08-14 03:25:55.
