There are some foods that are the spitting image of recifenses (people from Recife). Just like bolo de rolo. You’re just going to find it here, all the rest is just roulade. Bean broth at the beach and at a bar? You’re just going to find it here. The thin tapioca is a nordestino’s (people from the Northeast of Brazil) habit, but Pernambucanos (people from Pernambuco) came to export to all over Brazil. By the way, where is mandatory for tourists to have a tapioca? It’s Alto da Sé, at Olinda, of course.
However, if you wish to repeat the experience or came on a quick trip, you can taste a fine tapioca at Skillus Steak House, on the second floor. From 5 p.m., daily, the house offers a tapioqueira freshly preparing the delicacy to the guests. They can make from cheese to dried tomato and basil and they have a special ingredient: fried onion. Skillus still serves two other delicacies very pernambucanas: wedding cake (with wine and plums) and Souza Leão cake (with a dough-like paste of manioc and coconut). Don’t forget to order some coffee to have along with them and enjoy it.
Almost as famous as frevo pernambucano, Boa Viagem Beach and Olinda Carnival, bolo de rolo is considered Recife’s visiting card. And one of them, in particular, is revered as “the” bolo de rolo. In Shopping Recife it is possible to find this delicacy, made and sold by Casa dos Frios in a kiosk on the second floor. Besides the tradicional one with guava paste, there are options with milk jam and chocolate to eat on the spot or take in a carton ready to go. And if you’re willing for a change, there is bolo de rolo cookie as well.
Toasted and hot bread roll with melted Edam cheese. This is Tostex do 28, another classic from Recife, available at Boteco Steak Bistro. Served originally by Bar 28, at Bairro do Recife, this sandwich became the night owls’ favorite and are servedat several local houses. One hint: give your Worcestershire sauce a makeover. Boteco also created hamburgers commemorating the carnival block Galo da Madrugada and Madeira do Rosarinho, and the frevo Voltei, Recife, affective hymn of the city, famous for all over the country. Galo, for example, became a hamburger with kaiser bread, curdled cheese, tomato, lettuce, caramelized onion, ingenious honey and shredded jerked beef cooked in butter. It is still possible to taste cassava coxinha with jerked beef in the house.
Jerked beef is really one of the favorites of pernambucano. An evidence of this is that Barnabé, although specialized in common patties, has as a sales champion the jerked beef with catupiry patty. But since, speaking of patties, it’s almost always impossible to have just one.It’s worth to try, after the salty version, the sweet “Romeu e Julieta”, which has guava paste with cheese. Imagine all of that hot, melting and dissolving at each bite...
There are things that pernambucanos love and it’s not exactly exclusive from here. One example of this is the sugarcane juice. Cold, the official drink from market places, such as the historical São José Market, located at Recife’s Downtown, it pleases adults and children due to sweetened and refreshing flavor. At Pastelo, it’s possible to taste the combination “pastry and sugarcane juice”. The most ordered is chicken with caturipy. Get the hint.
Concerning delicacies that are Recife’s face, Cartola stays right there, dividing the first prize with bolo de rolo. Made with banana, butter cheese, sugar and cinnamon, the dish is served at most of the restaurants from pernambucana capital. Here in Shopping Recife, it is the flagship of desserts from Tio Armênio, a Portuguese haven located on the first floor of this mall. Not fond of banana or cinnamon? So place your bets on bolo de rolo cheesecake. It’s nothing more, nothing less than iced bolo de rolo, filled with cream cheese and served with vanilla ice cream (!). And if the hunger is greater than a simple dessert and it’s Tuesday, don’t play that hard to get. The Pernambucana Fish Stew is the daily dish, including some marbled rockfish, rice and pirão.
Sun-dried meat is another significant presence in our nordestina cuisine. In Recife, it replaced for many times the jerked beef in arrumadinho (green beans, flour, roasted meat and vinaigrette) and it can be eaten even at breakfast, with cassava and couscous. At Plim restaurant, one of the oldest from this mall, it’s the main ingredient of this dish and it’s baptized as Nordestina Passion. It comes to the table with onions with a side order of rice, green beans, pumpkin flour and vinaigrette. Pumpkin flour, folks, is love. Trust us!
Shrimp Recife, Shrimp Olinda and Shrimp Itamaracá. Few restaurants from Shopping Recife pay so many tributes at once. So, as not to make the sister cities, nor the Northern Coastal island jealous, Coco Bambu, working in this shopping center for more than three years, included in its menu some dishes baptized with the names of these destinations. But if you are willing to change from crustaceans and try other flavors, the Fishing Net is tempting. It serves two or four people and gathers lobster, shrimp, squid, mussel, yellow acoupa weakfish fillet, all grilled and drizzled with provençal sauce. With side orders of creamy rice and saffron. For a drink, Frozen Coconut caipirosca, served on a coconut shell, or Sertanejo: lemon, key lime, Absolut vodka and very typical pernambucano ingredient: rapadura.
Gastronomy for sure is one of the most important points for travelers. Perfumes, textures and experiences lead to unforgettable trips and make a lot of people go around the world after that special dish or restaurant. Sophistication and flavor have a guaranteed space in Recife and, in the mall, they are the key role at Black Angus. Combining restaurant, hamburger and wine bar, this house has as an asset of prime cuts. The guest chooses its cooking point: medium-rare, rare or well done. For anyone who travels with family or friends, Black Prime is the ideal one. Serves well up to five people, with beef strips, T-bone, York and side orders of your choice. Ah, remember to save some space for the grilled pineapple as a dessert. It comes open, filled with ice cream... it’s time to take a picture for the Instagram and eternalize your trip to Recife.
Meats are the highlight of another “restaurant-celebrity” from Recife, Madero. The house came to the mall in 2018 and took the public by storm. Varied cuts share the highlight with the famous hamburgers, with tall meat, cheddar cheese and a handmade mayonnaise that will make you willing to go back to Recife ASAP to have it again. Another option is Choripán, a typical Argentinian sandwich, with smoked handmade sausage. Democratic, the house also gives space in its menu for the veggies: there is vegetarian hamburger, made of quinoa, oat, carrot, leek and onion. It’s worthy to give a try at the handmade ice creams and the beverages. The lime caipirinha and ginger goes in a frozen mug. The right choice against the heat in Recife.
Is a tea OK after this whole gourmet party? The tradition of gourmet teas, hot or cold is increasingly earning the people from Pernambuco. But forget about fennel and grandma lemongrass. At Tea Shop, a Spanish chain with 18 stores in Brazil, the white, green and red teas are the ones who rule. The house offers more than 120 varieties of drinks and accessories that guarantees the trip’s souvenir. One of the most popular is the Strawberry Cream, a red tea with carob and strawberry. There are still beverages made with tea.