Where are you eating tonight?
Every restaurant, barraca and bar in Fortaleza in one place. Filter by mood, cuisine and neighbourhood, and see live what is open now.
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New to Fortaleza?
Start with what people eat here: crab on Thursday, baião de dois, fresh fish from the market.
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The sea on your plate
Fortaleza sits on the Atlantic and you can taste it. Seafood is the identity of the local kitchen: prawns, crab, lobster and fresh fish, served anywhere from very simple to refined. Alongside it you find the food of Brazil’s Northeast, with baião de dois, carne de sol and tapioca.
On the Beira Mar you eat with a view of the sea. Aldeota and Varjota pack many restaurants into a few streets. And at Praia do Futuro you eat at the barracas with your feet in the sand.
What to eat in Fortaleza
The dishes worth knowing. Read on for what they are and where to find them.
Caranguejo (crab)
Cooked with coconut milk and served with peppers, tomato and coriander. You eat it with a small mallet, cracking open the claws and legs.
Peixada and moqueca
Fish stewed with vegetables and herbs, eaten with pirão (a thick sauce of broth and cassava flour). Common fish: cavala, pescada-amarela, robalo and pargo.
Camarão (prawns)
On almost every menu: with garlic and oil, grilled, or served in a pumpkin (na moranga).
Fresh fish from the market
Choose your fish at the stalls and have it fried or grilled on the spot.
Baião de dois
Rice and beans with herbs, onion, pepper and tomato, often with queijo coalho. The side dish that comes with almost everything.
Paçoca
Farofa of cassava flour mixed with carne de sol, salted and dried beef.
Galinha à cabidela
Chicken stewed in its own blood with vinegar and lime.
Buchada and sarapatel
For the brave: offal. Buchada is cooked in pouches made from the stomach; sarapatel is a stew made with blood.
The best areas to eat
Each part of town has its own feel.
Beira Mar
Eating with a sea view, from the Mercado dos Peixes to the restaurants along the promenade.
Meireles beach guide →Aldeota
The food heart of the city: lots of restaurants within a few streets, from Japanese to regional.
Neighbourhood guide →Varjota
Known as the neighbourhood for eating out.
Neighbourhood guide →
Praia de Iracema
Dinner first, then a night out.
Beach guide →
Praia do Futuro
Barracas on the sand and crab on Thursday.
Beach guide →Mercado dos Peixes
Here you pick your own fish and seafood at the stalls and have it cooked on the spot. This spot on the Beira Mar has been around for more than 50 years; a covered market hall opened in 2016. Before that, fishermen sold their catch on planks on the beach.
📋 Facts
- Av. Beira Mar 3479, Meireles
- Daily: fish stalls 7:00 to 22:00, frying stalls 10:00 to 22:00
- About 45 sales stalls and 4 frying stalls
- Parking and public toilets
💡 Good to know
- Cooking sometimes costs extra, depending on what you choose
- Small bars (botecos) with cold beer right next to it
- The Iate VLT stop is nearby
Which restaurant fits your plan?
A quick guide by occasion.
| What are you after? | Where to go |
|---|---|
| A romantic dinner with a sea view | The Beira Mar. Book ahead. |
| A weekday lunch | Aldeota. Arrive before 12:30. |
| Fresh fish, as local as it gets | The Mercado dos Peixes in Mucuripe. |
| Eating out with children | Roomy places in Aldeota and Meireles, or the barracas at Praia do Futuro. |
| Eating well on a budget | Pay-by-weight restaurants in Aldeota and the centre, barracas on the Beira Mar and at Praia do Futuro. |
| Regional food | Almost everywhere: baião de dois, carne de sol and tapioca. |
Cuisines in Fortaleza
Next to seafood and the food of the Northeast.
Japanese
Sushi, sashimi and hot dishes. Especially strong in Aldeota.
Italian
Pizza and pasta, often with a regional touch. In Aldeota and Meireles.
Meat and churrasco
Churrascarias with rodízio and Argentine parrillas.
Pay-by-weight (a quilo)
You pay for the weight of your plate: a good, affordable lunch.
Questions about eating in Fortaleza
What should you eat in Fortaleza?
Crab (caranguejo), ideally on Thursday at Praia do Futuro, and baião de dois. Fresh fish from the Mercado dos Peixes is also very Fortaleza.
Where can you eat cheaply?
At pay-by-weight restaurants in Aldeota and the centre, and at the barracas on the Beira Mar and at Praia do Futuro. Baião de dois with fried fish is a budget-friendly pick.
When is the Quinta do Caranguejo?
On Thursday evening, mainly at Praia do Futuro. Locals and visitors eat crab at the barracas, often with live music.
Sources: 360meridianos (2018): As comidas típicas do Ceará · Diário do Nordeste (2023): Como a Quinta do Caranguejo tornou-se uma tradição · QuintoAndar: Mercado dos Peixes de Fortaleza