Chef Tatiana Favoretto opened California’s first regional Brazilian restaurant in 2008, serving the iconic seafood stew, moqueca capixaba, given its distinct orange color from urucum (annatto seeds), from the state of Espirtu Santo, and served in heavy panelas de barro (clay pots). Non-Brazilian diners have watered down the experience but we’ve got a hack for you. Head to the Thousand Oaks branch, and call in an order of pirâo (seafood stock thickened with manioc flour) directly to chef Favoretto — she can do it if she’s there, her cooks can’t.

Order the rich, zesty lobster moqueca for two, which comes with white rice, and ask for a double side order of farofa, pimenta (hot sauce), then lay it all out on the table with the off-menu pirâo. Add rice to the plate, spoon over the moqueca, pirâo, and sprinkle farofa over the liquid. Then add some pimenta and a couple more rounds of caipifrutas de maracujá (passionfruit caipirinhas).

Mineiros Bruno and Vanessa Oliveira are serving Brazilian street foods like pasteís, coxinhas, and pâo de queijo that are ubiquitous at quiosques, lanchonetes, and other types of restaurants, but they also specialize in a couple of lesser known savory snacks. Efihas are popular Lebanese inspired flat pastries covered in cheese and herbs or ground meat. The real gems here though are thick slices of torta de frango ou palmitos, shredded chicken or heart of palm pies, which are comforting family favorites sold during evenings at street stands in Brazil, usually with a wide selection of mouthwatering savory pies and opulent, sweet cakes.

When Angelenos think Brazilian barbecue, they might think of images of gaúchos armed with luxurious cuts of sizzling meat pierced by sharp skewers. But the most common churrasco shared by Brazilians is in backyards, and from churrasqueiras (street grills) serving espetinhos, or skewers. Head to Fernada, Watson, and Ana Clara Martins’ Brazilian cookout in West LA and order barbecued picanha, Angus beef, or bacon-wrapped chicken plates. Request an order of garlic bread blackened on the grill and imagine yourself having a quick bite at the 25 de Março street fair in Sâo Paulo, or grabbing espetinhos with family on Rio’s Copacabana Beach.  

For more than a decade, Reni Silva and Ilma have been selling acarajé (black eyed pea fritters), abará (black eyed pea paste steamed in banana leaves), moqueca (seafood stew), and other baiana foods from the northeastern state of Bahia in Brazil. You’ll catch them at all Brazilian events big and small, and taking to-go orders from their Palms apartment. The dishes are floral-scented and colored reddish-orange by aceite de dendê (palm frond oil), a condiment brought over from West Africa, and an essential part of comida baiana (Bahian cuisine).

The biggest frustration we’ve all had eating Brazilian food in LA has been the absence of liquor licenses, depriving us of one of the greatest happy hour cultures on Earth. Tables covered in ice cold beers sipped from small glasses, shots of cachaça, and caipirinhas full of citrus and fresh fruit are all part of that drinking culture. Gaúcha (person from Rio Grande do Sul) cook, Marcia Delima, has answered our prayers, offering beer and caipirinhas to drink with generous PF’s like carne de panela (beef stew), pratos executivos (meat with sides) with picanha, seafood, and their famous virado à paulista — a lavish meal of beans, rice, pork, fried egg, banana, and collard greens. Ask for a beer, bem gelada (ice cold), and enjoy the thrill of a real boteco in LA.

The Original Farmer’s Market branch of this wildly popular por kilo (weighed by the kilo) stand was likely the first viral Brazilian restaurant in Los Angeles for barbecue served with salads, hot dishes, and desserts. No one ever left here without overstacking their plates with picanha (sirloin cap), frango com bacon (bacon-wrapped chicken, and linguiça, maionese (potato salad), chunks of squishy heart of palm, beans, rice, and fried bananas approved by LA’s Brazilian community. 

Nine years ago, Brazilian jiu jitsu teacher Adriano Nasal opened his first branch of this fast growing chain, modeled after shops you’ll find all over Brazil, like the trendy Açai Concept, neighborhood hangouts for nutritious açai na tigela (açai bowls), tropical juices, and salgadinhos (savories). There are six açai blends to choose from like in Sâo Paulo: açai, guaraná, banana, or the sweeter Madly Mango, plus a pitaya base and an açai-chia pudding blend with select toppings. This very Brazilian-style açai chain was inevitable with the high demand Angelenos have for açai and growing interest in Brazilian cuisine. 

With its modern translucent stone nightclub bar, an extensive baller wine list of premier cru Bordeaux and Napa Valley cabs, and sleek, seamless textured granite walls, LA’s best Brazilian churrascaria is as much a Koreatown destination as it is Brazilian steakhouse. Boasting twenty different steak cuts, as well as other meats, the consistency and service here are why this place is always packed. And what the place lacks in Brazilian feel, the chicken hearts more than make up for it. Turn your churrascaria card to green and go.

After managing the DTLA Fogo de Châo, Brazilian-born restaurateur Henrique Heyer has introduced LA to the sleek, modern churrascaria one would expect to find in the upscale São Paulo neighborhood of Itaim Bibi. Leather banquettes, contemporary light fixtures and dark wood panel walls go well with premium picanha, maminha (tri-tip), and succulent lamb chops paired with organic wines from South America. The only flaw is the limited salad bar, but the caipifrutas (caipirinhas with different fruit) are a sweet consolation here at LA’s most ambitious new Brazilian steakhouse.

Chef Natalia Pereira has reimagined the boteco (pub) at her Bohemian, storefront space in DTLA, into a warm neighborhood gathering of regulars that come for her famous empadão de frango (chicken pot pie), selection of salgadinhos (savories) served with her magical green sauce, and a trio of dishes from her home state of Minas Gerais, like feijão tropeiro (trooper bean). Her feijão tropeiro comes deconstructed, and her PF’s, called grelhas, come as grilled meat plates with beans, rice, farofa (toasted manioc flour), couve (collard greens), and vinagrete (tomato and onion sauce). It’s simple, delicious Brazilian food with homemade sangrias beloved by fans of the hostess and chef of this dinner party.