Rua José Roberto Macedo Soares, 5, Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22470-100;
tel. +55 21 2259 7996.
http://restauranteguimas.com.br/
By J.P.
Restaurant Guimas, in the Gávea district of Rio de Janeiro, opened in December 1981. It therefore completed 40 years last December, a date that was appropriately celebrated with a party at the restaurant. My memories of Guimas go back to the 80's, when you would wait for a table standing up around high tables that were on the outdoor space in front of the restaurant. Small bites, caipirinha, and lots of things to talk about would make the wait seem short, no matter how long it had been. Since then, the high tables have been replaced with regular tables, available for outdoor dining, but Guimas is still there. Along the years, there were three other Guimas branches: Ipanema; São Conrado Fashion Mall; Barra Shopping. Those eventually closed, and only the original Guimas in Gávea remained open.
Two couples, Ricardo and Priscila Guimarães, Chico and Tintim Mascarenhas, were close friends and were looking for something they could do together. Somewhat by chance, the idea of opening a restaurant came up. The name chosen was simply the combination of the first three letters of the two family names. In any case, 40 years later the business is still going. A lot happened since then. After Ricardo Guimarães died in 2009, the Mascarenhas took the leadership of the restaurant. Tintim Mascarenhas died in 2014 and, since then, Chico has managed the operations, more recently together with his daughters.
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| Dining room |
The Guimas website characterizes the restaurant as offering international cuisine with a “boteco” soul. Tasting Bites has recently reviewed two restaurants in Rio that offer what we have referred to as “boteco food” (Boteco Princesa; and Tasca Miúda). This seems to indicate that, 40 years ago, Guimas was already tapping on the “boteco food” niche that more recently became trendy in Rio.
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| Bar |
In the last several years, during our visits to Rio, we have always included Guimas in our list of places to go. Our last visit to Guimas occurred early last January, less than a month after the celebrations of its 40th anniversary. We got to Guimas around 3:00 pm on a Wednesday and had no problem getting a table for 6 in the dining room. We enjoyed the informal atmosphere, including the view of “Rex volta ao Guimas” (Rex returns to Guimas), a work by the Brazilian artist Angelo de Aquino (1945–2007). Being a habitué of Guimas and close friend of its owners, Aquino painted one of the walls of the dining room wth the iconic dog, a recurrent character in his work.
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| Rex by Angelo de Aquino |
Even before exploring any menu items, you must enjoy bread that comes with butter, liver pâté, cheese, olives, and carrots.
Only then you should consider the next step, sharing some pastéis (fried pastries, similar to an Indian samosa) with your friends. They are listed in the appetizer section. We chose:
- Pastéis de Queijo Brie (Brie cheese samosas). Brie is a soft cow's-milk cheese associated with two French cheeses that have an AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) classification: Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun. However, similar cheeses produced elsewhere in the world are broadly named Brie.
- Pastéis de Camarão (Shrimp samosas)
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| Cheese and shrimp "pastéis" |
We then moved to other sections of the menu. They were: Guimas classics; meat; fish and seafood; poultry and vegetarian; and a section with new creations to celebrate the 40-year anniversary. Our selections fell into different categories. From the meat section, they were:
- Filé da Casa - Molho de mostarda à I´ancienne, vinho branco e creme de leite, batata palha (House Filet – Old-style mustard sauce, white wine and light cream, potato sticks) (J.P. and J.F.). Although not included in the Guimas classics menu section, the House Filet has been there for many years. It was very good.
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| House filet |
- Steak au Poivre - Molho de pimenta em grãos, conhaque, creme de leite, e batata gratinada (Steak au Poivre – Peppercorn sauce, brandy, light cream, potato au gratin) (A.M.)
- Filé do Bêbado - Molho de champignon, vinho tinto, bacon, cebola calabresa e batata gratinada (Drunkard Filet - Mushroom sauce, red wine, bacon, Calabrese onions, and potato au gratin) (G.C.). Calabrese onions are red onions originally from the Calabria region, Italy.
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| Steak au poivre |
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| Drunkard filet |
- Carpaccio de Salmão Gravlax - Blinis de hortelã, cebola, ovo cozido e creme azedo (Gravlax Salmon Carpaccio - Blinis of mint, onion, hard egg, and sour cream) (C.C.). Gravlax salmon is a Nordic dish consisting of salmon that is cured using a mix of salt and sugar, and either dill or spruce twigs placed on top. Blinis is originally a Russian pancake, usually made of wheat.
Finally, there was one selection from the menu section containing the 40-year anniversary specials:
- Feijoada de Polvo - Feijão branco, polvo grelhado, bacon, linguiça e ervas frescas (Octopus and Bean Stew – White beans, grilled octopus, bacon, sausage, fresh herbs) (S.C.)
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| Octopus and bean stew |
As dessert, a few in our party selected:
- Toucinho do Céu (Portuguese Almond Cake) (A.M.). “Toucinho do Céu” literally means “Bacon from Heaven”, and the name of this dessert is sometimes associated with the fact that some recipes include pork lard in the preparation of the cake. Another possible interpretation of the name is that the crust of the cake resembles a bacon.
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| Portuguese almond cake |
To accompany the meal, some had the traditional Brazilian caipirinha and draft beer. I was among those who preferred to have a Brazilian sparkling wine, and I closed with a glass of Port.
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The sparkling wine was: Adolfo Lona, Brut (US $5/glass). Adolfo Lona has a winery in the city of Garibaldi in the south of Brazil. This wine, made mostly of Chardonnay grapes and a small portion of Pinot Noir, is elaborated by the Charmat method, in which, instead of fermentation happening in the bottle (traditional method), the second fermentation takes place in large stainless steel tanks. The Charmat method is more commonly used in the preparation of Prosecco. This wine confirmed the high account I have of Brazilian sparkling wines.
The Port wine was: Porto Ruby, Ferreira (US $5/glass). Ruby is the less complex style of red Port wines. Caves Ferreira are located on the Douro's riverfront, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, and its wines are highly rated. It is one of the several wineries of the Sogrape conglomerate, with presence in Portugal, Spain, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile.
In other visits to Guimas in the last few years, we had the opportunity to try several other menu items. Some examples are given below:
- Picanha Wessel no sal grosso, vinagrete de alcaparras e batata frita (Wessel Rump Cap in sea salt, caper vinaigrette, potato chips) (J.P.). The presence of the Wessel family in the meat business goes back to the 1800’s in Hungary. The family came to Brazil in the 1950’s and opened its first meat store in 1958 in the state of São Paulo. Today, Wessel owns several stores and meat production facilities, and is involved in several meat ventures.
- Filé Crocante, molho de vinho tinto, champignon, presunto, e batata rosti (Crispy Filet, red wine sauce, mushroom, ham, rosti potato) (A.M.)
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| Rump cap |
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| Crispy filet |
- Cavaquinha da Tabuba - Molho de alcaparras, servido com arroz de maçã e coco crocante (Brazilian Slipper Lobster – Caper sauce, rice with apple and crispy coconut) (A.M.). Slipper lobsters belong to a family of crustaceans, which are not true lobsters. Tabuba is a beach in northeast Brazil.
- Pato da Fazenda - Confit de peito e coxa com mel e arroz de pêras (Farm Duck – Breast and thigh confit, honey, and rice with pears) (J.P.).
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| Slipper lobster |
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| Farm duck |
- Picadinho de Filé Mignon, com farofa, banana frita, arroz, feijão e ovo (Chopped Filet Mignon - “farofa”, fried banana, rice, beans, fried egg) (L.C.). “Farofa” is made from toasted manioc flour and may also include other components, such as boiled eggs, meat, and bananas.
- Camarão do Chefe - Gratinado com queijo cremoso e arroz (Chef's Shrimp - Au gratin, with creamy cheese and rice) (A.M.).
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| Chopped filet mignon |
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| Chef´s shrimp |
Dinner for six, including tax, tips, and US $49 of wine, caipirinha and beer, added up to US $210.
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