When planning my trip to Rio I did a bit of research on restaurants and found Oro, Oro Rio de Janeiro. Oro was founded in 2010 and is well known in the Brazilian food scene, has a couple of stars as well.. Definitely sounded like a good place for me learn more about Brazilian cuisine.
To Start
To start a mini Gin and Tonic.. Interesting and a good start to the dinner
At Oro they provide two tasting options, one with 2 main courses and one with 4 main courses. I opted for the 2 main course option called afetividade and the wine pairing of course.
Snacks
Round 1 – Oyster and Guava
What better way to start a dinner than with an oyster. Very fresh and the combo with the pepper was excellent.
Cave Geisse Blanc de Blanc Brut, D.O Altos de Pinto Bandeira, Brazil
| Appearance: | Bright pale straw with a light persistent bead |
| Nose: | Refreshing nose with hints of citrus |
| Palate: | Crisp |
| Finish: | Medium length with a slight sour aftertaste |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 Paired well with the oyster |
Round 2 – Crispy Stack
The top tier was Scallops and Heart of Palm, a great combination of flavours and textures. A very good scallop.. Definitely crunchy!
Next up was the Sweet Potato, Cod and Kale, bottom right. Also a good combo, love the tail of lime. More crunch.
The third dish of this round was Jamon, Fish and Tomato, bottom left. The wasabi pops out, along with the citrus. Crunch.
Rankings… The Scallop, then Oyster, followed by the Jamon and then Sweet Potato. A tight race!
Round 3
Finger lime, bottom. Nice bit of spice, loved it
Carabinero and Pumpkin Squash, top with the bread stick. And the great combos keep coming.. Adore… Had to cheat and use a spoon though, other wise I would have left way to much in the bowl.
Cheese combo, top of the blue plate. Nice mix of cheeses, both savoury and a hint of sweetness.
It was hard to rank these three, finger lime first, followed by the Carabinero and then the Cheese. The Scallops are still winning the race.
2020 Bagueri Rebula, Brda Slovenia
My first Rebula…
| Appearance: | Youthful pale lemon |
| Nose: | Reserved nose of lemon, grapefruit and a hint of biscuit aromas |
| Palate: | Fresh, austere palate |
| Finish: | Medium length |
| Oz’s Ratings: | 3 out of 5 |
Round 4
The Tamaki is the floral arrangement looking dish at the bottom of the first photo. Nice and like and savoury. Yum.
Shrimp and chayote mochi, middle. You can definitely taste the Japanese influence. A bit crunch with the rice flour on the bottom.
Duck and “tucupi” was next up , top of the first photo.
Another tough choice to pick which was the best out of these three, I went with the Shrimp, followed by the Tamaki and then the Duck. The Scallops are still out front.
Round 5 (and the final round of Snacks)
Pork belly with pineapple kimchi sandwich, “Cervantes”, a local favourite, and the new leader for the dish of the night. Nice level of spice with the pork belly coked to perfection, very tender.
At this stage I decided to change my mind on the number of main courses and went for all 4, called criatividade which includes a couple of extra wines . I hope I can fit them all in plus the dessert
The Main Courses
Lobster
What better course to start the mains with, Lobster with Pistachio Creme and charred leek. Excellent, the combination of the lobster and the leek works very well.
2020 Royal Palmeira, Loureiro, Minho, Portugal
Another first time grape for me Loureiro.
| Appearance: | Pale gold |
| Nose: | Pleasant combo of green grass, jasmine, citrus and mineral aromas |
| Palate: | Refreshing, light and balanced |
| Finish: | Medium length with a bit of a sweet finish |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3.5 out 5 I really liked this, will need to find more. |
Sea Bass
Next up was the fish of the day, Sea Bass, with corn… Pinot Noir was a great paring with the fish. Nice broth, a bit bold, which works with the Pinot Noir. A very enjoyable dish.
2022 Villa Wolf, Pinot Noir, Pflaz, Germany
Must be good it is by Dr Loosen…..
| Appearance: | Light bright ruby |
| Nose: | Attractive nose of cherry and possibly some cedar, hint of black pepper aromas |
| Palate: | Balanced, light tannins |
| Finish: | Medium finish with a slightly sweet tail |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 Enjoyable |
Mushroom
The next main course was Mushroom and Barley. Great presentation, two different mushrooms, I missed what they were, with the barley hiding underneath. Very savoury and enjoyable, kept getting better the more you dug…
2019 Ksara Chateau, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Lebanon
| Appearance: | Deep purple |
| Nose: | Medium nose, capsicum, hint of forest floor, blackcurrent aromas |
| Palate: | Dry, savoury tannins |
| Finish: | Medium length with some heat on the tail |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 A food wine… |
Steak
Brazilian Beef, have been salivating waiting for this, cashew buts and celery. Lots of flavour, very tender, really enjoyed this… I would love to cook some Brazilian Beef on the BBQ, see how it fairs against the Argentine and Australian beef.
2019 Guaspari Vista do Chá, Syrah, Espirito Santo do Pinhal, Brazil
| Appearance: | Deep crimson, viscous |
| Nose: | Medium nose, berry, cherry, spice, vanilla and maybe be a bit of cacao aromas |
| Palate: | Savoury, evolving tannins |
| Finish: | Medium length |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3.5 Paired exceptionally well with the beef |
Dessert
“Cajá” fruit, almond cake and eggnog. Looks amazing, great presentation, tasted pretty good, a different take on almond cake.
2018 Leonis Ėdes Szamordoni, Tokaj, Hungary
| Appearance: | Pale lemon, lots of legs |
| Nose: | Bold pleasant of nose, passion fruit, lychee, citrus aromas |
| Palate: | Medium bodied |
| Finish: | Long, lingering, enjoyable finish |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 Paired well with the almond cake, though there was no contrast |
Oro Rio de Janeiro
Oro Rio de Janeiro is definitely a place to include when visiting Rio, excellent service, amazing food and a very decent wine pairing.
The portion sizes are not too big and, if you have a decent appetite, you can handle the four main course option.
With respect to the wines, they have some pretty “out there” choices that I would never have tried unless they were included as a part of the wine pairing. The Sommelier knows their stuff.
A place to book ahead of time as it was fairly busy on the Tuesday night I was there.
My favourite dish for the night was the Pork Belly Slider.
And the wine of the night for me was the 2020 Royal Palmeira, Loureiro, Minho, Portugal.
Would like to return and to experience the menu as it continues its evolution.
Cheers!
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