Best Burgers in Recife: Boa Viagem and More

The best burgers in Recife are spread between Boa Viagem, the long beachfront district in the south, the leafy residential areas of Graças, Espinheiro and Casa Forte in the north, and Recife Antigo, the historic island quarter that fills up on weekend evenings. Burger kitchens here can draw on one of Brazil’s most distinctive regional pantries.

Northeastern Brazil has its own beef tradition in carne de sol, salted and partly dried beef, usually served with macaxeira (cassava) and butter. Queijo coalho, the firm cheese sold grilled on skewers on the beach, holds its shape on a hot griddle, which makes it a natural burger topping. Pernambuco also guards its sweets: bolo de rolo, a rolled cake with paper-thin layers wrapped around guava paste, is protected as part of the state’s cultural heritage. A burger in Recife has to stand out on menus that already carry all of these.

Burgers in Recife: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Boa Viagem, Recife Antigo, Graças, Espinheiro and Casa Forte.
• Regional ingredients: carne de sol, queijo coalho and macaxeira.
• Local sweet: bolo de rolo, Pernambuco’s thin rolled cake.
• City layout: Recife Antigo sits on an island, linked to the rest of the city by bridges over the Capibaribe and Beberibe rivers.
• Currency: Brazilian real (BRL).
• What to look for: a kitchen that uses northeastern ingredients with a reason, not as decoration.

Every guide we publish on Recife is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For other cities in Brazil and around the world, see our burger restaurant guides.