Restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Michelin-noted seafood at a fraction of the price.
Escama is a Michelin Plate-recognised seafood restaurant in Rio's Jardim Botânico neighbourhood, earning back-to-back recognition in 2024 and 2025 at a $$ price point that undercuts most of Rio's decorated dining rooms. With a 4.3 Google rating across 418 reviews and easy booking, it's the practical pick for serious seafood without the tasting-menu format or four-figure outlay of the starred circuit.
If you're weighing Escama against the $$$$ tasting-menu circuit in Rio — Oteque, Lasai, Oro , Escama makes a different argument entirely. At a $$ price point and two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), it delivers Michelin-recognised seafood cookery without the four-figure bill that defines most of Rio's decorated dining rooms. Book it if you want technically credible seafood in a neighbourhood setting without the ceremony. Skip it if you need a full tasting-menu format or are chasing a starred experience.
Escama sits in Jardim Botânico, one of Rio's quieter, more residential neighbourhoods, at Rua Visconde de Carandaí 5. The address alone signals something: this is not a Leblon showcase or an Ipanema rooftop play. It's a seafood restaurant that has earned back-to-back Michelin recognition by focusing on what's on the plate rather than on spectacle. For the food-focused traveller who has already done the $$$$ circuit , or who simply finds that circuit exhausting , Escama is a meaningful alternative.
The Michelin Plate designation, awarded in both 2024 and 2025, recognises kitchens that produce food of a high standard without meeting the bar for a star. In practice, that distinction matters for how you calibrate expectations: you are getting disciplined, technically sound cooking, not an avant-garde tasting-menu experience. For seafood specifically, that discipline is often more valuable than theatrical plating. Brazilian coastal cuisine draws on an extraordinary larder , the country's Atlantic coastline produces ingredients that kitchens in Europe pay serious money to import , and a kitchen that knows how to handle that material cleanly is worth tracking down. Escama has demonstrated it can do that two years running.
At the $$ tier, the price-to-recognition ratio is difficult to find anywhere in Rio's current dining scene. Compare that to the $$$$ positioning of Oteque or Lasai, both of which carry Michelin stars and price menus accordingly. Escama is not trying to compete with those restaurants on ambition or format , it's offering a different proposition, and for the right diner, a more useful one. If you're travelling to Rio for a week and want one serious meal that won't require a two-month forward booking or a bill that dents the trip budget, Escama is a strong candidate.
Jardim Botânico as a neighbourhood is worth factoring into your planning. It sits between Lagoa and the botanical garden itself, away from the beach-strip crowds of Ipanema and Leblon. That makes it a natural pairing with an afternoon at the Jardim Botânico garden or a walk around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. If you're building a day around the area, Escama works well as an evening anchor. For broader context on where to eat across the city, our full Rio de Janeiro restaurants guide covers the range from street-level to starred.
Google reviews sit at 4.3 across 418 ratings, which for a Michelin-recognised restaurant in a mid-price bracket is a reliable signal. High review volumes at this kind of score typically indicate consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance , the kitchen delivers reliably, not just on good nights. That consistency matters more for trip planning than a handful of exceptional reviews at a volatile venue.
For explorers who want to cross-reference Rio's seafood options against the wider Brazilian coastal dining scene, it's useful to know that restaurants like OCYÁ Ilha and OCYÁ Leblon also operate in the Rio seafood space. Further afield, Gambero Rosso in Marina di Gioiosa Ionica and Alici on the Amalfi Coast show what Michelin-level seafood focus looks like in a Mediterranean context , a useful comparative lens for seasoned travellers. Within Brazil, the decorated restaurant scene extends well beyond Rio: D.O.M. in São Paulo, Origem in Salvador, and Birosca S2 in Belo Horizonte each represent different regional approaches to serious Brazilian cooking.
Booking difficulty at Escama is rated Easy. At the $$ price point and without a star, demand is more predictable than at the city's top-tier rooms. You should be able to secure a table with a week or two of lead time in most cases, though weekend evenings in peak Rio tourist season (December through February, and Carnival) warrant booking earlier. If you're planning around Carnival specifically, treat the booking window like a restaurant two price tiers above , high visitor volumes compress availability fast across the whole city during that window.
Planning the wider trip: our Rio de Janeiro hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the full picture. For regional context beyond the city, Orixás | North Restaurant in Itacaré, Mina in Campos do Jordão, and State of Espírito Santo in Rio Bananal are worth bookmarking for a broader Brazil itinerary.
Depends what you're after. Oteque and Lasai operate at the $$$$ tasting-menu level with Michelin stars — a different category entirely. Oro sits in between on price and formality. If you want Michelin-recognised seafood at the $$ price point Escama occupies, there's no direct equivalent in Rio, which is part of its case for booking.
The venue database does not confirm whether Escama runs a tasting menu format. At the $$ price point with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), it almost certainly isn't leading with a long prix-fixe. Check directly before assuming that format is available.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available venue data. Given the Jardim Botânico address and $$ positioning, it's worth calling or messaging ahead to ask — this kind of detail isn't always published online and can change by service.
At the $$ price point with back-to-back Michelin Plates, Escama is a strong option for a low-key celebration where you want credibility without a $$$$-level bill. If the occasion calls for a grand tasting-menu format with wine pairings and full ceremony, Oteque or Lasai are better fits. Escama works well for two people who want a serious meal without the weight of a formal event.
Yes, on the available evidence. Two Michelin Plates across consecutive years at a $$ price point is a strong signal of consistent quality relative to cost. You're getting Michelin-recognised seafood in Jardim Botânico at a fraction of what Oteque or Lasai charge — that ratio is hard to argue with in Rio.
Escama is at Rua Visconde de Carandaí 5 in Jardim Botânico, a residential neighbourhood that runs quieter than Leblon or Ipanema — plan your transport accordingly. Booking is rated easy at this price tier, but don't walk in assuming availability. The Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) means the kitchen takes the food seriously, so treat it accordingly even if the bill looks modest.
No dietary policy is documented in the available venue data. As a seafood-focused restaurant, shellfish and fish are likely central to most dishes, so pescatarians are well-placed; vegans and those with serious allergies should call ahead and confirm directly before booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
