Vegan-friendly
Ovo
Pizza
Organic
Western
Juice bar
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Brazilian

Natural food restaurant offering vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free food. Confirmed closed, Dec 2020.


Venue map for Bio Carioca
© OpenStreetMap contributors

59 Reviews

First Review by jcjames11

naomilmoore

Points +169

Vegan
01 Feb 2018

Good food in a popular location

Health food restaurant offering an impressive selection of salads, quiches, bakes, etc. Good to have a veggie option in such a touristy location which I don’t doubt is reflected in the price - not that it’s mega bucks by any means. Food was good, not amazing - we had to send a few things back as they were lukewarm but it was New Years Eve and the restaurant was slammed - so this is probably why.

Bioman

Points +527

Vegan
12 Jan 2018

good food

good food, healthy but a bit overpriced ( its Copacabana)

Pros: healthy, lot of vegan options

Cons: less options for dinner, overpriced

mellmann

Points +279

Vegan
10 Jan 2018

good food, vegan options

Feijoada was very tasty, also very light, could have eaten double. Many vegan options

Pros: many vegan options

panicoantonio64

Points +52

Vegan
11 Nov 2017

vegetariano con opzioni vegane e glutine free

Posto carino e curato.
Manca scelta insalate nel menù.
Prezzi eccessivi per piatti che propone.
Staff disponibile ma pochi parlano inglese.

dazedkiwi

Points +710

Vegan
20 Oct 2017

Good vegan options

We’ve visited twice as at times it seems this place is the only option open!! English menu available which is colour coded for vegan, egg free and vegetarian. Nice green juice! We’ve learnt that a “burger” doesn’t always constitute a “hamburger” with a bun and salad. Quinoa burger was a bit dry, however came with a lovely avocado salad. Portion sizes on the small side.

Pros: English menu, Vegan options clearly stated

Cons: Price compared to portion

KathrinPeters

Points +256

Vegan
03 Oct 2017

Glad I found this place!

Great restaurant, friendly staff. Not all of them speak English, but the menu is, including easy to navigate color codes for vegan, gluten-free and egg-free. On top of the regular menu they have daily options that always include a vegan dish as well.

Food was good, but they don't seem to use spices a lot, so it could've been more interesting in taste. They bring oil, pepper and Himalayan salt with every dish though, so you can spice it yourself.

I had the vegetable quinoa risotto, the green juice and a small veggie soup of the day. All solid and very fresh!

On top of it they have good WiFi!

Good solid choice in Copacabana!

Pros: WiFi, Easy to navigate English menu

Cons: Food taste could be more interesting with use of m

JeremyIrvine

Points +21

Vegetarian
15 Aug 2017

a wonderful oasis

Tucked away in a side road 5 mins from Copacabana beach is this simple modest restaurant. With the focus on quality we enjoyed the daily specials from an English menu. My children loved the thin crispy based pizza's.

Pros: good value for money, clean facilities, friendly s

socalRob

Points +231

Vegan
31 Aug 2016

Big selection including many vegan items

The selection is really the best part of this particular restaurant. I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth with so few vegan or vegetarian restaurants in Rio de Janeiro, but unfortunately the food was quite bland. The sandwich I ordered was inoffensive, but it wasn't especially cheap and not worth going out of your way for.

I'll try something different next time I'm there (no doubt I'll be back with the smallish vegan selection in Rio), and I may change my review after trying something else.

EliranNoy

Points +15

Vegetarian
10 Aug 2016

One of the best..

Best vegetarian food in Rio!!

Siva_Parsippany

Points +17

Vegetarian
05 Jan 2016

Nice Vegetarian place

Had late lunch at Bio Carioca, a Vegetarian place near Copacabana beach.Bit expensive but good food. Ask for menu in English.

Pros: Good Ambience, Close to Beach, Good Food

Cons: Expensive

manic-organic

Points +246

Vegan
21 Oct 2015

Fantastic food, huge selection, daily specials, English menus available

Great vegan / vegetarian café. Lots of seating and a huge selection of food in comparison to most places. Beers and wines also served.

Pros: Huge selection, Daily specials , Large seated area

Cons: Most staff do not speak English so can cause some , Very popular so some items run out fast

spixveg

Points +382

Vegan
29 Jul 2015

an oasis in Copacabana

one of my favorite restaurants in Rio. good food, different mains every day with extraordinary cakes and delicious juices. the service is mediocre, this is Rio don't expect that much.
a small oasis on Copacabana.

andrea.linnea

Points +60

Vegan
29 Jun 2015

Delicious with many choices

The menu was huge, but the plates quite small. Order a side salad if you are hungry! Everything I tasted was excellent and I recommend the feijoada, the classic meat meal in brazil, made vegan. They have many types of desserts, but unfortunately everything is not vegan. A plus is that they have marked clearly in their menu which meals contains lakto-products and egg. Enjoy!

Shanti shanti shanti

RenataScotti

Points +181

Vegan
12 May 2015

Do they know what vegan means?

The food is good, a little expensive, though. I was just upset because I ordered a vegan meal and it came with a side salad with honey mustard dressing and cheese....
Good caipirinhas!

Pros: good drinks, good food, gluten free options

Cons: service, price

ValeDock

Points +59

Vegan
31 Mar 2015

Great vegan option in Copacabana

They have a lot of vegan options, and on the menu (you can ask for the english version) they specify if the dish is vegan or vegetarian.

The attention is normal but fast.

The food is delicious.

This was the first place that we came with my boyfriend in Rio, and we were totally thankful with this little bio paradise. Please, you have to taste the vegan feijoada!

Pros: Good food, Very clear

Cons: The staff, A little uncomfortable

Vanessa Norcia

Points +22

Vegan
12 Feb 2015

I recommend!

I like because is delicious, cheap and there is a lot of options.
Actually there is aonther one in Shopping Downtown/Barra da Tijuca

BrunoPadilha

Points +103

Vegan
21 Jan 2015

Good Food, service is ok

I went there for dinner with my girlfriend. The waiter did not give us much attention, maybe he was just having a bad day.

We had to ask him to come back to our table several times, because we had questions about the menu.

The food was pretty good, though. I ordered a mushroom omelette and my girlfriend had a mushroom bifum (rice spaghetti). They where both excellent, and well served.

Dinner for two with beverages was R$90 (about 35 U$D).

If you're around Copacabana near Ipanema and Arpoador, I recommend the place.

Pros: Nice Vibe, Good Food, Well Served

Cons: Service is just OK

Librahi

Points +350

Vegan
07 Jul 2014

Pretty Good In Copacabana!

Liked this place. Very small in area with lots of seating (crammed a little) but a nice atmosphere. Food was great and clearly labeled vegan, gluten free, and just veg. I ordered a vegan item and they brought me cheese on the side, which always bothers me. Food was good though.

Hridayan

Points +44

Vegan
05 Jun 2014

Delicious lunch in a nice setting

We were in copa today at the beach so headed to bio for lunch.
The venue is light and airy, with a split level dining area and a modern feel.
The food was delicious! We had the set rice and bean plate which comes with sautéed kale yummmm! I've been missing some greens since we got to Brazil and this was perfectly cooked, not over done as sometimes can be the case. We also had the tofu mushroom quiche which was sensational.

The staff were very friendly and helpful and having an English menu is a big plus. The menu also clearly marks which dishes are vegan, gluten free etc.Will definitely be back (maybe even tomorrow).
We are in Brazil for 55 days and I had been worried about getting decent vegan meals whilst here, but with places like Bio Carioca I need not worry.

Pros: Quiche, English menu marking vegan dishes

Cons: None

enRoute

Points +1401

Vegan
07 May 2014

great little oasis

like others, I really liked this place. nice good, nice environment, open Sundays, friendly staff. it really isn't that vegan (cheese and cream used in many dishes), but if you communicate to them they'll offer you plenty of options. Very close to the metro.

Pros: delicious, friendly, good location

Cons: pricey, could be more vegan

Vegtravel4

Points +319

Vegan
10 Dec 2013

Vegan lunch in Copa

If you're staying in Copa and are vegan, you'll be so pleased you found this place. We went our first day and enjoyed a nice lunch. It's hard to find a spot offering vegan food in Copacabana, and this place is cute to boot! It reminded me of some of the vegan cafés in LA (like a more Brazilian Real Food Daily). They do have cheese, so be sure to select the (clearly marked!) vegan items only. Thank goodness for the English menu.

We sampled the quiche, yakisoba, juice, and spring rolls, and were happy with the price and taste. Highly recommend the juice and any of the Asian-inspired dishes. Not the greatest vegan food I've ever had, but good for this neighborhood.

If you're staying in Copa, I also recommend Vezpa Pizza (they have a vegan pizza on the menu, plus delivery).

Pros: Asian-inspired entrees, English menu, Near Copacabana

Cons: A little bland, No faux cheese

jencompgeek

Points +311

Vegan
10 Dec 2013

Excellent small plates

This place was a life-saver during our recent stay in Copacabana Beach. It was pretty much the only vegan place nearby. From what I recall, at least half the menu was vegan (and clearly marked as such). We went there for lunch and ordered a number of small plates off the daily lunch menu. The tofu and hearts-of-palm quiche was unbelievably good. The staff were friendly despite the language barrier (the waiter was unbelievably patient with all my menu pointing). I think we ended up getting 4 different things plus a fantastic banana juice and the bill was still extremely reasonable. I would definitely eat here again.

Pros: varied daily menu, vegan, price

YahelSherman

Points +507

Raw
11 Nov 2013

cool place !

The Vegan dish , Bifum ( tiny Rice nudles) with Shitaki Mushroom was great ! A bit salty but still good .
Very nice music & relax atmosphere to eat .

Zambezikid

Points +413

Vegan
23 Jul 2013

Great place

A great veggie restaurant in Copacabana ... apparently the only one! I spoke to the owner and she tells me that plans are afoot to open the place for evening meals soon, in addition to the current noon til 6 pm arrangement.

Staff were very helpful and can speak English... although they do have an English version of their menu too. All food is categorised gluten-free/vegan/veggie. There is a daily menu of hot plates in the counter plus a la carte menu. The quality of the food is very good and the dishes are quite imaginitive; I particularly liked the quiches - ununusual for a vegan dish. Also enjoyed the many desserts that they make.

Price is pretty reasonable - RL 7-10 for a dish.

I liked this place so much, I ate here most days I was in Rio

Pros: Helpful staff, Wide choice of vegan foods, Great desserts

Ms. Bella

Points +127

Vegetarian
15 Jun 2013

Great find

Brazilian dishes, vegan style. What a relief to find a small culinary delight for the vegan preferred diner. I followed the suggestions and other reviews to this little place and was happy to eat very well. The dish I chose was a "Moqueca de caju" a traditional northeast dish with surprising and savory vegan modifications. I added accompaniments of rice and farofa to round out the meal and had two freshly juiced drinks. The menu is varied and full and I look forward to coming here again. The servers and owners were very friendly and overall the experience was very fulfilling and delicious. Quiet atmosphere and I ate downstairs while watching a soccer match on a wide screen TV.

Pros: great menu, varied items, quiet, pleasant, vegan!

Cons: really could not find cons here

eatinggreen

Points +608

Vegan
04 Jan 2013

A convenient organic lunch option

We weren't blown away by this place but it was ok all the same. The ambience is lovely - it's really nicely done out in natural woods with some modern touches... feels very new and trendy. The menu is not huge but sufficient nonetheless. Most of the best options are listed on the daily specials list, so the experience will be different depending what day of the week you visit. We ended up with quite a lot of proteins and not so many veges. The juices were not the super vege concoctions we prefer either, instead being mostly fruit based - some interesting and unique combinations though, including the use of herbs and spices in them.

The food arrives at the table very quickly after being ordered, so they must be pre-made..obviously fresh would be better, as you don't get that buzz you get from freshly prepared meals. The taste profiles are also not quite up there with the best - we suspect the chefs are not all that accomplished. They are trying though and the vibe is positive and upbeat, so kudos to them.

No English is spoken but they have an English version of the menu. Ordering involves finding the Portugese equivalent and pointing to it.

All in all, not a place we will be running back to, but if we are in the area and hungry, we will probably try our luck a second time. It's certainly doable.
Updated from previous review on Thursday January 03, 2013

Pros: organic, nice interior, great location

Cons: mostly pre-made, not heaps of veges, flavours could be improved a bit

rosie

Points +482

Vegan
11 Jul 2012

Great place for lunch

Really near to the beach and easy to find. No one spoke English when I was there but the menu was helpfully colour coded for vegan, gluten free etc. Was a real treat to have some really tasty and well prepared food, it was much more gourmet food than anything else I tried in Rio and reasonably priced. i had a vegan heart of palm quiche which was really tasty. Pity it isn't open in the evenings.

Pros: good food, good value

Cons: only open for lunch, no english spoken




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