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ITAIPU RESTAURANT, IPE BAR AND GRILL
| PLANET FOOD
Dining options at the Hotel das Cataratas, Iguassu Falls, Brazil
No Brazilian adventure would be complete without sampling some of the country’s delicious dishes… The Hotel das Cataratas ensures that you won’t be leaving Iguassu Falls with an incomplete adventure.
Text Bridget McNulty
Photography Mark Peddle
In fact, were it not for the unforgettable setting – in the heart of the Iguassu National Park and a stone’s throw from the Iguassu Falls – one could almost say that the food at the Hotel das Cataratas is a highlight. But that would be insulting one of nature’s great wonders, and that simply will not do.
The food is very special, though.
Choose from the Ipe Bar and Grill, where every night a feast of a Brazilian barbeque buffet is laid out in the restaurant and next to the pool; or the Itaipu Restaurant, a more colonial a la carte affair.
We visited Ipe first, and thank goodness we were hungry. An array of interesting salad combinations started us off – purple cabbage and seafood, cucumber, cold cuts and melon, white bean and octopus, and shiitake mushroom, asparagus and pineapple. Delicious, surprising flavour combinations, fresh and unusual, and the perfect way to prepare the palate for what was to come.
The barbeque is a dream come true for any meat lover: beef, spare ribs, lamb, chicken, sausage, pork ribs and chicken hearts, all grilled to perfection on long skewers, and carved up right in front of you. These flavourful, tender cuts of meat are accompanied by a choice of hot side dishes: black eyed beans with cured cheese, rice with carrot and bacon, gratinated potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Unlike many buffets, everything was perfectly prepared and undoubtedly fresh; a real introduction to bold Brazilian cuisine.
Once the hunger had abated, we could more properly enjoy the light, airy, classical music and the delightfully civilized atmosphere of Ipe, as we nibbled on caramel pudding, miniature shot glasses of cheesecake with raspberry, and perfectly put-together Damascus tartlets. Then it was time to retire to the poolside, and the balmy night air, for small cups of dark, strong coffee, the perfect Brazilian end to a typically Brazilian meal.
The food is very special, though.
Choose from the Ipe Bar and Grill, where every night a feast of a Brazilian barbeque buffet is laid out in the restaurant and next to the pool; or the Itaipu Restaurant, a more colonial a la carte affair.
We visited Ipe first, and thank goodness we were hungry. An array of interesting salad combinations started us off – purple cabbage and seafood, cucumber, cold cuts and melon, white bean and octopus, and shiitake mushroom, asparagus and pineapple. Delicious, surprising flavour combinations, fresh and unusual, and the perfect way to prepare the palate for what was to come.
The barbeque is a dream come true for any meat lover: beef, spare ribs, lamb, chicken, sausage, pork ribs and chicken hearts, all grilled to perfection on long skewers, and carved up right in front of you. These flavourful, tender cuts of meat are accompanied by a choice of hot side dishes: black eyed beans with cured cheese, rice with carrot and bacon, gratinated potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Unlike many buffets, everything was perfectly prepared and undoubtedly fresh; a real introduction to bold Brazilian cuisine.
Once the hunger had abated, we could more properly enjoy the light, airy, classical music and the delightfully civilized atmosphere of Ipe, as we nibbled on caramel pudding, miniature shot glasses of cheesecake with raspberry, and perfectly put-together Damascus tartlets. Then it was time to retire to the poolside, and the balmy night air, for small cups of dark, strong coffee, the perfect Brazilian end to a typically Brazilian meal.
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The following night we repeated the gastronomic delight, this time at Itaipu. The restaurant has been recently renovated and decorated in traditional style, with numerous Portuguese ceramic plates on the walls and a wide open terrace with amazing views out over the falls and unforgettable sunsets at dinner.
But it’s not just the views you’ll return for. A menu of carefully conceived Brazilian-International fusion dishes makes for interesting choices and innovative tastes; eating at Itaipu is a real adventure. To begin with, there’s an appetizer from the chef: cashew nut, fruit and coconut served with jellied coconut water and spicy shrimp. A punchy, unusual, refreshingly tasty start to the meal, and a good indication of things to come.
Starters include rabbit terrine with star fruit vinaigrette, cold soup of chuchu with lemongrass and crispy frog legs, and gratinated fresh corn gnocchi. I went for the less surprising but utterly delicious gnocchi, which was light and almost frothy, in an irresistibly creamy sauce, with the flavour of the slightly sweet corn perfectly complementing the sharp cheese. We also tasted the chuchu soup (very refreshing), and the alarmingly large frog’s legs – delicious!
For mains, options included roasted quail stuffed with mushrooms and served with blanched cassave, rack of lamb crusted with parsley and served with mandioc chips, sundried meat ravioli with pumpkin and coconut milk, and grilled rock lobster with rice mousseline and lemanja sauce. We chose the ravioli and the lobster, and both were absolutely superb. The ravioli was smoky and rich, lightened by the pumpkin, robust and well-rounded. The lobster arrived like a work of art on the plate – a slab of rice mousseline with chunks of tender grilled lobster, all drizzled with the subtly fruity lemanje sauce (made up of orange, ginger and a local herb called ‘urucun’). The kind of meal you have to eat with your eyes closed so that you can appreciate every taste sensation.
Dessert, alas, didn’t quite live up to the main meal. We chose the chocolate and macadamia mille feuille with grapefruit coulis, and the caramel and lemon marquise with raspberry reduction, and both were a little disappointing. The idea was there, but the combinations and execution were slightly off – the caramel not sweet enough, the chocolate too thick. No doubt these small kinks will be ironed out in the weeks to come – Itaipu has only just opened its doors again.
When you leave Itaipu, you leave feeling blessed: to have been able to eat with such an extraordinary view laid out in front of you. A clear panorama right out over the falls, framed by an oval archway with the vast sky overhead and the sun as it sets over these mightiest of waterfalls. A cloud of mist fades to orange as the light slips from the sky, and there’s nothing to do but lean back in the comfortable chairs, clink glasses with each other, and feel extremely lucky.
What a delicious way to end a day.
Back to Hotel das Cataratas
But it’s not just the views you’ll return for. A menu of carefully conceived Brazilian-International fusion dishes makes for interesting choices and innovative tastes; eating at Itaipu is a real adventure. To begin with, there’s an appetizer from the chef: cashew nut, fruit and coconut served with jellied coconut water and spicy shrimp. A punchy, unusual, refreshingly tasty start to the meal, and a good indication of things to come.
Starters include rabbit terrine with star fruit vinaigrette, cold soup of chuchu with lemongrass and crispy frog legs, and gratinated fresh corn gnocchi. I went for the less surprising but utterly delicious gnocchi, which was light and almost frothy, in an irresistibly creamy sauce, with the flavour of the slightly sweet corn perfectly complementing the sharp cheese. We also tasted the chuchu soup (very refreshing), and the alarmingly large frog’s legs – delicious!
For mains, options included roasted quail stuffed with mushrooms and served with blanched cassave, rack of lamb crusted with parsley and served with mandioc chips, sundried meat ravioli with pumpkin and coconut milk, and grilled rock lobster with rice mousseline and lemanja sauce. We chose the ravioli and the lobster, and both were absolutely superb. The ravioli was smoky and rich, lightened by the pumpkin, robust and well-rounded. The lobster arrived like a work of art on the plate – a slab of rice mousseline with chunks of tender grilled lobster, all drizzled with the subtly fruity lemanje sauce (made up of orange, ginger and a local herb called ‘urucun’). The kind of meal you have to eat with your eyes closed so that you can appreciate every taste sensation.
Dessert, alas, didn’t quite live up to the main meal. We chose the chocolate and macadamia mille feuille with grapefruit coulis, and the caramel and lemon marquise with raspberry reduction, and both were a little disappointing. The idea was there, but the combinations and execution were slightly off – the caramel not sweet enough, the chocolate too thick. No doubt these small kinks will be ironed out in the weeks to come – Itaipu has only just opened its doors again.
When you leave Itaipu, you leave feeling blessed: to have been able to eat with such an extraordinary view laid out in front of you. A clear panorama right out over the falls, framed by an oval archway with the vast sky overhead and the sun as it sets over these mightiest of waterfalls. A cloud of mist fades to orange as the light slips from the sky, and there’s nothing to do but lean back in the comfortable chairs, clink glasses with each other, and feel extremely lucky.
What a delicious way to end a day.
Back to Hotel das Cataratas
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