I’ve received this message from a french friend visiting Salvador — my born and living city that’s on Bahia state at Brazil:
I’m looking for a nice place, safe, with animation, restaurant, music, people
If you are visiting Salvador and don’t want to only go with the tourist flow, I agree that talking to natives its the best way. And I am that person that can give you some advice. 🙂
I’ve noticed that many foreigners that comes here likes to stay at Barra neighbor. But more than once, they get surprised to know another ones like Rio Vermelho and Pituba, where there is sea view, its more modern and probably safer than Barra (loads of tourists there).
If you are looking for a fine place with nice animated native people having fun with live music, drinks and food at evening or night in Salvador, you can like the Vila dos Namorados group of restaurants, at Pituba Neighborhood.
You can even see part of the sunset there, or at least the beautiful color changing at the sky even when the sun is already eaten by the buildings. At the summer, the best time is around 18h.
Its an open air space, with a secured entrance, parking lot, 4 different options of really good places to eat and drink local food and really next do the sea. You can even go down on the stairs to put your feet under the sand or wet them on the salty water.
The live music of one of the restaurants fills the surroundings with its sound and you can often listen to many people singing together popular songs being played. The bands are from “Espetto Baiano” bar and its common to star at 19 o’ clock. You can find their events schedule at their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/espettobaianoprime/
Because its somewhat an isolated area, people go there basically only by car (their own or uber, 99), and the prices are ok and not cheap. So, the public are mostly medium-high to high social class. Many of them by Pituba or the nearest noble neighborhood.
Image can say a lot more than words, so this is the pictures i’ve selected myself:
The instagram of the whole place its https://www.instagram.com/vilajardimdosnamorados/
What to eat and drink at Vila Jardim dos Namorados, Pituba, Salvador, Bahia
What to order to eat (not meals, but for tasting and make a company to your stomach while drinking and chatting):
- Queijo coalho com melaço (coalho cheese with sugar cane syrup)
- Pititinga (crunchy tiny fish evolved in wheat, fried)
- Pastel de camarão com catupiry (foreigners says pastel its like an empanada — but we don’t have this word/food. Its filled fried wheat. I’am suggesting shrimp with like a cream-cheese cheese (catupiry) flavor here, but there is also of meat)
- Bolinho de peixe (fried balls of fish)
What to drink:
- Roska nacional (national vodka with fruit, ice and sugar. You can go for the classic lemon or “limão” — there is always lemon here)
- Caipirinha (cachaça with lemon ice and sugar)
- Beer
