Last weekend, I went to see the first restaurant in chef Morena Leite in Rio de Janeiro, the Í Bistro, which is located on the hotel's terrace Grand Mercure Riocentro, in Barra da Tijuca (soon I will review my stay there).
Morena Leite is from Bahia, born in Trancoso and known for her spectacular menu at the restaurant. Holy grass (I have already mentioned it here on the blog, for me, one of the best in Trancoso), also with branches in São Paulo (which I still don't know). THE chef he combined his techniques from the French cuisine, where he graduated, with very Brazilian ingredients and the result was a super unusual menu with delicious and very striking flavors.
the menu of Í Bistro is inspired by 5 Brazilian biomes, sea, mountain, forest, sertão and cerrado and what is not lacking is creativity to harmonize all dishes very well.
Í Bistro: unusual and highly approved ingredients
One of the most interesting things I found on the menu at Í Bistro is that for each biome the chef presents a complete and super cohesive menu between the flavors, from the options of snacks, starters, main courses and dessert, everything is perfectly harmonic. Another detail is that some of the ingredients that I tried and loved, would hardly be my choices in a restaurant because they don't please my taste as much as vatapá, pheasant, duck, pumpkin … and it just turned out amazing with the mix unusual for Morena.
I started the night with a welcome lemongrass juice which is the chef car of the Capim Santo restaurant and is simply incredible, I started the night happy to know that it was brought to the menu of Í Bistro?? Be sure to try it, it is very refreshing and goes well with the carioca summer.
Then I tried the cover charge with chips of banana (maraaaaaa) and cassava bread with catupiry butter ?? Then, to refresh my palate, I tasted a lemongrass slushie with jambu, which despite having found it weird was simply wonderful!!! Seriously, don't forget to order the slushie, it's slightly spicy but tastes really good! not yet cover charge, I also tasted the quail egg breaded with quinoa and served with cod açorda.
Then it was the turn of the snacks?? Each biome has its options for snacks, as I said, harmonized with the rest of the menu, but there is the option to make a mix among them all and it was the one I chose to have the opportunity to get to know a little bit of each palate.
At the mix came cassava cake with Serra da Canastra cheese, feijoada cake with pepper sauce (those two were my favorites), duck straw with pitanga sauce, sweet potato drumstick with pheasant and tapioca churros with seafood vatapá.
For Prohibited and main course, I followed the suggestion of maître d' Rodrigo, and I went with the sea options. One tapioca blinis with smoked surubim, simply delicious, what a good seasoning this starter has and for main course I went from Grilled grouper with clove lemon sauce, accompanied by Brazilian ratatuille (which I discovered is the farofa de capim santo), very tasty and super approved!.
And then you think the food orgy is over, huh?!! No, there's still dessert!!! How to deal?!! hahahaha
I was maddened by the coconut candy with girl's drool (I need to go back to ì Bistro just to prove it) but at the suggestion of maître d' I chose the Petit Gateau guava with cheese ice cream I was also eyeing it and it was super right, what a sensational combination, cheese with guava never disappoints, you know, and this gateau it was perfect (especially for those who don't like very sweet candy like me, lol).
O Í Bistro it was a pleasant surprise here in Rio de Janeiro, the atmosphere is super charming and it still has a view of the Jacarepaguá lagoon and the Pedra Branca massif, the service is excellent and the menu is super neat, I loved having a more refined healthy food option and with super Brazilian ingredients here in the city.