Beyond Samba: Discovering at Taste of Brazil Through Montreal’s Food, Culture and Community
Montreal knows how to celebrate culture through food, design and experiences and Brazil fits right in.
Brazilian culture is much more than samba and Carnaval. It’s a strong coffee shared with a friend, pão de queijo straight from the oven, a table filled with people you love, and food that somehow makes you feel at home even when home is thousands of kilometres away.
If you’re curious about Brazilian culture—or simply looking for some new Montreal spots to discover, here are five Brazilian businesses worth putting on your radar.
1. Bah! Café | Brazilian Coffee Shop — A Little Brazil in the Plateau
Walk into Bah! Café and Brazil suddenly feels much closer.
Located at 857 Marie-Anne East in the Plateau, Bah! describes itself as Montreal’s neighbourhood Brazilian coffee shop, built around Brazilian flavours, coffee and comfort food.
The menu reads like a Brazilian childhood: pão de queijo, coxinhas, brigadeiros, beijinhos, empadão de frango and homemade Brazilian cakes, alongside freshly brewed coffee.
This isn’t just somewhere to grab caffeine. It’s the kind of café where you come for coffee and pão de queijo and accidentally stay much longer than planned.
2. Tapi Go! – Plateau-Mont-Royal — Brazilian Street Food Gets a Montreal Twist
Brazilian food doesn’t always mean a giant plate of rice, beans and steak.
Tapi Go! takes a lighter, modern a
pproach to Brazilian comfort food. Its specialty is tapioca, made from cassava and transformed into filled crepes, alongside Brazilian favourites such as pão de queijo, açaí and tropical drinks.
Even better? Its menu is 100% gluten-free.
The business now has two Montreal locations—on Saint-Laurent in the Plateau and Monkland Avenue in NDG
—making it an easy stop for breakfast, lunch or an açaí break.
3. Acajou BR — For the Brazilian Dinner Experience
Now we’re getting serious about dinner.
Acajou BR on Saint-Denis serves traditio
nal Brazilian cuisine, including one dish that absolutely belongs on a Brazilian food tour: feijoada.
The restaurant itself has a great story. According to Acajou, the idea began when the founder was discussi
ng opening a juice-and-salad business with her mother. Her mother suggested: why not sell feijoada
too? Two weeks after finding a restaurant space, they were setting up the business. Even the name is personal—it comes from the mother’s family name, Cajueiro.
That’s the kind of Montreal immigrant-business story I love.
4. Restaurant Bar Boteco inc — Come for the Caipirinha, Stay for the Brazilian Energy
If Bah! is Brazilian café culture, Boteco is the night out.
Located in Côte-des-Neiges, Boteco recreates another Brazilian institution: the neighbourhood boteco, where
friends meet over cold beer, food and conversation.
The menu brings in Brazilian favourites like picanha, coxinha, calabresa, pão de queijo and torresmo, plus—obviously—a proper caipirinha. The venue also hosts karaoke, Brazilian football broadcasts and other events.
Translation? Don’t necessarily plan on leaving early.
5. Hosting Table by Carolina Safi — Because Brazilians Know How to Welcome People
And finally, something completely different.
Brazilian-born Montrealer Carolina Safi is the founder of Hosting Table, a Montreal business devoted to table styling, etiquette and the art of hosting.
Carolina works with private clients, companies and brands, offering everything from personalized table styling and event curation to dining and social etiquette consultations. Her philosophy isn’t about making dinner overly formal. It’s about creating an intentional environment where people feel comfortable, welcomed and connected.
And perhaps that’s the perfect business to finish this list.
Because Brazilian hospitality isn’t only about what’s on the table. It’s about who’s sitting around it.
A Piece of Brazil in Montreal
These businesses are very different, but there’s a common thread: Brazilian warmth.
A coffee at Bah!, tapioca at Tapi Go!, dinner at Acajou, a caipirinha at Boteco or a beautifully styled table by Carolina—each offers Montrealers a different way to experience Brazilian culture.
And really, isn’t that one of the best things about Montreal? You can travel surprisingly far without ever leaving the city.
