With its resurgent homelessness and crime, Rio’s Lapa hasn’t been the first place most tourists have wanted to visit. But that was part of the attraction for David Hertz and Massimo Bottura, who have created a designer dining room with celeb clout and social ethos. The space incorporates a long semitransparent structure of polycarbonate panels on what was once just a vacant lot. Long communal tables of raw wood mix with plywood benches and walls strewn artwork by Vik Muniz and Maneco Quindere.
The Food
This restaurant and cooking school overseen by David Hertz includes a series of rotating chefs like Alain Ducasse, Albert Adria and Andoni Luis Aduriz, with Ferran Adria all set for early 2016. Home-style dishes grilled fish with potatoes, chicken stew with roasted vegetables and banana peel cake paired with cardamom papaya ice cream deliver a gourmet take on classic Brazilian cuisine. Each day, the dining room offers a community lunch with surplus meals and food donated to locals in need.
Last Word
Designer dining room in Lapa features rotating celeb chef series and daily community lunch in Rio.
