Garota da Gavea is a restaurante/bar on the corner of Rua Marques de São Vicente and Praça Santos Dumont - otherwise known as the Praça do Joquei, due to the proximity of the Jockey Club, which occupies a large chunk of Gávea, Leblon and Jardim Botanico (district).
The Garota da Gávea belongs to the string of restaurants with names starting with “Garota”, including of course the Garota de Ipanema.
The restaurants sits on a very busy corner, which is never very quiet. There is an inside area, which although air-conditioned is not much quieter. The fun is on the pavement outside, well covered in case of rain. The chope is good, and one of the house specialties is meat served on a hotplate - our favorite is filet mignon in thick madeira gravy and onions - mopped up with French bread or fries. You can have other cuts, such as the popular picanha, and with the hotplate you can adjust from rare to well done.