Where to Eat in Florianópolis: Oysters, Shrimp and Local Dishes

To eat well in Florianópolis, prioritize three things: oysters in Ribeirão da Ilha or Santo Antônio de Lisboa, a sequência de camarão (an all-you-can-eat run of shrimp dishes) in Lagoa da Conceição, and lunch at the Mercado Público. The city is the largest oyster producer in Santa Catarina, the state that leads Brazil’s production, and in 2014 it became the first Brazilian city recognized by UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy.

The times below are from Trindade and are approximate, by car and without traffic.

What to eat in Florianópolis

The island’s cuisine blends the heritage of the Azorean settlers, who arrived in the 18th century, with small-scale fishing and ingredients from the Atlantic Forest. Dishes not to miss:

• Oysters. Farmed in the South and North Bays, they reach your table very fresh. Order them in natura (raw, with lime), gratinadas (au gratin) or no bafo (steamed).
• Sequência de camarão. Several shrimp dishes in a row, for a fixed price: breaded, garlic (alho e óleo), steamed, fish with shrimp sauce, rice, pirão and salad.
• Tainha (mullet). The fish that symbolizes winter. Tainha escalada is butterflied, salted and grilled; tainha recheada is baked with a farofa stuffing. Always with pirão.
• Pirão. Made with cassava flour and fish broth, it comes with almost every seafood dish.
• Berbigão. A small clam-like shellfish (cockle) from local tradition, served in pastries, soups and sautés. The pastel de berbigão (fried cockle pastry) is a bar classic.
• Catch of the day. Bluefish (anchova), croaker (corvina) and other local fish show up fried, grilled or in fish stews.

Oysters: Ribeirão da Ilha and Santo Antônio de Lisboa

Ribeirão da Ilha (~40 min)

Ribeirão da Ilha, in the south, is Florianópolis’s main oyster-farming hub. The marine farms sit right in front of the village, and the restaurants along the waterfront road serve oysters harvested there. The best known is Ostradamus, on a platform over the water and featured in national restaurant rankings. Pair lunch with a stroll among the Azorean houses around the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Lapa, from 1806.

Santo Antônio de Lisboa (~30 min)

An Azorean village facing the North Bay (Baía Norte), with stone streets, the 18th-century Igreja Nossa Senhora das Necessidades and a row of seafood restaurants along the bay. It’s the classic spot for oysters at sunset, so book for the late afternoon, especially in summer.

Which one? Ribeirão is quieter and more “at the source,” ideal for a long lunch. Santo Antônio is closer to Trindade and has the sunset. The oysters are excellent in both.

Sequência de camarão in Lagoa da Conceição

Lagoa da Conceição (~15 min) is the most traditional place for a sequência de camarão. The restaurants are in the small center and along Avenida das Rendeiras, many with tables facing the water. The ones in Costa da Lagoa, reachable only by boat or on foot, turn lunch into an outing.

Tips:

• One sequência usually feeds two people. Ask before ordering two.
• Go early in summer. On high-season weekends, there’s a line from noon.
• Check what’s included. What you get varies a lot from one restaurant to the next.

See more in our Lagoa da Conceição guide.

Mercado Público: lunch downtown

The Mercado Público de Florianópolis (~15 min) is the place to taste the city at a single address. The covered central hall is home to bars and restaurants, including Box 32, open since 1984 and one of the city’s most traditional. In the wings, fishmongers sell the day’s catch, and specialty food stores carry cachaças, sweets and local products.

It’s the best lunch plan on a rainy day. See the full itinerary in things to do in Florianópolis when it rains.

Mullet and fishermen’s restaurants

From May to July, during mullet (tainha) season, the city revolves around the fish. Beaches such as Pântano do Sul and Campeche have beach seine fishing (arrasto de praia), with rowing canoes and nets hauled up onto the sand. If you’re lucky enough to see a haul, it’s one of the island’s most traditional scenes.

Pântano do Sul (~45 min) is home to Bar do Arante, open since 1958 and famous for the thousands of notes left on its walls by visitors. It’s a classic stop after the Lagoinha do Leste hike. In Barra da Lagoa (~30 min), the restaurants along the channel serve fresh fish and tend to be more modestly priced than those on the Lagoa waterfront.

Calendar: what to eat when

Season	Highlight
May to July	Mullet season: butterflied, stuffed and mullet roe
Winter	Fish soups, mullet and emptier restaurants
Summer (December to March)	Sequência de camarão, açaí and beach kiosks; reservations in high demand
Year-round	Oysters, the Mercado Público, catch of the day

Fenaostra, an annual festival dedicated to oysters and Azorean culture, brings together oyster dishes, music and folk culture. Dates change from year to year (the 2025 edition was held in July, downtown). Check the official program before planning your trip.

Where to eat cheaply in Florianópolis

Eating out in Florianópolis can get expensive, especially on the waterfront and in summer. A few strategies:

• Pay-by-weight lunch restaurants (por quilo). The cheapest way to eat well. Trindade, the UFSC neighborhood, has lots of them aimed at students, especially on Rua Lauro Linhares and around campus.
• A prato feito (set plate) at a fishermen’s restaurant. In Barra da Lagoa and Pântano do Sul, the catch of the day with rice, beans and pirão costs much less than an à la carte dish on the waterfront.
• Açaí and snacks. Açaí bowls and pastel (fried pastries) are the most common beach snack and make a good light lunch.
• Botecos (neighborhood bars). Cockle pastries, fish fritters and casquinha de siri (crab au gratin served in the shell) at the counter make for a cheap local snack.
• Cook some of your meals. On long stays, buying fresh fish at the Mercado Público fishmongers and cooking at home saves a lot.
• Ask the price on the sand. At some beaches, snack platters and drinks sold on the sand cost much more than you’d expect.

Tips for eating well in Floripa

• Book in summer, especially in Santo Antônio de Lisboa at sunset and in Ribeirão on weekends.
• Eat lunch early or late. Between noon and 2 pm, the most popular restaurants have lines.
• Bring a jacket at night. Even in summer, the wind at waterfront restaurants gets chilly.
• Plan around traffic. Ribeirão da Ilha is reached basically by one waterfront road: avoid heading back late on a Sunday afternoon.

To combine food with sightseeing, see also things to do in Florianópolis.

A good base for eating well

Trindade sits in the middle of the food trails: about 15 minutes from Lagoa da Conceição and the Mercado Público, 30 from Santo Antônio de Lisboa and 40 from Ribeirão da Ilha. At Floripa Studio Trindade, next to UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), there’s a food court and an Angeloni supermarket on the ground floor of the building, and the studio’s full kitchen lets you cook the fish you bought at the Mercado. For long stays, the 10% weekly and 15% monthly discount leaves more room in your budget for oysters.