Confeitaria Colombo – Forte de Copacabana

This branch of Rio's celebrated Confeitaria Colombo occupies the grounds of the Forte de Copacabana, a fort still run by the Brazilian Army, where it opened on 27 November 2003 originally as a support concession for the fort's own museum. The Colombo name goes back further: the original house was founded in 1894 by Portuguese immigrants Joaquim Borges de Medeiros and Manoel José Lebrão in Rio's Centro district, and a 1913 renovation gave it the belle-époque décor — crystal chandeliers, jointed columns, cane-seat chairs — that both the Centro flagship and its offshoots still trade on. The Forte outpost built its own reputation gradually on the strength of that history and an unmatched setting: tables set against the low wall (mureta) overlooking Copacabana beach are the most sought-after in the house, with a climate-controlled indoor room as the fallback on hot or rainy days. Best known for its breakfast service, the café also runs a proper lunch menu — the octopus dish Polvo Del Mare is a particular draw — plus starters and drinks aimed at people staying through sunset for the view. It keeps the Colombo house's cakes, savoury pastries and coffee on the same recipes as the Centro tearoom, just with a fort and a beach in place of the belle-époque salon.