Gaia Art & Café

We found this place because it was the furthest place at the end of Leme. They advertise it as a vegan or vegetarian restaurant but they have somethings that aren’t marked as either on their menu so there’s options for everyone. They have have a fold out menu with colorful pictures listing the food and another condensed menu listing the same items but with prices. The last menu lists their drinks.
They have a good selection of Noi beers listed, but they only had the Bianca left. I tried the blueberry and pear juice which was a good combination.
The shiitake mushroom pizza took a while, but it seemed like it was just made to order and tasted pretty good with a thin vegan crust layered in cheese mushroom and sun-​dried tomato. It was a personal pan size but fairly generous in portion. The Carioca quesadilla had fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and tomato wrapped in a tortilla with a cup of pesto sauce on the side. The pesto was amazing and really gave the sandwich flavor (which was a bit bland on its own).
For dessert I had to have a pastel de nata which fortunately wasn’t vegan (an egg custard) and the inside tasted pretty good though the pastry itself was a little soft.
The cappuccino here wasn’t that impressive for a café but the rest of the food was pretty good.
There’s unisex bathrooms in the back behind the counter and a cute communal sink creatively made from a silver bucket with a hidden drain.
Service was friendly and the manager was around keeping her eye on everything. Seems like they speak English so there are plenty of gringos. I would like to come back here and listen to some live music.

Nice and ecological :) A bit expensive and portions are not really big. Even in that small café sometimes live music is being performed.

For my last meal in Rio De Janeiro, I wanted to find an all vegan place. This place was not too far of a cab ride away from Sugarloaf, so we decided to come here.
A small quaint café, decorated by paintings and art, with the warm sun pouring through the windows. This was the perfect setting for a quiet lunch for 2.
I ordered the ‘vegan’ special of the day, which was a full 3 course meal! It started off with a warm and creamy Butternut Squash soup which hit all the right spots and sent warm tingly feelings through my body. The main course was this super inventive and creative Eggplant dish which consisted of a sesame seed encrusted Eggplant Patty over a bed of spiced vermicelli noodles, topped with crisp Nori. It also came with a heaping side of seasoned vegetables. This dish was incredibly delicious and nothing I’ve ever eaten or seen anywhere else. The patty was crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle, but it tasted nothing like eggplant I’ve eaten in any other form. The noodles strangely provided a great combination and the nori on top added texture and salty flavor. The vegetables, though seemingly boring on the outside, was cooked perfectly and had a beautiful herb flavor to it.
I devoured the entire patty, but barely put a dent in the vegetable. It was a lot of food for one person.
And as if I wasn’t full enough already, I still had dessert coming! A light and refreshing dessert that looked like tomato soup, but tasted like papaya slushie. Only more delicate and just a slight hint of sweetness. It really was a perfect dessert after the heavy entrée.
All the food was perfectly cooked and presented beautifully. The price was also a steal for the full 3-​course meal.
The staff was super friendly and you can tell they really are proud of their café.
It looks like they might do Open Mic and/​or have live music and poetry on certain occasions because there is a mini stage with a microphone in the corner. It would be cool to come back and check that out.
Gaia also provides free Wifi for their guests, which was great for me as a traveler to check in, post photos, and look at all the other amazing dishes they cook here.
I am now sad once again while writing this, as I am reminded of the fact that I can’t find that Eggplant dish anywhere else in the world. If and when I come back to Rio, Gaia is already on my list of places to eat at again!

I am vegetarian and this was the only place I found in Copacabana that was open till late and was actually really good. I went there twice in a row. 1^st day I ordered x burger & passion fruit juice which I think (if I remember) is a beet burger which was good but was served a bit cold which was disappointing. The 2^nd day I ordered Falafel burger & a mojito (was too sweet) but the burger was awesome…5 stars to it. The dessert-​lemon pie was good too.
The only reason I give it 4 starts out of 5 is coz of the $$$.its on the pricey side. if the prices were reasonable I may have gone there a bit more often since I was there for 6 nights.
the owner is a young female who is very nice and friendly. its a family owned place with a warm homely feeling.
There needs to be more vegetarian friendly places in Brazil!

Love Sunday morning here. Music, usually there are meal specials. The vibe overall is a beautiful peaceful representation of the love for life the «Cariocas» have.
If you’re lucky ask for the racket. I’ll take a picture here and they’ll let you catch your own Mosquitoes as well if you want. There usually aren’t many but if you’re lucky this is one of my favorite games Lol :-)
Love Rio!

A primeira coisa que eu quero falar sobre o Gaia Art & Café é que minha experiência não foi das melhores, mas em grande parte por minha culpa. Na verdade, o atendimento estava agradável e as comidas são criativas e saudáveis. Iria de novo para conhecer o Gaia em circunstancias diferentes.
Eu organizei um evento para um grupo das 15 meninas, mais ou menos. Quando eu marquei uma reserva, eles me disseram que teria música ao vivo — devia ter visto isso como um mau sinal. Nunca fui lá antes desse evento e quando eu cheguei, descobri que o espaço dentro do café é bem pequeno e que a música não era de background, mas sim a principal atração.
Meu grupo estava ao lado de uma caixa de som, num local super barulhento. Por causa disso, a gente precisou gritar para ter uma conversa e a solução deles foi aumentar ainda mais o volume até níveis insalubres. Claro, me senti mal porque tinham pessoas que foram lá para ver o show e acabei saindo de lá com dor-​de-​cabeça.
Enfim, foi uma situação ingrata. Meu grupo era grande demais para o espaço e nossas intenções eram contrárias ao propósito da casa. É por causa disso que eu quero voltar e conhecer o espaço realmente, numa outra situação.

Eu já conhecia o Gaia Art & Café por conta das avaliações dos Unilocalers e de uma visita que fiz ao espaço, mas nunca tinha ido lá como cliente. Até que a Unilocaler Ellen L. me convidou para um encontrinho de meninas por lá, e eu fui já super animada para provar as delícias naturais da casa. O cardápio é todo recheado com receitas criativas e 100% saudáveis e vegetarianas.
Para começar, pedi um suco orgânico de blueberry com pera (R$ 8,50). Achei interessante, mas não necessariamente delicioso, talvez por ser espesso demais. Depois, fui de Wrapioca, que como o nome diz, é um wrap de tapioca recheado com queijo coalho, tomate seco e rúcula. Ela chegou à mesa num prato com um pouquinho de pesto, e tanto a apresentação quanto o sabor estavam impecáveis! Dá pra ver que é tudo feito com muito esmero e cuidado.
O único problema que enfrentamos é que fomos em dia de música ao vivo. O que poderia ser um plus acabou sendo ruim para a gente. Como nossa reserva era grande, fomos colocadas ao lado da banda. O espaço não é muito grande, então de onde estávamos sentadas, ouvíamos a música altíssima e com um pouco de eco. Como a mulherada estava lá para bater papo, começaram a tentar falar mais alto que a música e a coisa virou um caos! Outros clientes reclamavam da nossa mesa nos mandando calar a boca, nós começamos a ficar com dor de cabeça por causa da música alta… enfim, foi uma experiência não muito agradável e por isso migramos rapidinho depois de comer.
O couvert, de R$ 12, é opcional, e muitas das meninas não quiseram pagar (afinal, nem estávamos posicionadas de forma a ver o show). Eu só paguei porque fiquei com dó dos músicos que estavam dando seu melhor enquanto nós falávamos sem parar… mas eu me pergunto se a casa tem uma acústica apropriada para esse tipo de evento. De qualquer forma, a banda era bacana, e acho que o problema foi que estávamos em um grupo muito grande e queríamos conversar. Talvez eu volte para ver um show com uma ou duas amigas, aí acho que funcionaria melhor. Mas a comida, que tem preço condizente com a realidade da Zona Sul do Rio, eu super aprovei! Ah, eles têm umas 8 cervejas diferentes, para quem ficou achando que aqui não tinha álcool, e oferecem sistema de comandas individuais.

As a non vegan nor a gluten person you would feel awkward here, but is not the case. They got soda drinks, beer (even gluten free ones). The missing meat plates is a hands down for me. My wife on the other hand love it.

My wife and I found this place in Rio just yesterday. The food is delicious, fresh and very vegan friendly. We went 2 days in a row because it was that good! The staff was very nice and helpful. I highly recommend the quinoa burger and the frozen cappuccino. Very tasty!

I am a gluten/​dairy free vegetarian, in Brasil it is extremely difficult to find a place that accommodates my needs.
I am so grateful to have found this cute and creative restaurant! I just ate a gluten free, vegan brownie and it was amazing!

I like this place. Great environment for relaxing. Small café with large amounts of charm.
Their hours fluctuate and at times the Mosquitos also dine with you. But otherwise. Great place to enjoy a vegan meal, coffee and free wifi.
FREE WIFI.
Remember to visit and enjoy.