Pizza in Copacabana: the neighborhood's classic houses

Over the past 25 years, Copacabana has become one of Rio de Janeiro's most contested pizza scenes. Between Barata Ribeiro street and the beachfront sit an internationally awarded Neapolitan wood oven, long-fermentation Italian 00 flour, and the pizzeria that first brought the D.O.C. concept to the city. Competition between traditional houses and newer artisanal bets has raised the neighborhood's average standard — today it's possible to cross four or five quality pizzerias within a ten-block radius. This route covers three houses that define different styles of pizza in the neighborhood — all a short walk from the Argos studios.

The pioneer of Rio's D.O.C. concept

Capricciosa opened in 1999 in Ipanema, recreating the atmosphere of traditional pizzerias from southern Italy: exposed brick, wood, and a wood-fired oven at the center of the room. The house was the first in Rio to bring in the D.O.C. concept — Denominazione di Origine Controllata, the Italian seal certifying origin-certified ingredients and process, from San Marzano tomatoes to buffalo mozzarella. The chain has collected eight best-pizzeria awards from Veja Rio's Comer & Beber guide and five from O Globo's Rio Show, and keeps a unit on Rua Constante Ramos, in Copacabana, a few blocks from the beachfront — more than two decades after opening in Ipanema, it still stands as a classic Neapolitan-style reference in the city's south zone.

Long-fermentation Neapolitan, on the same street as the studios

La Pizzateca opened in March 2017 on Barata Ribeiro, the same street as the Argos studios in Copacabana. The house follows the Neapolitan recipe closely: Italian 00 flour, 48-hour natural fermentation, and a wood oven at 450°C. In 2022, the pizzeria won the World Stars Pizza & Port Wine Championship, an international competition judging dough, oven timing, and pairing — a rare recognition for a neighborhood house outside the city's usual tourist circuit. The menu stays lean and purely Neapolitan-inspired, without forcing signature toppings — the standard is the dough, not what sits on it.

00 flour, 48-hour fermentation, a 450°C oven: the Neapolitan standard Copacabana imported into the neighborhood.

The industrial house with the oven in plain sight

Zagga Pizza Bar follows the same Neapolitan line with an industrial look: exposed brick, low light, and the wood oven at the center of the room, visible from every table. The house marks six years of tradition in Copacabana, has been shortlisted four times among Rio's best pizzas, and splits its menu between classics like margherita and marinara and signature combinations, such as a gorgonzola-and-pear pizza. The oven runs past 400°C — enough to bake in under 90 seconds and keep the crust light and crisp. It sits on Rua Ronald de Carvalho, 265, a short walk from Barata Ribeiro.

Three classics worth the address

1. Capricciosa — Rua Constante Ramos, 182. Pioneer of Rio's D.O.C. concept, wood oven at the center of the room, eight best-pizzeria awards from the Veja Rio guide.
2. La Pizzateca — Rua Barata Ribeiro, the same street as the Argos studios. Neapolitan with 48-hour fermentation, winner of the 2022 World Stars Pizza & Port Wine Championship.
3. Zagga Pizza Bar — Rua Ronald de Carvalho, 265. Six years of Neapolitan tradition, industrial setting with a visible wood oven, four nominations for Rio's best pizza.

Pizza steps from the Argos studios

The Argos Esmeralda and Argos Safira studios sit in the Armoleu building, on Barata Ribeiro, three blocks from the beach and two from the subway. All three houses on this route fall within the same walkable perimeter — Constante Ramos and Ronald de Carvalho cross Barata Ribeiro a short walk away, no car or app needed. For guests staying in the neighborhood, it's a dinner route that never leaves the walk to the beachfront: self check-in, dinner at one of the three, then back on foot to a window built to seal out street noise.

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