Rafa Costa E Silva

Lasai

Chef Rafa Costa e Silva works with local small farmers and producers for ingredients, yet cultivates about 40% of his menu from his own garden, where he raises free-range chickens for eggs and grows different vegetables and legumes. 

Rafa mixes cooking techniques that he learned in the U.S.A. and Spain with quality local ingredients to create a fresh, rotating menu of contemporary Brazilian cuisine.

Lasai, the cosmopolitan restaurant of chef Rafa Costa e Silva and his wife Malena Cardiel, has a footprint: its gastronomy is at the same time unprecedented, vibrant, light, mature, and sensual. Using modern techniques and Brazilian inputs grown in his gardens and that of small farmers in Rio de Janeiro, Rafa creates dishes with an emphasis on vegetables without dispensing with the use of the freshest products of the sea and the best meats.

The name ‘Lasai’ means tranquillity in the Basque language, and the couple wanted the house to reflect this. They had a strong wish to create a place where guests could enjoy good food and drink, forgetting the busy Rio de Janeiro outside.

Also, a tribute to the Basque country, where the chef spent much of his training before returning to Brazil, is in an old Carioca house with a modern, cozy, and informal atmosphere with elegance. The service, efficient and without bravado, always leaves the food as the protagonist, providing customers with a surprising experience.

The two gardens of Lasai, one in Itahnangá and the other in Vale das Videiras have evolved and contributed to the growth of the restaurant. They are the basis of inspiration and constant changes in the menu. With each new season, the gardens brighten the restaurant and force the team to develop new menus. Gardens are the greatest sources of knowledge, and pure inspiration.

Instagram: @rafacostaesilva @oxundkleecologne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restaurantelasai/
Restaurant web site: https://lasai.com.br/
Restaurant address: Largo dos Leões, 35, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil