Market · Angra dos Reis

Mercado do Peixe (Fish Market), Angra dos Reis Centro

Inside a handsome octagonal building that has anchored Zumbi dos Palmares Square since 1914, Angra's Fish Market is where the city's culinary soul wakes up every morning. Arrive at dawn and watch restaurant chefs haggle over grouper and shrimp fresh off the overnight boats.

A living piece of Angra's history

The Mercado do Peixe's distinctive eight-sided structure has been the heartbeat of Angra dos Reis' seafood trade for over a century. Before the current building, fishermen sold their catch from makeshift stalls right on the seafront — a tradition the market keeps alive with vendors who gut, scale and weigh their fish in plain sight.

The square around it is framed by colonial-style buildings, many of which double as botecos (neighbourhood bars) and kiosks. On weekends, artisans set up alongside the fish stalls, selling regional handicrafts, painted tiles and jewellery — making it as much a cultural piazza as a food market.

What to buy and eat

The stalls carry an impressive range: whole robalo (snook), fat camarão (shrimp), lulas (squid) and whatever the overnight nets brought in. Self-catering visitors can pick up a whole fish for a fraction of supermarket prices and have it cleaned on the spot.

Bar and restaurant chefs come here specifically to source ingredients for moqueca — the slow-simmered Brazilian fish stew that is Angra's signature dish. Pull up a stool at one of the surrounding botecos afterwards and order a cold Brahma and a portion of bolinhos de bacalhau (salt-cod fritters) to complete the experience.