CADEG (say it like it’s a word: ka-deggy) is a huge covered market in the North Zone bairro of Benfica. As with all great markets, there’s hustle and bustle, fun little places to eat and drink, browse and buy – bars, restaurants, shops selling all kinds of exotic fruits, alcohol, spices, cheeses, and so on.
A lot of the food leans towards the Portuguese roots of the surrounding area – expect lots of bacalhau, sardines, Portuguese sweets and so on. I would especially recommend Cantinho das Concertinas (link) for snacks/lunch and don’t miss Mei Mineiro (link) – a heavenly mix of incredible cheeses, cachaças, coffee, charcuterie, preserves and other snacky wonders from Minas Gerais. If you don’t walk out with all the ingredients for a gourmet picnic, you’re doing something wrong!
Tips
To get to the main area of interest, go in through the market’s main entrance and then ascend the 2 central escalators (follow the crowds who’ll almost all be going that way). You’ll come up into a large hall with a central walkway going off in front with side-streets peeling off at regular intervals.
CADEG is a 24 hour market, but Saturday morning to afternoon is the boom time in terms of everything being open, live music and extra events, but that means it gets crowded and you may have to wait for a table in some places. If you want a slightly less crowded experience, go on a weekday around lunchtime.
Street market lovers should be sure to book one of our Daytime Food Tours which start out with a deep dive into one of Rio’s wonderful feiras.
