Late on a barmy weekday evening while the rest of Flamengo sleeps, the perennially boisterous boteco (Brazilian pub) Belmonte is more often than not still bursting at the seams, punters overflowing out onto the street. If you manage to land a table inside, the decor takes you back in time half a century, otherwise pick a spot of pavement and a high table to loiter at. Long popular with journalists and the after-work crowd, the concept here is simple: go with friends, talk loudly and drink cold beer, a sentiment echoed across all the chain's outlets from Leblon (Rua Dias Ferreira 521) to Urca (Avenida Portugal 986) and Copacabana (Rua Domingos Ferreira 242). Excellent pies doing the rounds on the waiter's loaded silver trays are well worth another look, especially the carne seca e catupiry (sun-dried meat and very creamy cheese), so long as the mere sound of that doesn't make your innards curdle, and shrimp.