Iconic Portuguese restaurant “Ipanema” closes doors in Manhattan after four decades

The iconic restaurant “Ipanema”, founded by a Portuguese family and who brought Lusitanian and Brazilian cuisine to the heart of Manhattan for four decades closes its doors on Saturday, in a decision taken with “extremely heavy heart,” lamented the owners.

“To our family, friends and guests: As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This decision was made with an extremely heavy heart, but the time has come to close our doors and say goodbye to New York,” announced the Pedro family on the restaurant’s Facebook page, indicating that this was the last week the establishment was in operation.

According to the owners, being part of the Luso-Brazilian community in Manhattan for the past 44 years has resulted in “unending pride and joy”.

“Through our food and hospitality, we build relationships that will remain with our family forever. Our last day of service will be Saturday, April 22nd, and we’d love to see you throughout the week to share the memories and stories we’ve created. Friendships are everything. Thank you “, concluded the Pedro family in a statement.

For four decades, “Ipanema” has delighted New Yorkers, but also tourists and emigrants nostalgic for Portuguese-Brazilian cuisine, as well as several celebrities.

Although much of this restaurant’s history has been spent in a neighborhood of Manhattan known as “Little Brazil”, on ’46th Street’, last year the Pedro family changed the location and concept of this establishment, which reopened a few kilometers away, with a more sophisticated decor and menu.

At the time, a few days before the opening, Alfredo Pedro, the patriarch of the family and considered the “first Portuguese hotelier in all of the United States”, spoke enthusiastically to Lusa about the new projects and lamented the lack of Portuguese restaurants in Manhattan.

“There are thousands of Italian, Chinese, Japanese restaurants in New York, but Portuguese there are fewer and fewer. There is only one other typical Portuguese restaurant here in Manhattan – ‘Leitão’, but I don’t see it as a competitor, because in the end we are the two promoting our cuisine, our language and our customs”, he advocated, in May 2022.

“We have to unite. We Portuguese are not united, we do not support each other. Unfortunately, I see that all the other typical Portuguese restaurants here in downtown New York have already closed. It is very expensive to maintain rents here which makes this business very hard and demanding”, lamented Alfredo Pedro at the time.

The closure of “Ipanema” took customers by surprise, who used social networks to mourn this closing of doors, but also to share several memories in this house.