Restaurants

There are two seafood specialties for which Florianópolis is especially well known. The first is sequencia de camarão (shrimp in sequence), which consists of a number of shrimp dishes served one after another. Normally, there's casquinha de siri (baked crabmeat), followed by steamed shrimp, breaded shrimp, garlic shrimp, and then a fish filet with shrimp sauce. The other Floripa specialty is the oyster. Most oysters served in Brazil come from the area around Riberão da Ilha. Here at the source they're fresher and cheaper (R$12 a dozen). Always call ahead for opening hours during the low season, as many restaurants adjust their times during the quiet period.

South Island

The southern part of the island, especially around Riberão da Ilha, is thick with oyster farms. Looking out over the water you'll see the white floats that mark the locations of the baskets that contain the various-size oysters. Numerous restaurants in this part of the island serve up fresh oysters.