The Brazil Travel Site

Arraial d’Ajuda: Entertainment & Night Life

When the beach bars close for the evening at around sundown, the village road begins to light up. People hit the village shopping for a restaurant or bar or just walking around to take-in the charm of the place. Things really get moving at around 10pm and it’s a good idea to already have chosen your spot by then, as the best seats in the best restaurants go fast.

You might notice an unusual amount of world-beat and drum-and-bass music in Arraial d’Ajuda. It seems that all the bars and beach kiosks are playing some kind of electronic groove music. It has become something of a tradition in town. It serves as another reminder that you’re in a more hip part of Southern Bahia.

Cool Cafés and Bars
There are bars all along the village roads and praças. A couple of cool places to hang out for coffee or drinks include the Hokaffé coffee bar on the village road, just before the descent to the beach. This place has great outdoor seating and various coffee drinks or cocktails. You have to make sure you sit at the tables that are marked by their candle on the table. Other tables belong to the restaurants next door. Also, be sure to walk into the Beco das Cores area, which is basically a small, dead-end road that crosses the main village road (Estrada do Mucugé). Cars are not allowed on this road and entrance is marked by an archway. Inside are several great bars and restaurants, including a sushi bar and some live music.

Every afternoon starting at around 2pm the Cactus Club has live rock and blues music in on their patio that overlooks the ocean. The atmosphere here is young, casual and very cool. It’s a great place to end the afternoon or begin the evening. They make a great Capeta cocktail. A personal favorite is the Girasol, bar located down a small galeria of shops on the corner of Rua Amendoeiras and the Estrada do Mucugé. There is a large, new restaurant in front and shops lining the other side of a pathway. At the end of the pathway is the Girasol bar. Don’t confuse this with the Gerasol restaurant, which is farther down the Estrada do Mucugé and not at the end of a pathway.

Also, on the road behind the church in the old town square (Rua Bela Vista), there is a small jazz bar called the Blue Bar. It opens only during peak season, but it offers a different kind of atmosphere. Nights only. Down the road, at the end of Rua Bela Vista is a Cachaça bar called Nos de Bahia. Get there in the late afternoon when they are just opening for the evening to get a shot of their incredible view along with their Cachaça.

Music and Dance
During peak season, the two large beach bars offer late night music and dancing in the Porto Seguro style. These are located on Praia Parracho and at the beginning of Pitinga. The offerings are generally Bahian Axé music and dance (see Porto Seguro) or electronic music. If you’re really interested in Brazilian music and dance, then a trip up to Porto Seguro would be in order for the evening. Remember that the ferryboat back and forth operates 24-hours a day, so fique a vontage!

However, Arraial has some pretty rockin’ options of its own–a bit more sophisticated than those of its neighbor and probably appealing more to foreign tastes. There’s nothing that goes on in town that is not known to anyone interested. People will pass you fliers and billets as you stroll the streets–especially if you look like the profile of their place. The principal location for late-night groovin’ is the Plato Espaco Bahia located on the descent to Praia Mucugé. They often have techno or other music that starts at about midnight and goes until sunup. There is often regional music going in the outdoor stage at the Shopping d’Ajuda in front of the Gandaya burger joint. You can catch some authentic samba music and Capoeira demonstrations in front of the Sky Lanches diner at the end of the Estrada do Mucugé near the Praça Hippie. Everything else will be revealed as you walk around town.