WHERE TO EAT The best Moqueca in the world (according to food experts)

"An established restaurant celebrated for its seafood. The moquecas are perhaps the best in Centro Histórico."

"It isn't surprising that seafood fresh from the ocean is the specialty at this simple yet ever-popular Bahian restaurant on Praia do Forte's main street. Choose between eight different varieties of seafood moqueca."

"The menu is so international that you might be tempted to skip the fish moqueca, a traditional stew. But make sure at least one in your party tries it (the menu says it feeds two — at 76 reais — but you can order a half-portion); the restaurant’s take on the dish is lighter than many and executed to perfection."

"Non-fish lovers need not apply. The simplicity of the menu is undoubtedly its strength, offering just robalo (bass) fish, octopus, crab and shrimp in several incarnations from the coconut milk, tomato and dendê oil-laden moquec."

"Try Dona Cidinha's specialty, fish with half-ripe bananas, or the famous moqueca (seafood stew), which many islanders claim is the best in Rio de Janeiro State."

"But it was a tourist lunch in Pelourinho, and the request couldn't be more of a clichê: shrimp moqueca, accompanied by vatapá, white rice and farofa butter, not to forget the palm. All very tasty and neat."

"Best moqueca? Yemanja."

"Well seasoned, with quality ingredients, sensational!"

"I recommend the Moqueca, which was extremely light but without losing its flavor."

"Deep and earthy from the oil and coconut, light and bright from citrus juice and fresh cilantro, it tastes of the sea in that particular way dishes of port towns do. The stew is complex and beguiling: It has an unlikely combination of flavors that embodies the region's past."