The restaurant scene in Ribeirão Preto reflects the city's agricultural wealth and its large immigrant population. You will find everything from Italian trattorias (descendants of the 19th-century colonato workers) to Japanese restaurants (a substantial Japanese-Brazilian community settled here), alongside the Brazilian classics of grilled meat and rice-and-beans. The areas around Avenida João Fiúsa and Avenida Presidente Vargas have the highest concentration of restaurants and bars.
Churrascarias are particularly strong here — this is São Paulo state cattle country as much as sugarcane country, and the beef is excellent. The city also has a small but genuine craft beer scene, driven partly by the university population. For a quick lunch, the city's padarias (bakeries) serve fresh pastries and savoury snacks that are perfectly good at any time of day.