João Pessoa restaurants with recognition and awards

Article 104 of 100 · October 07, 2026 · 1 min read · Destino João Pessoa

There is little formal, documented recognition for the capital; the most solid is Prazeres da Mesa's award to Cozinha Roccia.

Talking about awards requires care. In João Pessoa, the recognition best documented by the recent press belongs to Onildo Rocha. According to Revista Nordeste, in August 2025, Cozinha Roccia received the Prazeres da Mesa award for best restaurant in the Northeast. The report does not state the year of the award. The restaurant reopened in 2026, at a new address, according to Folha de Pernambuco.

Another type of recognition is Paraíba's presence at national events. Mesa ao Vivo Paraíba, from April 3 to 5, 2025, was held with Prazeres da Mesa magazine, the state government, Sebrae, Fecomércio, IFPB and Abrasel-PB. It included dinners at Casa Roccia, in João Pessoa, and at Estação Bananeiras, and brought Alex Atala and Erick Jacquin into the program.

It is worth clarifying what was not found. The Michelin Guide Brazil, in its 2025 edition, covers Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, according to Time Out's coverage, and we did not find a Paraíba restaurant in the selection. Chef Jun Sakamoto's Michelin star, mentioned in reports about his time in João Pessoa in 2021, refers to his restaurant in São Paulo, and we did not find a recent source confirming the status of the Paraíba unit, so it is not indicated here.

One should also not confuse an editorial selection with an award. In January 2024, the Qual a Boa guide, from Jornal da Paraíba, gathered ten restaurants from the capital and the coast, including Casa do Bacalhau, Nau, Adega do Alfredo and Appetito Trattoria, but this was a list of the newspaper's picks, not an official ranking.