First there was Antarctica… then “The Pinguim”

Before going to Ribeirão Preto I read somewhere that “The Pinguim” (the penguin) is one of the most famous beer houses in Brazil. I was curious…. Although not drinking beer myself…. 

At the crossing of “Duce de Caxias” and “Alvares Cabral” is the Praça de XV Novembro. It is the hart of Ribeirão Preto. Here you find the Theater Dom Pedro II, that was build in 1920. It was almost demolished to build a supermarket….. It has a modern ceiling by the Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Othake. The old one was destroyed in a fire. 

Right next to the theater is “The Pinguim”.  It all began when the Antarctica Brewery Company opened its first factory here in 1911 in RP. This lead to the opening of several bars.  The Pinguim bar opened in 1936. On the outside the building is embellished by little plaques with a penguin and the date 1936.

We arrived at the Pinguim around 9 on a Saturday evening. And we were not the only ones…. it was full! Luckily we didn’t have to stand long in the queue before we could enter. 

Inside it is interesting; to say the least. The inside has a “grand café” feeling about it. 

The first thing I noticed was that the beer tank has an iceberg on top. (I saw this later also at the Brahma Bar in São Paulo.) They only serve “chopp”- draft beer; ice cold!

The bar has a lot of what the English call “period features”. I already mentioned the plaques outside. You cannot miss this huge tableau, made of brownish tiles picturing the beer house.

Above the tap, on a kind of balcony, there amongst some beer barrels are two penguins looking to the visitors of the bar.

The tables have penguin feet. 

Just look around and the penguins are everywhere…..

 I had a caipirinha…. How could I even think they would have wine…….

 More about Ribeirão Preto  in Wikipedia