Bar Popeye has stood on Rua Visconde de Piraja in Ipanema since 1969, a pe-sujo where the television runs football and the sidewalk fills the moment the shouting starts. Time Out Rio lists it among the city's top spots to watch a match, and the formula has not changed in decades: ice-cold draft, no-frills snacks, and a crowd that spills onto the pavement.
Who would love it: anyone who wants to watch a Brazilian league match shoulder to shoulder with locals over a cheap, cold chopp. Who would skip it: anyone after a polished sports lounge with table service, since this is a stand-up corner bar, not a venue.
The room is small and bare by design, with screens angled so the crowd on the sidewalk can follow the game. The focus sits squarely on the beer and the match. Tripadvisor and Yelp reviewers describe it the same way, as a no-frills stand-up bar with tasty snacks and very cold draft, which is exactly what it sets out to be.
Order the chopp, poured cold and cheap, and pair it with bolinho de bacalhau, the cod croquettes regulars order by the round. Empadas and carne assada round out the short snack list, all priced for a pe-sujo rather than an Ipanema restaurant. The point is volume and turnover, not a long menu.
The crowd is local and loudest on match days, when the sidewalk becomes the main room. Bar Popeye is a fixture on an Ipanema football route from our Rio de Janeiro guide, and it sits alongside the screens-and-beer venues in our best sports bars in Rio de Janeiro roundup.
Regulars come for the ritual. Reviews praise the temperature of the draft and the bolinhos in the same line, and the standing-room format keeps the energy up when a game is on. The lack of seating is the trade-off, and on a big match the pavement does the work.
Best time to go is kickoff for a Brazilian league or cup match, when the bar and the sidewalk fill together. It suits a football fan, a cheap cold beer, or a stand-up snack in Ipanema. Measure it on the sports bars pillar. Come for the match, stay for the cod croquettes.
The history is the draw as much as the beer. Open since 1969, Bar Popeye has outlasted most of Ipanema's turnover, and the bare, stand-up format has not changed with it. Screens are angled so the crowd on the pavement can follow the game, and on a big match the sidewalk becomes the main room.
The snack list is short and to the point. Bolinho de bacalhau leads, with empadas and carne assada backing it up, all priced for a corner bar rather than an Ipanema restaurant. Reviewers on Tripadvisor and Yelp describe the same thing every time: very cold draft, tasty bar snacks, and a stand-up scene that runs on football.
Sources: Time Out Rio, top sports bars feature; Tripadvisor; Yelp (updated 2026); Bar Popeye on Instagram; Google Maps reviews. Profile by James Harlow, barsforKings.
