Mercado Central
Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte
A city market that opened in 1929, with over 400 stalls selling Minas cheese, cachaça, and spices. The market bar's fried liver with jiló is its signature dish.
Mercado Central is the first stop for experiencing Minas food culture. Its maze of passages holds cheese stalls (Queijo Minas and Canastra cheese), dulce de leche, dried fruit, cachaça sugarcane spirit, herbs, handicrafts, and live poultry stalls. The small bars inside are packed with locals. The signature dish is onion-fried beef liver served with jiló (a bitter eggplant-like vegetable), along with cold beer. It is generally open from about 7:00 to 18:00, Monday to Saturday, and until 13:00 on Sundays. Keep an eye on your belongings in the crowds.
Opening hours
Mon–Sat 07:00–18:00; Sun 07:00–13:00
Nearby sights
- Mercado Novo
- Feira Hippie (Sunday Arts & Crafts Fair)
- Memorial Minas Gerais Vale
- Parque Municipal Américo Renné Giannetti
- Palácio das Artes
- MM Gerdau – Museum of Mines and Metal
- Praça da Estação & Museum of Arts and Crafts
- Praça da Liberdade & Circuito Liberdade