Bip Bip

My most memerable experience in Rio was hanging out at this tiny street side bar one night. Really a gem of a place. If you love authentic music and want to soak up some culture this is the place.
They open at 11pm, off Copacabana, just a little one car garage sized place. Local musicians jam. You help yourselves to the beer in the fridge, pay owner when done. Beers are like 5 ri’s. I hung out and drank 9 beers, came out to the equivalent of about $ 10 usd. I’m not sure what happened there. Lol
Every one gathers on sidewalk and snaps fingers instead of clapping.
I was a little worried to walk here solo from my hotel but I’m so glad I did. I had a great time and everyone was really friendly. But don’t come here to be loud or socialize. This place is about watching the bossa nova musicians jam in the most intimate of settings.
I feel truely blessed for the experience.

Ok, se voce espera um barzinho arrumado, com chopp artesanal, comida gourmet, atendimento personalizado, passé longe do Bip Bip!
Aqui nao tem garcom, o banheiro (unico) eh unissex, nao tem comida (apesar de estar escrito que tem rs), a ceva eh lata de Brahma e mal tem lugar pra sentar (alias, nas 5as e domingos nao tem lugar pra sentar mesmo)… porque diabos 5 estrelas, entao? O Bip Bip eh um reduto de mais de 40 anos da classe musical do Rio de Janeiro (tanto velha geracao quanto nova). Todos os dias (tirando sabado) tem musica de altissima qualidade (bossa nova, choro, samba). Acho que os reviews ja dizem muita coisa sobre o sistema: pega sua ceva na geladeira, da teu nome que o seu Alfredo anota no caderninho dele e no final voce paga a conta. A lata de Brahma esta em 5 reais, e se voce pensa «poxa, nao eh tao barato assim», lembre que nao se paga couvert aqui. Voce escuta um som de altissima qualidade na faixa!
O dono eh conhecido pelo seu mau-​humor (os «shhh!» pra quem fala alto no meio da musica sao frequentes), e tem gente que nao gosta. nao culpo eles, mas acho que se voce tem isso em mente quando vai no bar, nao eh nada que incomode. E de qualquer maneira, durante a musica nem da vontade de conversar, de tao bom que eh o som!
A 1a vez que fui, era uma 2a feira. Estava bem mais vazio que no domingo (que eh quando mais lota), e achamos melhor conhecer o Bip Bip assim! O bar fica ainda mais com o clima familiar de sempre quando esta mais vazio. Tambem deu pra trocar uma boa ideia com o Alfredo e ver que ele eh muito gente fina. Ele toca varios projetos sociais com criancas de comunidades carente, eh muito bacana
Em suma, o Bip Bip eh uma instituicao no Rio de Janeiro. Musica espetacular de graca e um bar com clima fantastico. Mas va sabendo que nao tem lugar pra sentar, que a ceva eh Brahma, que o banheiro eh unissex, que nao tem garcom, etc etc etc…
Ah, um adendo: o seu Alfredo eh um esquerdista de coracao e seguidamente ele cutuca ideias conservadoras em geral, entao se vc eh um «coxinha» tenha isso em mente (eu, como esquerdista, bati um papo legal com ele, mas consigo imaginar alguem meio reacionario ficando bravo rs)

Very unique place in the world, don’t miss it if you are in rio. Very safe with family ambiance. Don’t speak loud and enjoy all kind of music of Brazil. Say hi to the owner of that place papa Alfredo ! Stringly recommended ! Beer is 5 reals only. Other alcohol is available as well.

I would like to try Bip Bip again. I went on a chorinho night and the owner was in a very bad mood. He literally yelled and cursed at everyone there for socializing. He was very adamant that we should all be there for the music and if we wanted to talk, we should just leave. It was still fun, but it felt a little awkward after that.
I wanted to like it, I really did. And so, I will give it one or two more tries before I give it less than three stars. Perhaps the grumpy man grows on you… but I was too scared to even get a beer, so I just stood in silence and watched the live music.
PS– someone I was with had a camera and filmed the owner yelling and cursing so maybe I will upload and post the video… haha.

A lata de Brahma custa R$ 5,00. Você pode achar meio salgado, mas quando lembra que não paga couvert pelos lindos sambas que pode ter o privilégio de escutar, daí percebe que na verdade, o preço tá bem barato. Não gostou dos esporros do seu Alfredinho? Ele não tá nem aí. Ele sabe que a música tocada e os vizinhos merecem respeito.

Exactly what I was hoping for! After reading reviews, I was looking forward to a good jam session and informal singing and music-​making.
The space is tiny: a couple of tables for the musicians/​singers, the bar and fridge at the end, and the patrons standing mostly outside on the sidewalk singing along.
The rules: Be quiet, snap your fingers (don’t clap), get your beer from the fridge and pay the owner once your tab is done (he keeps records on his notepad).
The owner will tell you if you are being too loud, as I recorded him doing when I went on July 13, the night of the 2014 World Cup final. (
)
The Samba gave me just enough felicidade and saudade, and the locals were singing along. I danced a tiny bit in place.

First, don’t show up before 11 or midnight on Friday or Saturday. Artists show up when they feel like since the play for free. It’s a dinky little place with a lot of heart that still attracts the old style Samba and Bosa Nova. Edson let’s you pay at the end of your stay with out a credit card down… it’s a really treat that takes you back in time when Rio was vibrant with young talent and music was everywhere.
Lastly don’t clap… snap your fingers

A música é ótima, o lugar tem muita história e o dono é um verdadeiro personagem carioca. Há quem diga que é charmoso, mas eu não virei fã. O lugar é muito pequeno, não se pode conversar sem levar um puxão de orelha e nunca tem lugar pra sentar…

Aqui todo mundo é da casa. Tanto é assim que você pega sua própria cerveja na geladeira enquanto o dono (o famoso Alfredinho) vai marcando quantas foram consumidas ao longo da noite. Mas esse é um bar musical, então nada de conversa com o samba rolando: quem fala alto logo ouve um «shhhh» do Alfredinho. Então, «shhh!» e curta o bar mais cultural do Rio!

Bip Bip, one of Rio’s oldest and most vibrant businesses, is where you head to find a crowd of samba lovers spilling onto the sidewalk, a diminutive interior just big enough to accommodate the table of musicians, and a set of refrigerators in the rear that offer self-​service beers.
The jovially crabby owner sits outside at a little desk with a makeshift method of keeping tabs (literally). His notebook is filled with names and tick marks representing the beers consumed by each patron. It would be easy to grab a can and slide away unnoticed, but that’s not the style of people who frequent this spot. The trust system works and you just have to tell him your name once you get your beer.
While the music plays, everyone tunes in and at the end of each song, fingers start snapping — clapping would mean waking up the upstairs residents. Everyone catches onto this almost immediately.
There may not be a better spot to soak up the essence of Rio.

Bip Bip is a bar for the romantic ones — and I do not mean couples in love, by any means. This tiny little place hidden in the heart of Copacabana has been around for nearly five decades. Its owner, Alfredinho, is an incredibly unique man. Every single night, he sits in front of the bar, wine glass in hand, and watches as the musicians — an enjoyable mixture of old and new generations — play through the very best of samba.
Every now and then, the short and bearded owner stops the music to shout at his audience, all curiously watching him from the sidewalk (there is no space for anyone inside but the musicians). He complains about the conversations («an offense to the music») and even the perfume the customers are using («too strong»). His crabby ways don’t fool anyone for too long. Shortly after the reprehensions, Alfredinho starts to go on about all of the charity work he does with the donations his clients give him every night. It is easy to tell he is a man who truly cares about the others — maybe even more than about himself.
Don’t expect him to serve you any food though (maybe some olives if he is in a good mood and you ask nicely) and if you want a beer or cachaça shots (the only two options available) you should go grab it yourself and make sure to let him know. He will ask for your name and write it on his incredibly unorganized book. It is almost impossible to believe that this old fragile-​looking man can keep track of everyone on the busiest nights. But he always does.
Locals, foreigners, young, old, rich, poor — you can find them all here, fascinated by this sort of dirty looking bar whose essence is in taking people back in time. This might be the 60’s all over again and these people might be the ones who helped turn samba into the most famous music rhythm in Brazil. Bip bip is classic old-​style Rio de Janeiro. You could call it many things. I would call it absolutely charming — against all odds.