Welcome to Muxima's because everything here is "from the heart".
Rua do Cruzeiro runs down from the centre of Praia da Pipa, and at number 17 the name is spelled out in large letters above the door: Muxima's. Muxima means heart in Kimbundu, a language spoken across several regions of Angola, and here that is not decoration: the place was opened by an Angolan cook born in Luanda, and the menu crosses that root with the cooking of the Potiguar coast. The burgers are named, one by one, after a place in Angola.
Open Tuesday to Sunday, from midday until one in the morning. Message them on WhatsApp and ask about the dishes for two
| Where | R. do Cruzeiro 17, Praia da Pipa, Tibau do Sul (RN) |
|---|---|
| What it is | Bar and restaurant with Angolan roots and coastal cooking |
| Hours | Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 1am. Closed Monday |
| Service | Dine in · takeaway · delivery |
| On the menu | Seafood, meat, pasta, pizza, burgers, a vegan line and a kids' dish |
| Music | Live music and shows |
| Payment | Cards accepted |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| +55 84 99945-6629 | |
| @muximaspipa |
The menu reads in two directions. One is northeastern Brazil: dendê moquecas, carne de sol, banana farofa, feijão tropeiro. The other is Angola, and it shows up in the names: to understand the house in a minute, look at the burger page.
There are eleven, each one named for an Angolan place. The Luanda, with a house patty, mozzarella and tartare sauce. The Lubango, with gorgonzola. The Benguela, with pickles and smoked barbecue. The Namibe, with cheddar, caramelised onion and bacon, which also comes double. The Caboledo, with strips of chicken, sweetcorn and aioli. The Lobito, with pulled rib. The Mussulo, built on a prawn patty with vegetables, and the Sumbe, that same patty breaded. Two vegetarian ones close the list: the Kalandula, made with chickpea, and the Huambo, made with beans. There is also a mini-burger combo where you pick two, and a vegetarian combo with one of each.
Fish moqueca and prawn moqueca, both cooked in dendê oil and coconut milk and served with rice and pirão. Camarão à Muxima's, the one carrying the house name, with gratinated catupiry over cashew rice. Grilled catch of the day with teriyaki. And the creamy rice dishes, which are a full plate on their own: prawn, octopus with saffron and green beans, and chicken.
Filé Massai, sirloin in house sauce with cassava chips. Do litoral ao sertão, which brings together creamed dried beef with prawn and cheese. Carne de sol with creamy green beans and a stuffed potato. And two parmegianas: the sirloin one and the nordestina, made with carne de sol. The pasta is fresh tagliatelle.
There is a whole page built for sharing. The chapeado misto brings ribeye, carne de sol, chicken, pork sausage, queijo coalho and grilled fruit. The moqueca mista has prawn and fish together. The trio do mar adds fish, prawn and grilled octopus over cashew rice and banana farofa.
The Veg section has a vegan moqueca — plantain and vegetables in dendê and coconut milk — and a mushroom stroganoff. Add the chickpea and bean burgers, the vegetarian mini combo and three salads, among them the SQN, with red cabbage and herb aioli. The kids' dish is listed for children up to twelve and comes with rice and chips.
Seven pizzas, from the margherita to the Muximas — carne de sol, cheese cream and prawn — with a chocolate one to finish. Among the petiscos there are panko prawn sticks, octopus and carne de sol ceviche, bruschettas, polvo a lagareiro, mini pastéis and caldinhos of beans, fish and prawn.
The whole bar is written out on the menu. Long neck beers — Corona, Heineken, Stella Artois, Budweiser and an alcohol-free one — and 600 ml bottles. Fresh juices of lemon, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, grape and orange, Swiss lemonade with condensed milk, espresso and cappuccino.
Then comes the part that explains why the place closes at one. There is a full column of northeastern cachaças — Samanaú, Matuta, Volúpia, Papary, Nêga Fulô, Asa Branca — and on that base sit the caipirinhas, the caipiroska, the caipifruta and the saquerinha. After them come the gin and tonics, the mojito, the daiquiri, the piña colada and the espresso martini, plus wine, vodka, whisky, rum and liqueurs by the measure.
The house introduces itself in its own words: welcome to Muxima's, because everything here is done from the heart. And it adds another line, the one that explains how the night works: the menu is recommended for people who want cooking and good music. There are live music and shows, and that sets the rhythm of the room: early on it is a table for eating, later it is a table for staying.
The name in large letters above the door is how you find it from the street. Inside there is Wi-Fi and cards are accepted. The story is part of the place: it was opened by Ana Paula, an Angolan born in Luanda, in September 2009, after three years in Itacaré, Bahia. Its farewell line is written down too: what you take away from here is missing it.
The fact that organises the week: it closes on Mondays. Tuesday to Sunday it opens at midday and the kitchen runs until one in the morning. Thirteen hours straight, with no break between lunch and dinner, six days out of seven.
Those hours give the house three different moments. Midday, when you come up from the beach and a dish for two in the middle of the table makes sense. Dinner, when the music starts and the room changes pace. And the stretch after midnight: at that hour few kitchens in the village are still working, and here you can still order a burger or a caldinho.
If you are coming as a group, timing counts: a table of eight or ten sits more comfortably at midday or before eight in the evening. Message ahead on WhatsApp and say how many you are.
It is at Rua do Cruzeiro 17, right in the centre of Praia da Pipa, Tibau do Sul. This is one of the streets running down from the centre, so from any guesthouse on Pipa Beach you can walk, and from Centro Beach it is a few minutes on foot. The plus code is QWCX+JX.
The street is narrow and cobbled, so the practical move is to leave the car up on the avenue and walk the last stretch. If you are arriving from Natal or from the airport, start with how to get to Pipa and the transfer options. And if you would rather not move at all, the kitchen does takeaway and delivery.
For a family there are two concrete things: the kids' dish, listed for children up to twelve, and a menu where half of it is made to share. For a large group it works the same way: the chapeado misto and the trio do mar are built for the middle of the table, the petiscos and caldinhos are ordered several at a time, and the pizzas close. At a mixed table nobody is left out: vegan moqueca, vegetarian burgers, fish, meat and pasta all sit on the same menu.
For anyone who wants to eat something that is on no other menu in Pipa. The Angolan root is not decoration: it is in the name, in the story of the house and in the eleven burger names.
For anyone arriving late. The kitchen runs until one in the morning, six nights a week. Past midnight, in the centre of the village, that is a practical advantage.
For the table that cannot agree. Seafood, carne de sol, pasta, pizza, burgers, a vegan line and a kids' dish share one menu, with dishes built for passing around.
No. Monday is the only day it closes. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 1am.
The kitchen works until one in the morning, Tuesday to Sunday.
The name: muxima means heart in Kimbundu, a language of Angola. It was opened by Ana Paula, an Angolan born in Luanda, in 2009. And the eleven burgers are named after Angolan places: Luanda, Lubango, Benguela, Namibe, Cabo Ledo, Lobito, Mussulo, Sumbe, Kalandula and Huambo.
Yes. The Veg section has a vegan moqueca and a mushroom stroganoff, and among the burgers there are the chickpea one and the bean one, plus the vegetarian mini combo.
Yes. There is a kids' dish listed for children up to twelve, with meat or chicken, rice and chips.
Both, alongside service in the dining room.
Yes, the house puts on live music and shows. To find out who is playing which night, message ahead.
Yes, cards are accepted. There is Wi-Fi on site too.
If the night turned into staying in the flat, the kitchen travels too. Order dinner for takeaway or delivery on WhatsApp
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