A gastrobar on the sand at Praia do Madeiro, with plates, snacks and a vegan section. Open every day, 9am to 5pm. Book your table on WhatsApp.
On the sand of Praia do Madeiro, between palm trees and the forest, there is a wooden hut with a surfboard as its sign, white umbrellas and a rainbow flag flying beside it. This is Astral Gastro Bar: the place introduces itself as a restaurant, snack house and bar, with a menu that runs from plates to share to seafood dishes, from meats to a vegan section, open every day from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon.
Book your table on the sand at Astral on WhatsApp
| Type | Beach parador: gastrobar with restaurant, snack house and bar |
|---|---|
| Area | Praia do Madeiro, on the sand, facing the sea |
| Address | Praia do Madeiro, Pipa, Tibau do Sul (RN) |
| Hours | Every day, 09:00–17:00 |
| Bookings | Yes, accepted |
| Service | Outdoor tables · eating on site · waiters · delivery |
| On the menu | Plates to share · snacks · seafood dishes · meats · vegan options · desserts |
| To drink | Beer · wine · cocktails · spirits |
| Atmosphere | Cosy, casual and relaxed |
| With children | Good for children |
| With a dog | Dogs allowed |
| Parking | Free on the street |
| Wi-Fi | Free |
| Payment | Credit and debit cards · NFC payments |
| Contact | +55 54 99662-2814 |
| @astral.gastrobar |
This is a beach bar with a kitchen menu: the tables are outside, on the sand, with white plastic chairs and white umbrellas, and the place serves with waiters. It takes bookings, so for a group the practical thing is to write on WhatsApp before you head down, with the day, the time and the number of people.
The menu is a white laminated sheet, with the name «Astral» and an orange sun drawn at the top, and it introduces itself as «restaurante, petiscaria e bar». It is split into six sections —porções, petiscos, refeições de frutos do mar, vegano, carnes and sobremesas— and carries a note that organises everything: all the refeições come with rice, farofa, fried macaxeira and a mixed salad.
The porções are the base of the table: batata or macaxeira, rice or beans, fish pirão, salad, sururu or shrimp broth, fish broth, mixed broth, a basket of six pastéis (cheese, sun-dried beef, shrimp or «Romeu e Julieta»), breaded queijo coalho and a gourmet queijo coalho skewer. The petiscos are the beach-bar kind: breaded shrimp or shrimp in garlic and oil, chicken strips, fish strips, sun-dried beef with onion, squid rings, three mixed plates (meats, breaded, and «dos mares» with squid and shrimp) and fillet with fries.
The photos show golden fried bites with lime halves, next to two pastéis in a basket with a small cup of pink sauce, and a salad of green leaves and tomato served on a banana leaf.
The refeições frutos do mar section lists nine dishes: whole fish, lobster, fish steak, picanha do mar (meca), shrimp parmigiana, fish steak in shrimp sauce, moqueca mista, shrimp in pineapple and grilled seafood with octopus, squid, shrimp, fish and vegetables. For the whole fish and the lobster, the menu says to ask the house. One photo shows crab in a creamy sauce served on a white dish, with farofa and vinaigrette in small bowls decorated with lilac flowers and a red hibiscus flower on the board.
The meats are grilled picanha, sirloin, grilled chicken fillet, beef parmigiana, chicken parmigiana and the entrevero of sirloin, chicken, sun-dried beef and vegetables. The vegan section has two options, soy protein and chickpea, which also come with rice, farofa, fried macaxeira and salad. In the photos, a wooden table brings together two platters of grilled dishes with fries and salad, bowls of rice, beans and farofa, and two glasses of orange juice.
To finish there is cartola, the Northeastern dessert of fried banana with cheese and cinnamon, and a basket of twelve «Romeu e Julieta» pastéis, the pairing of cheese and guava paste, to share.
The house lists beer, wine, cocktails and spirits. In the photos, two lime drinks with pink straws wait on the table beside a fried snack, under the umbrella and with the waves breaking behind. Orange juices appear served beside the meats. There is free Wi-Fi for anyone who wants to post a photo.
The place describes itself as cosy, casual and relaxed, and what the photos show is the beach. The wooden hut sits against the forest, with a wooden counter and a stool, and above the entrance a surfboard with the name «Astral» painted on it, held up by wooden posts. Around it there are white and orange umbrellas, loungers in a row and a rainbow flag on a pole.
The house states that it welcomes the LGBTQ+ community, that it is a safe space for transgender people and that it identifies as a women-run business.
From the water's edge, the row of umbrellas shows reflected in the shallow water, with two loungers in the middle of the sand and the vegetation behind. Among the tables, big green leaves frame the view of the sea, and the white chairs are spread on the sand under the umbrellas. The setting is the forest, the sea and the horizon.
It opens seven days a week, from 09:00 to 17:00. It is a daytime place: eight hours in a row, from the morning to the middle of the afternoon, and it does not open at night.
With those hours, the morning and midday are for a plate to share, a seafood dish or a meat, and the early afternoon for a beer or a drink before heading back. Since it takes bookings, it is worth writing with the day, the time and the number of people, especially for a group.
It is a place on the sand, so the sea decides: before you head down, look at the tide table to know how the shore is and how much room is left between the umbrellas and the water.
It is on Praia do Madeiro, in Tibau do Sul, on the sand. The place lists free street parking, so you can arrive by car and park without paying, and an entrance accessible to wheelchair users.
If you are coming from Natal, from the airport or from another beach on the coast, look at the transfer options for the stretch to Madeiro and the way back. To arrive with a table ready, write first and ask for directions to the beach access.
The place is listed as good for children, and the outdoor tables on the sand give a family room to spread out. As for dogs, it states that dogs are allowed, which at a table on the sand is an advantage. And for anyone going with someone who does not eat meat, the vegan section has two dishes with the same sides as the rest.
For anyone who wants lunch with their feet in the sand: seafood dishes, meats or a vegan option, without leaving the beach.
For the group that heads down with an umbrella and a lounger and wants to settle the plates and the drinks in the same place.
For those travelling with a dog or with children who are looking for a table in the open air.
For the solo traveller: the place lists itself as good for eating alone, with snacks and drinks facing the sea.
And for anyone looking for a place that welcomes the LGBTQ+ community, as the place itself states.
Yes. It opens seven days a week, from 09:00 to 17:00.
No: the place closes at 17:00. It is a spot for the morning and the afternoon.
The place takes bookings. They are requested on WhatsApp at +55 54 99662-2814, with the day, the time and the number of people.
Yes. The menu has a vegan section with soy protein and chickpea, and all the refeições come with rice, farofa, fried macaxeira and salad.
The menu states that all the refeições come with rice, farofa, fried macaxeira and a mixed salad.
Yes: the place says dogs are allowed.
Yes. The place lists itself as good for children, with outdoor tables on the sand.
Yes, free Wi-Fi.
Yes. It takes credit and debit cards, and NFC payments from a phone.
ESPAÑOL
PORTUGUES
