Grilled chicken plates instead of fried everything at REC T1
Griletto in Terminal T1 sits airside in the main departures food court and focuses on grilled meats with rice and salad instead of the usual fried fast food. It runs in the mid-range $$ bracket, and a basic frango grelhado with rice and salad lands in the typical R$35–50 airport window, according to recent Google Maps photos and reviews.
The setup is classic Brazilian prato feito: pick a protein, add rice, beans or salad, maybe farofa, pay at the counter, then wait for your tray number to be called. Regulars at this REC unit keep it simple with grilled chicken and white rice, skipping extra sides and desserts to keep the bill under control compared with mall locations. Rating hovers around 4.0 on Google, decent for an airport food court stall.
Service hours track standard departure banks, roughly from early-morning flights around 06:00 through to late-evening departures near 22:00; it usually opens before the first domestic banks in T1 really build. Reviews flag that the lunch rush from 11:30 to 13:30 can stretch waits, so budget 15–25 minutes from payment to fork in hand if you hit that window.
Watch out for two things: portions and dryness. Multiple diners note that plates here run smaller than Griletto units in Recife malls, while prices are higher because it’s inside the aeroporto. When the grill is slammed, chicken can sit a few minutes and come out a bit dry; timing your order slightly off-peak (say 10:45 or after 14:00) usually lands fresher meat.
- Order this: basic grilled chicken with rice and salad; add beans only if you’re hungry before a longer flight over 2 hours.
- Skip this: piling on extra sides and soda; that’s how a quick plate suddenly climbs past R$60.
Practical move: if your REC departure from T1 is tight (under 45 minutes to boarding), grab your plate to go and eat at the gate rather than waiting for a table in the food court cluster.