Clube do Samba

Clube do Samba sits at Largo Terreiro de Jesus, in Pelourinho, a few doors from O Cravinho on the same square. Wilson and Nelma founded it in December 2007 as the Associação dos Amigos do Samba Brasileiro, and it's moved a few times around Salvador before landing here, in what used to be Bar Fundo do Cravinho. Nearly two decades in, it's hosted more than 5,000 rodas de samba.

The band that's run this room for a decade

Wilson put together the house band, now called Rara Raiz and led by vocalist and cavaquinho player Vagner Santana, over ten years ago. It anchors the Saturday night slot, which is when the place fills fastest — reviewers describe queues and packed floors, and recommend arriving early or coming midweek instead. Google reviewers rate the music and atmosphere consistently well, with the bolinho de bacalhau singled out often enough to be worth ordering.

Worth knowing

Cover runs roughly R$25-40 depending on the night, with food and drinks pushing the total toward R$100. In 2025 the venue faced public questions about who its growing crowds actually served, after a Black patron raised concerns on social media about rising white attendance changing the room's character — owner Dona Nelma responded publicly that the space "is and always has been" built on diversity and respect. Worth knowing going in, not as a verdict either way, just as part of what the room is currently working through. Check the Instagram for the week's lineup before heading over.