Just a few steps from Batman’s Alley (Beco do Batman) there is a boteco (a simple, no-frills neighborhood bar) that has become one of Vila Madalena’s characters: Bar do Corno, which many people call “Bar dos Cornos”. Anyone walking past the corner can’t resist a look, and the reason is the Viking helmet with two huge horns that the owner wears behind the counter. (In Brazil, corno, “horned one”, is slang for a man whose partner cheats on him.)
Where it is
On the corner of Rua Belmiro Braga and Rua Luiz Murat, in Vila Madalena, near Batman’s Alley and Beco do Aprendiz.
The story of the helmet
The bar was opened by Nelson and Rose, a married couple and two of the best-known residents of the neighborhood. It is a simple boteco serving prato feito (an inexpensive set plate of the day) and plenty of cachaça, and for years its loyal regulars were the cart pullers who work in the area.
One day a customer gave Nelson a Viking-style helmet with horns, and he decided to wear it while working. That did it: drivers pass by, laugh and shout “Fala, corno!” (roughly “Hey, cuckold!”), and the answer comes right back: “É nós!” (“That’s us!”). The joke grew. Another customer gave him a stuffed bull’s head, a beer brand hung a banner with the name “Bar do Corno”, and the walls filled up with sayings on the subject.
The best part of the story: according to Blog Vila Madalena, which told it in 2015, Nelson and Rose had been married for 32 years and there had never been any cheating. The “corno” is just marketing, and good marketing at that.
What the bar is like today
We visited in September 2025, and the Viking helmet is still a hit: customers also put on the horns for photos, as in our selfie above. Nelson is a dear friend of our editor, and the photos were published with his permission. The vibe is that of an unpretentious neighborhood boteco, very different from the newer bars on Rua Aspicuelta.
What to order
- An ice-cold beer and a shot of cachaça, the house specialty.
- A prato feito (set plate), if you arrive hungry.
- And, of course, the photo with the horned helmet.
Watch out: don’t mix them up
There is another Bar dos Cornos in São Paulo, in Jaguaré, also in the West Zone, specializing in Northeastern Brazilian food and decorated with horns and bulls’ heads. They are different bars. This guide is about Bar do Corno in Vila Madalena, near Batman’s Alley.
How to fit it into your itinerary
- Visit Batman’s Alley and walk on to Rua Belmiro Braga.
- Take the chance to see the graffiti in Beco do Aprendiz, in the same area.
- Then carry on into the night at the bars of Vila Madalena.
Where to stay to enjoy the nightlife
If you plan to enjoy the neighborhood’s bars at night, it is usually best to sleep nearby and walk back. See hotels and guesthouses in Vila Madalena on Booking.com or compare neighborhoods in our guide Where to stay near Batman’s Alley. (Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)