Brazil (São Paulo State)
Eating Out in São Paulo
Eating out is an important pastime for middle- and upper-class Paulistanos. The vast number of restaurants in the city is a source of great pride; people like to claim that São Paulo’s range of restaurants is second only to New York’s. Certainly, the variety of eating options is one of the great joys of São Paulo, though the quality is often disappointing, not least at the more expensive end of the scale.
Fast food, coffee, tea and ice cream
Paulistanos are reputed to be always in a hurry and on just about every block there’s somewhere serving fast food. Lanchonetes do snacks and cheap, light meals and – in direct competition – so too do the likes of McDonalds and Pizza Hut. Claiming to have invented the traditional Bauru sandwich (made with roast beef, salad and melted cheese) is the Ponto Chic at Largo do Paissandu 27, Centro, while sandwich bars popular with a younger crowd include the Frevo, Rua Oscar Freire 603, Cerqueira César, the Companhia Paulista de Sanduíches at Rua Prof. Arthur Ramos 395, Jardim Europa, and The Bagel Factory, Rua Padre João Manoel 881, Jardim Europa. There are plenty of pizzerias, with the Margherita, at Alameda Tietê 255, Cerqueira César, the Marco Polo, Rua Franz Schubert 35, Jardim Europa, Castelões, Rua Jairo Góis 126, Brás (one of the most traditional pizza houses in the city), and the long-established Camelo, Rua Pamplona 1873, Jardins, all highly recommended.

Oddly, for a city built on immigrants and coffee, São Paulo has no café tradition. Coffee, though, is drunk endlessly in the form of cafézinhos (small cups of strong, black coffee). It’s not usually lingered over, but if you want to take your time look out for one of the ever-increasing number of places with an espresso machine. Among several branches of Fran’s Café in downtown São Paulo, the most popular is on the ground floor of the Edifício Itália just round the corner from Praça da República. Open 24 hours a day, it serves delicious canelinha – espresso with milk and cinnamon.

There are a few good tearooms, among which Jasmin at Rua Haddock Lobo 932 and La Baguette at Rua Haddock Lobo 1604 (both in Jardins) are especially inviting. At As Noviças, Rua Gaivota 1216, Moema (closed Mon), waitresses dressed as nuns serve teas against a background of religious music. For a splurge and to escape the city crowds and fumes, head out to the Fundação Maria Luiza e Oscar Americano, where superb English-style high teas are served.

Perhaps it’s due to the Italian element in the population that you can find such good ice cream in São Paulo. La Basque at Alameda Lorena 1444, Cerqueira César, is always reliable, but for Italian-style ice cream and fruit sorbets at their absolute best try Gelatería d’Arte at Alameda Lorena 1784 or, almost as good, Gelatería Parmalat at Rua Oscar Freire 518, both in Jardim Paulista.

Restaurants
São Paulo’s restaurants are concentrated where the money is, in the city centre and in the middle- and upper-class suburbs of the city’s southwest in neighbourhoods like the Jardins, Itaim Bibi and the newly fashionable Pinheiros and Vila Madalena area. You can get away with paying $3 or so for a standard dish of rice, beans and meat at a small, side-street restaurant, but at the most elegant of restaurants in the wealthiest neighbourhoods you’ll be very hard-pressed to pay less than $50 per person. Fortunately, though, there’s a huge choice of good restaurants between these price extremes, so you’re unlikely to have much trouble finding places to suit your tastes and budget.

Asian and African

In general, Middle Eastern restaurants in São Paulo are extremely reliable and excellent value. Almost all serve Lebanese or Syrian food, typically a large variety of small dishes of stuffed vegetables, salads, pastries, pulses, minced meat, spicy sausages and chicken, with a strong emphasis on meat in individual dishes. With the largest Japanese community outside Japan, São Paulo also has many excellent Japanese restaurants that serve food as good as that in Japan itself. Make for Liberdade, São Paulo’s “Japanese quarter”, where restaurants and sushi bars are everywhere.
  • Agadir, Rua Fradique Coutinho 950, Vila Madalena. Unique in São Paulo, this restaurant serves Moroccan food – in this case entirely couscous. Quite simple but pleasant; expect to pay around $15 per person. Closed Mon, Tues–Fri lunch & Sun evening.
  • Al Kaukab, Rua Com. Abdo Schahin 130, Centro. A meeting point for the local Arab community, the food’s excellent and cheap, and the atmosphere always lively.
  • Arabe, Rua Com. Abdo Schahin 102, Centro. Crowded at lunchtime with Lebanese diners, for the rest of the day the inexpensive restaurant is a focus for dawdling, elderly Arabs.
  • Arábia, Rua Haddock Lobo 1397, Cerqueira César. Excellent Lebanese food served in pleasant suroundings. The fixed-price lunch menus are very good value and include some unusual choices.
  • China Massas Caseiras, Rua Mourato Coelho 140, Pinheiros. Huge quantities of extremely cheap Chinese-style food, served in a lively atmosphere.
  • Esfiha Chic, Rua da Consolação, junction with Av. Paulista, Cerqueira César. Delicious food and very low prices with excellent service.
  • Folha de Uva, Rua Bela Cintra 1435, Cerqueira César. A combination of fast food and a buffet of Middle Eastern snacks.
  • Fukki, Rua da Consolação 3447, Jardins. Small restaurant near the corner of Rua Oscar Freire. The lunchtime buffet, including sushi and sashimi, is particularly good value at around $10 per person.
  • Govinda, Rua Princesa Isabel 379, Brooklin Paulista. The oldest Indian restaurant in the city, with dishes tempered to suit unfamiliar Brazilian tastebuds. Fairly expensive, the restaurant isn’t worth going to for the food but for the lavish decoration. Closed Sun evening.
  • Kabuki Mask, Rua Girassol 384, Vila Madalena. Good food drawing a rather trendy crowd, with live (non-Japanese) music in the evenings. Closed Mon–Fri lunch.
  • Korea House, Rua Galvão Bueno 43, Liberdade. One of the very few Korean restaurants in the city, despite the large Korean community. Many dishes are prepared at the table, and the often spicy meals are very different to Chinese or Japanese cooking. Around $6 per person.
  • Mercado del Puerto, Rua Sumidouro 539, Pinheiros. Beautiful Uruguayan restaurant serving excellent food. Lots of meat (the kid is especially recommended) but fish and vegetarian choices too.
  • Oríental, Rua José Maria Lisboa 1000, Jardim Paulista. Flavours of the Far East feature here in this rather formal restaurant with interesting Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese inspired dishes. Expect to pay at least $20 per person. Closed Sun.
  • Sushi-Yassu, Rua Tomás Gonzaga 110 A, Liberdade. Excellent sushi and other fish dishes, but not cheap (about $20 a person). Closed Mon.
  • Tanji, Rua dos Estudantes 166, Liberdade. Specializing in sushi, the quality of the food depends on the owner’s general mood. Evenings only; closed Wed.
  • Viêtnam, Rua da Glória 224, Liberdade. More Chinese than Vietnamese, but still pretty good. Closed Tues–Fri lunch, & Mon.
  • Yamaga, Rua Tomás Gonzaga 66, Liberdade. Small and mainly attracting Japanese diners; an excellent meal here will cost around $20 a head.

Brazilian
Apart from lanchonetes and churrascarias, Brazilian food is surprisingly hard to come by in São Paulo – perhaps because of the immigrant origins of so many of the city’s inhabitants. If Brazilians do go out for Brazilian food, they’ll often search out restaurants serving “exotic” regional food.
  • Andrade, Rua Artur de Azevedo 874, Pinheiros. Moderately priced restaurant specializing in Northeastern food, in particular carne do sol (sun-dried meat served with manioc flour).
  • Bargaço, Rua Oscar Freire 1189, Jardim Paulista. Upmarket, yet reasonably priced, Bahian restaurant – lots of spicy seafood.
  • Consulado Mineiro, Praça Benedito Calixto 74, Pinheiros. Excellent and reasonably priced mineiro food. The restaurant is especially popular on weekends when the square hosts an antique market.
  • Dona Lucinha, Rua Bela Cintra 2325, Jardim Paulista. The best mineiro food that you’re likely to taste in São Paulo, this is a branch of a highly regarded restaurant with the same name in Belo Horizonte. Inexpensive, with an excellent fixed-price buffet.
  • Espírito Capixaba, Rua Francisco Leitão 57, Pinheiros. Unique in the city, a restaurant specializing in food from the usually overlooked state of Espírito Santo. Lots of seafood dishes, most notably distinctive moquecas (fish stews).
  • Mestiço, Rua Fernando de Albuquerque 277, Consolação. Pleasantly located and rather trendy restaurant serving lighter than typical Brazilian food – Bahian dishes with a Thai twist. Somehow the fusion works. Moderate prices.
  • O Profeta, Alameda dos Aicás 40, Indianópolis. Authentic, and fairly inexpensive, food from Minas Gerais, with a buffet containing over thirty different dishes.
  • Santa Gula, Rua Fidalga 340, Vila Madalena. Brazilian food with French and Italian influences. The food is generally excellent (and always expensive), but it’s the exotic décor that will hold the attention. Closed Mon and Sun evening.
  • Tia Carly, Alameda Ribeirão Preto 492, Bela Vista. Excellent, cheap “home cooking” with feijoadas served on Wednesday and Saturday. Closed Sun evening.
  • Tucupy, Rua Bela Cintra 1551, Jardins. If you don’t make it to the Amazon, this is your opportunity to try the food of the state of Pará. Distinctive fish and duck dishes. Helpful waiters take you through the unusual menu. Closed Mon.
  • Ver-o-Peso, Alameda Nhambiquaras 1360, Moema. Interesting and inexpensive Amazonian and Northeastern food and drinks. Closed Mon.

Italian
With so many immigrants from Italy, it’s hardly surprising that the city has a huge number of Italian restaurants, ranging from family-run cantinas and pizzerias to elegant, expensive establishments. For the most part, São Paulo’s Italian restaurateurs are the children or grandchildren of immigrants, and have adapted their mainly northern recipes to suit Brazilian tastes and the availability of ingredients. São Paulo’s “Little Italy”, the Bixiga barrio, is good for a fun night out, with countless inexpensive eateries, but the food there is nothing special, and you’ll find better fare elsewhere in the city.
  • Bricola, Alameda Gabriel Monteiro da Silva 1040, Cerqueira César. Pretty courtyard restaurant serving a simple, low-priced menu.
  • Famiglia Mancini, Rua Avanhandava 81, Centro. Great atmosphere, especially late at night when it’s crowded with young people. There are often long queues for a table, though the food is rather mediocre apart from the fabulous cold buffet.
  • Fasano, Rua Haddock Lobo 1644, Cerqueira César. Often rated as the best Italian restaurant in São Paulo. Renowned for its fine ingredients and unusual vinegar marinades, but expensive.
  • Gero, Rua Haddock Lobo 1629, Cerqueira César. Very good, moderately priced food served in a relaxed, somewhat trendy, setting.
  • Gigetto, Rua Avanhandava 63, Centro. Just off Rua Augusta on a road where there are several other Italian restaurants, this one is always crowded with lively Brazilian families. The food’s excellent and very inexpensive.
  • Jardim de Napoli, Rua Dr Martinico Prado 463, Higienópolis. A simple cantina where some of São Paulo’s best Italian food is served at very reasonable prices.
  • La Locandeira, Rua Dr Mário Ferraz 465, Itaim Bibi. Fine pasta dishes in this modestly priced, lunchtime-only restaurant, sited in one of the city’s most exclusive shopping districts.
  • Roma Jardins, Av. Cidade Jardim 411, Haim. A mid-range restaurant specializing in antipasti and fine wines. The roast lamb here is excellent.

Other European
There are surprisingly few Portuguese restaurants in the city, and you pay for what you get: if it’s cheap, it tends not to be very good. French restaurants tend to be excellent but expensive – expect to pay at least $40 a head, and possibly even double that amount. Places specializing in German food are a lot cheaper – you’ll eat heartily for around $10 per person – though they are generally unimaginative in their range of dishes, with menus usually based on pork, potatoes and sauerkraut.
  • Acrópoles, Rua da Graça 364, Bom Retiro. Long-established, popular and fairly inexpensive restaurant serving traditional Greek food. Evenings only.
  • Alt Nürnberg, Av. João Carlos da Silva Borges 543, Santo Amaro. São Paulo’s swankiest German restaurant; the menu’s still pork-based, but there’s a wide range of accompanying dishes. Closed Sat lunch and Sun.
  • Antiquarius, Alameda Lorena 1884, Cerqueira César. Excellent – but wildly expensive – Portuguese food and wine, though uncomfortably formal, not to say vulgar. Closed Mon lunch & Sun evening.
  • Bierquelle, Av. Professor Papini 169, Interlagos. A cosy place serving German and Swiss dishes – try their fried, grated potato with apple jam.
  • Cecília, Rua Correia de Mello 174, Bom Retiro. A neighbourhood restaurant that also attracts diners from all over the city, serving up heavy but authentic Eastern European dishes utterly unsuited to the tropics. Lunch only; closed Sat & Mon (except holidays).
  • Juca Alemão, Rua Min. José Galotti 134, Brooklin Paulista. Plain German food of the kind Brazilians go for. Cheap, with a following of mainly young people.
  • La Casserole, Largo do Arouche 346, Centro. An old favourite for a romantic evening out, with ever-reliable – though fairly expensive – French food. Closed Sat lunch and Mon.
  • L’Arnaque, Rua Oscar Freire 518, Cerqueira César. Interesting, but not always successful, French-Brazilian nouvelle cuisine. Pleasant surroundings attract a trendy clientele; the fixed-priced menu is good value, but still not for the budget-conscious.
  • Le Coq Hardy, Av. Adolfo Pinheiro 2518, Alto da Boa Vista. Arguably São Paulo’s best traditional French restaurant, and almost certainly its most expensive. Closed Mon.
  • Mediterraneo, Rua Girassol 67, Vila Madalena. Attractively presented dishes influenced by recipes from throughout the Mediterranean. A trendy clientele, as befits this newly fashionable part of town. Closed Sat & Sun evening, and Mon.
  • Presidente, Rua Visconde de Parnaíba 2424, Brás. Very good food, reasonably priced, in an area which once had a large Portuguese community. Closes daily at 9.30pm and all day Sun; Sat lunch only.
  • O Rei do Bacalhau, Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima 2174, Pinheiros. Portuguese restaurant specializing in cod dishes; expect to pay upwards of $25 per person. Closed Mon.
  • Roanne, Rua Henrique Martins 631, Jardim Paulista. Nouvelle cuisine of a high standard in this relaxed, yet sophisticated French restaurant. Closed Sat lunch and Sun.
  • Sara, Rua da Graça 32, Bom Retiro. Busy café/snack bar serving Eastern European Jewish food. Mon–Fri 11am–7pm, Sat & Sun 11am–3pm.
  • Z-Deli, Alameda Lorena 1214, Cerqueira César. Trendy people who live or work in the neighbourhood come to this small restaurant, modelled on a gourmet deli. There are two other branches, operating with the same hours: Alameda Lorena 1449, Cerqueira César; Alameda Gabriel Monteiro da Silva 1350, Jardim Paulistano. Mon–Fri 9am–6.30pm, Sat 9am–4pm.

Seafood
São Paulo’s close proximity to the coast makes seafood an excellent option though, as is often the case, it tends to be rather expensive. The following places specialize in seafood, although Japanese, Portuguese and Bahian restaurants are generally strong on fish too.
  • La Trainera, Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima 511, Jardim Paulistano. The best and probably the most expensive seafood in the city.
  • Mr Fish Grill, Alameda Lorena 1430, Cerqueiro César. Simply prepared but extremely fresh fish served with a choice of sauces and accompaniments. Somewhat sterile atmosphere but, at less than $25 per person, reasonable prices.
  • Vivenda do Camarão, Rua Groenlândia 513, Itaim Bibi. A huge variety of wonderful prawn dishes at moderate prices.

Vegetarian
There’s nowhere easier in Brazil to be vegetarian than in São Paulo: barring churrascarias, most restaurants offer non-meat dishes. Most of the following specifically vegetarian restaurants are very inexpensive, and have unusually varied menus extending beyond brown rice and beans.
  • Apfel, Rua Barão de Itapetinga 207 (1st floor), Centro. Excellent vegetarian buffet featuring both hot and cold dishes at around $4 per person. Mon–Fri lunch only.
  • Cheiro Verde, Rua Peixoto Gomide 1413, Cerqueira César. Comfortable and fairly sophisticated vegetarian restaurant, whose simple menu changes with the season but is always excellent and inexpensive.
  • Da Fiorella, Rua Bernardino de Campos 294, Brooklin Paulista. Vegetarian Italian food. Their staple dish is a cold tomato, herb and mozzarella sauce served over hot pasta. Closed Sun evening and Mon.
  • Lótus, Rua Brigadeiro Tobias 420, Luz. Inexpensive, mainly Chinese, vegetarian por quilo restaurant, well located for the nearby cultural centres. Closed Sun evening.
  • Mel, Rua Araújo 75, Centro, and Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima 1138, Jardim Europa. One of the best places for an inexpensive lunch downtown. The menu is only half vegetarian – fish and chicken are also served. Mon–Fri lunch only.
  • Namesa, Rua Consolação 2967, Jardins. Modern and well-presented health food: light meals, snacks and juices. Closed Sun evening & Sat.
  • Sativa, Rua da Consolação 3140, Jardins. Very comfortable place with reasonably priced food. One of the few vegetarian restaurants that serve beer.