The carioca culture of Rio de Janiero is great for music, barhopping, and beach going, but when Brazilian gourmets want to indulge themselves, where do they head? Easy: São Paolo. In this affluent, booming, multicultural metropolis, restaurant going is practically a religious pursuit. Paulistas deeply respect all the rituals of dining out -- expect to dress up for dinner, to eat fashionably late (10pm is on the early side), and to wait for a table (most of São Paolo's best spots don't take reservations).
Navigating the São Paolo sprawl can be confounding, and the traffic is horrendous, so organize your time here by neighborhoods. Amid the skyscrapers of the Avenida Paulista district, the refined, sleek Antiquarius (Alameda Lorena 1884; tel. 55/11/3082-3015; www.antiquarius.com.br) consistently wins raves for its classical Portuguese cuisine, including dishes rarely served outside Portugal -- like cataplana de peixes e frutos do mar, a rich seafood stew with bacon and sausage served in a traditional lidded pot; or açorda, a clay-pot casserole of crab, shrimp, and mussels -- along with a definitive bacalhau (cod). Many of the city's best high-end restaurants are Italian; one standout is Massimo (Alameda Santos 1826; tel. 55/11/3284-0311), with a menu that's practically a geography lesson in Italian regional cuisines: The changing menu may include oven-roasted lamb with vegetables, tomato, and white-wine sauce; trout filet served with olive oil and basil; or a lean suckling pig with roast potatoes; all with wine pairings to match.
It's hard not to fall in love with the lush green suburbs to the southwest, known collectively as Jardins, where you'll find the city's most stunning restaurant setting: Figueira Rubaiyat (Rua Haddock Lobo 1738; tel. 55/11/3063-3888; www.rubaiyat.com.br), a glass-ceilinged beauty built around the gnarled trunk of a magnificent old fig tree. It's a perfect place to appreciate the Brazilian passion for meat: Most of the beef, chicken, and other meats served here come from the owner's own fazenda (cattle ranch), so the quality is always top-notch. (A more casual and cheaper spinoff, Baby Beef Rubaiyat, is a few blocks away at Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima 2954.) For sheer star power, visit celebrity chef Alex Atala's D.O.M. (R. Barão de Capanema 549; tel. 55/11/3088 0761; www.domrestaurante.com.br), a sleek, high-ceilinged, airy space with high gourmet buzz. Four- or eight-course set menus showcase Atala's classical French technique, imaginatively applied to native Brazilian ingredients like black beans, codfish, sardines, manioc, and hearts of palm. Atala is no lockstep locavore, though -- he's just as likely to throw in imported delicacies like foie gras and truffles when the dish calls for it. This is one of the few São Paolo restaurants that does take reservations; you'll need one, at least a week in advance.
West of Centro, in leafy Higienópolis you'll find the casual-yet-chic whitewashed-brick bistro Carlota (Rua Sergipe 753; tel. 55/11/3661-8670; www.carlota.com.br). Owner-chef Carla Pernambuco blends the flavors of her own Italian heritage, the culinary style of her training in Manhattan, and fresh Brazilian ingredients; typical dishes include codfish and shiitake mushrooms with Indian curry sauce, a grilled duck magret with jaboticaba sauce and manioc puree, or huge ravioli stuffed with shrimp and asparagus.
In the old city center, Centro, stop by the Mercado Municipal (Rua da Cantareira 306), a glorious 1930s-vintage market hall with skylights and stained-glass windows; it bustles with meat, fish, and produce vendors every day except Sunday, from 5am to 4pm. Make a beeline for the Bar do Mane food stand to sample São Paulo's classic street food, the overstuffed mortadela sandwich, a messy two-handed feast of smoked meat and sloppy melted cheese and shredded vegetables that's completely unhealthy and, fortunately, to-die-for. Fill up, because you'll have a long wait that evening for a table at Famiglia Mancini (Rua Avanhandava 81; tel. 55/11/3256-4320), a beloved checkered-tablecloth Italian restaurant with an enormous pasta menu -- not only does it offer every shape of pasta imaginable, you can choose any of 30 different sauces to go on top.
Talk with fellow Frommer's travelers in our Brazil forum today.
