This might very well be the most precious
attribute of Sao Paulo, numerous fine restaurants with
outstanding service. Paulistanos, the name given to the
capital's natives, really take pride in their cuisine. The
latest wave of new restaurants is made up of smaller
contemporary ones.
It's impossible to do justice to Sao Paulo's restaurants
by putting together a list in this brief article but I'd
like to mention the names of a few and keep in mind, if
you're trying to avoid the rushes or wanting to mingle
with the socialite crowds most people have lunch after 1
and dinner after 9.
The most sophisticated Italian restaurants are Fasano,
with Sao Paulo's most extensive wine list, and Massimo,
considered a Sao Paulo landmark. I won't bother with the
addresses because any good hotel will surely know and
furnish that information for you.
Even though the exchange rate is in your favor, these
restaurants are very pricey, as they are considered the
most elegant Italian restaurants in the city. If you're
not out to impress anyone or are just looking for great
Italian food without all the fuss of a posh restaurant try
Gero Caffe at the Igautemi Shopping Mall with exceptional
food and service for half the price.
You pizza lovers be prepared for a thin crust pizza with
fresh diverse flavorful toppings, such as sun-dried
tomatoes, carpaccio, fresh basil, and buffalo mozzarela
cheese. In Brazil, one doesn't pick individual toppings to
throw on a pizza. Instead, there is a list of the pizzas
available by their names and you choose one that sounds
like an interesting combination.
A couple of traditional pizzerias are Marguerita in
Jardins and I Vitelloni in Pinheiros but the city is
crawling with great pizzerias so feel comfortable asking
for a recommendation near your hotel. For French cuisine
at its best try Roanne or Café Antique both in Jardins, or
Freddy in Itaim Bibi. Having the largest Japanese
population outside of Japan, Sao Paulo doesn't lack in
outstanding Japanese cuisine. A couple notable places are
Sushi Kin in Itaim Bibi and Jun Sakamoto in Jardins. For
Arabian food, check out Arabia in Jardins.
This is making me hungry so I'm going to stop but I must
mention that if you've never eaten at a typical Brazilian
churrascaria it's really worth the experience and there
are fine ones all over the city. This style of restaurant
offers waiters with skewers of meat swarming around your
table until you feel you cannot squeeze in one more tiny
morsel of succulent meat, so don't fill up on the
delicious buffet right off!
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