The 35 Essential São Paulo Restaurants
"At this zero-waste, ingredient-focused restaurant in the hip Vila Madalena neighborhood, talented chef Cesar Costa (formerly of Chez Panisse and Copenhagen’s Relae) makes everything from scratch. He buys cocoa beans and organic wheat directly from farmers to produce bean-to-bar chocolate and mills all his own flour in-house. There’s even an automatic composting machine sitting right in the middle of the dining room, and solar panels generate energy for the restaurant. The menu focuses on comforting yet inventive recipes, such as garum-marinated eryngii mushrooms with cashew nut cream and fried peanuts or a soup au pistou made with shrimps and chayote (a classic combination in Brazilian houses). The kitchen aims to use ingredients entirely, including stalks and peels. For a surprising hit, try the polenta, made with cornmeal ground in the restaurant’s stone mill and nothing else." - Rafael Tonon
