Willie R.
Yelp
I loved my experience at Tangará Jean-Georges, which I visited while on a recent work trip to São Paulo. The restaurant is situated inside the beautiful Palácio Tangará Hotel, which is in the tree-lined and mansion-dotted area near Parque do Morumbi. We rolled past gorgeous, classic homes and other five-star hotels as we pulled up to the hotel's gates.
Upon entering the dining room, we found that we were the only people there, but this was to be expected given that our dinner reservation was before 8 PM. Most people started to come in only after 9 PM, in accordance with usual Paulistano dining time.
The dining room is nicely appointed in a contemporary style and is tastefully elegant without being overdone. We were swiftly greeted by several different staff members, one of whom presented us with the wine list. My colleague and I enjoyed a Franc Beausejour and a Terrazas Malbec. The couvert was a combo of rye, ciabatta, and rosemary foccacia (!) breads with butter and EVOO. Simple but bold in flavor, I liked this dish because the butter was actually spreadable, rather than that very hard butter that never plays well with any bread.
We moved on to appetizer salads (Salada de Folhas Mistas), which I have to say is the BEST salad I have had anywhere in the world, hands down. The dish itself was beautifully presented, an explosion of colors. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the truffle vinaigrette, but it was a match made in heaven. The salad also had a great mix of greens and radicchio and was perfectly dressed. I'm still dreaming about this salad!
I had the filet mignon as my main dish, and I've been blessed to enjoy this cut at many places around the globe, and this is one of the best preparations I can remember. It comes with truffled potatoes--are you seeing a theme here--but not overdone in the least. Tangará Jean-Georges takes balance seriously while still appreciating bold and complementary flavors. My colleague ordered the organic chicken, which in name is not an exciting dish, but she raved about it. It came with heart of palm and a shiitake mushroom sauce.
The whole experience, from start to finish, was excellent. The only sad part was when we had to leave!