Dining in Sao Paulo

Overview

It doesn’t take a whole lot of intelligence to understand why Sao Paulo is the gastronomic capital of Brazil.  The folks of Rio may have their samba, but Paulistas boast of a diverse heritage of Japanese, Italians, Germans, and Lebanese immigrants who’ve all added their own flavor to create a culinary experience that’s unrivalled in Brazil.  Eating out in Sao Paulo is serious business, and meals can easily run into the low hundreds depending on your tastes and preferences. If you’ve chosen Sao Paulo for your medical tourism vacation, rest assured that whatever your palate, the city will provide. 

Local Cuisine

Brazilian cuisine tends to differ substantially from one region to the next.  In Sao Paulo, culinary favorites include the carne del sol which is strips of spiced sun dried meat and feijoada which is a stew made of black beans, beef, and pork, and served with a large dish of rice.  Churrascaris or barbeque houses and lanchonetes (snack bars) are always packed.  And quilo restaurants (eateries where you buy food by the kilo) are seen by locals as the perfect stop to grab a bite before heading back to office.  

Bahian restaurants feature seafood African style, while southern food is heavily meat based.  The cuisine of the Amazon belt is rich in fish.  On a typical day in this medical tourism locale, you can sample all these delicacies without breaking the bank.   When you're done eating, wash down your food with cacacha.  This delicious concoction is the national drink of the country.  It's brewed from sugarcane and forms the base for the country’s cocktail of choice, caipirinha.  

International Flavors

It’s the city’s international dining experiences that Brazilians from around the country visit Sao Paulo for.  The exotic sushi bars are always packed with trendy clientele, and the falafel and shawarma compete with the best of what Beirut has to offer.  Other represented culinary experiences include Spanish restaurants and Italian trattorias.  And of course American food chains are in ready supply.   

Paulistas eat quite late, in many cases after 10 pm, so you can avoid reservation delays by arriving early. In addition, its customary to dress up a little for dinner; even for informal affairs.

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