It’s a massive city that mirrors its country’s soul. The metropolis – São Paulo – might have more than its fair share of traffic mayhem and some other disagreeable characteristics, but few places are better for a holiday.
When the inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere are rubbing their hands together in a bid to stay warm during the long winter months, São Paulo offers a perfect escape for those in need of a dose of summer. There’s sun, sea and sand – not to mention some great restaurants. Here, then, are a few suggestions for your next trip to sophisticated São Paulo. There are a number of reasons why you’d want to frequently hit the road; the top of your list might be the chance to sample some great cuisine and add new discoveries to what you’ve tried before. Another might be the desire to head somewhere warm when the cold reigns at home. Of course, when it’s winter in the northern hemisphere, it takes a long time to reach a warm southern climate like São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city.
The city has two hotels that are nicer a stay. One of them is the Intercontinental, a top-quality establishment that I stayed in for a decent price. What’s more, the place has a great roof lounge on the 20th floor. And if you happen to be a member of the Intercontinental, you can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel for free; if not, you’ll have to shell out for the privilege. In the main, the hotel restaurants serve up a combination of Brazilian and Mediterranean fare. Perhaps one of the best things about the Intercontinental is the fact that it’s built a meter above the road. Let me explain: come the summer months of January, February and March, São Paulo gets short bursts of heavy rain – to the extent that the roads suddenly become rivers. If the hotel happened to be the same on the same level as the street, inundation would be inevitable. In such a situation, the hotel would lose power, the restaurant on the bottom floor would have to bail out the flood water and the elevator would be out of service; in short, the hotel would be in a lot of trouble. Such problems are unfortunately a fact of life at the second hotel that I recommend in São Paulo, Fasano. Nevertheless, Fasano is the city’s most luxurious and expensive hotel. In the past, I’ve happily stayed at Fasano’s hotel in Rio de Janeiro; I intended to do the same in São Paulo, only to be obliged to switch to the Intercontinental after learning about the possibility of flooding at my first choice.
FASANO
I did head to Fasano’s restaurant for dinner one night, but lo and behold, the warnings came true: When I got there, a heavy downpour had created localized flooding that inundated the restaurant. The hotel staff brought me to another nearby restaurant owned by the chain, but I can’t say that it was as exceptional as Fasano.
Still, given how much I enjoyed the food at the Fasano in Rio, I was determined to dine at its São Paulo branch as well. In the following days, I duly found a chance to grab lunch at Fasano, and it’s a good thing I did; in fact, you could say the Italian hotel and its restaurant were fantastic, as the risotto and the pasta were out of this world. At both branches, they serve mozzarella di bufala – quite how they acquire the buffalo dairy product is beyond me. Now, of course, you could be right in asking why I opted for Italian cuisine in Brazil; however, if you’re not going to have grilled meat, there’s not much in the way of Brazilian cuisine to dig into except the following few places.
D.O.M.
But let me mention three other restaurants in São Paulo, one of which is D.O.M., a wonderful place with two Michelin stars. Until a few years ago, D.O.M. had successfully cracked the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants, but it’s since lost a bit of its magic to fall into the 20s. In truth, the chef is a bit of a know-it-all. As the restaurant began to fall down the rankings, managers started to pay closer attention, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss of a Michelin star, bringing the place down to two. The chef only cooks on Fridays and Saturdays; on other days of the week, his assistants handle the task. D.O.M. is laid out in an open-kitchen concept, which offers diners the enjoyable prospect of surveying all the hustle and bustle that goes on in the kitchen. But regardless of who’s cooking, you can’t return home without trying the tasting menu. They also offer a vegetarian menu, but no matter what you’re planning on having, they’ll be sure to offer you some ants dried in the oven. If you ask me, though, it’s a bland, tasteless and completely pointless dish! It was only out of necessity that I had this food, whose taste is similar to dried pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Six years ago, at a time when it still had three Michelin stars, I ate a most enjoyable meal at D.O.M. And although I can’t quite say I enjoy its latest incarnation, it’s still a place you have to visit if you’ve come all the way to São Paulo. D.O.M. has three or four menus set at different prices – if you choose the smallest one, you can get a sense of what the restaurant’s food is all about. There’s no need, though, to try the tasting menu for wine. Instead, plump for a Chilean or Argentine wine from the wine menu. And one final note: Because D.O.M. only seats about 40 people, it’s tough to find a place to sit.
MANÍ
If you ask me, the place you really need to go to into São Paulo is Maní. They actually serve a set menu, but given that you get to select your entrée, main course and dessert, you basically get to choose your own menu. The portions are generous, so if you go as two people, I would suggest you choose different dishes – that way, you’ll have a better chance to taste just some of what Maní has to offer. Maní starts its service at the relatively late hour of 20.45 – meaning that if you’re there before 20.15, you’ll be confronted by a closed door. Maní also has a pleasant waiting area where you can sip a drink and place your order for your food as you wait. The fare is well worth the wait; it’s only a matter of time before Maní receives a second Michelin star – or even until it enters the list of the world’s 50 best restaurants. In fact, you might even say that Maní is worth a trip to São Paulo in and of itself – a mantle that it’s wrested away from D.O.M.
THE MUSEUMS
São Paulo is home to two modern art museums that deserve a visit, the Modern Art Museum of São Paulo and the Museum of Contemporary Art. What’s more, both feature restaurants that offer great lunches. Traffic is a fact of life in São Paulo, as is security. That’s why the best thing to do in terms of transport is to dispense with a taxi and just go for Uber – you’ll be happy you did.
ILHABELA
Located just over 200 kilometers from São Paulo, Ilhabela is Brazil’s biggest island. Ilhabela is ringed by sandy beaches on three full sides; only the fourth side is rocky. The trip from São Paulo takes up to three hours (or two hours if your car is particularly fast – or just half an hour if you’re really well-heeled and you have a helicopter). Unsurprisingly, it’s a summer haunt for São Paulo’s wealthy. If you’re intent on coming, here’s a tip: Come on a Sunday evening and stay until Wednesday – otherwise, you’ll hardly have room to move. It’s impossible to find a place at a hotel or a restaurant and just as hard to find a spot to lay down your towel on the beach due to the throngs of people. From Sunday evening to Thursday morning, though, Ilhabela is far more serene, meaning there are fewer crowds to detract from your holiday. I, indeed, did opt to come Sunday to Wednesday; while on the island, I stayed at DPNY Beach, one of the best hotels in the area. DPNY also has a great Italian restaurant on site that’s so good, you’d think you’ve gone to Italy. But if you’re not in the mood for Italian, DPNY also serves up some dishes that carry a hint of French cuisine as well. And Ilhabela isn’t all just about the beach. You can take a tour around the island in a gullet or a speedboat or go on an adventure with a 4x4 jeep in the island’s forested interior. If you opt for a jeep trip into the forest, make sure to lather yourself up with insect repellant, or you might not have a particularly enjoyable time. As for me, though, I couldn’t bring myself to leave that heavenly hotel to squeeze in beside dozens of others for a ride on a boat or a trip in a jeep. Even if you just stay at a hotel like DPNY, you can be sure that you’ll have an extraordinarily good time simply enjoying the light waves of the sea.