18 editor picks across Brazil.
18 italian restaurants worth the trip across Brazil, editor-ranked. All cuisines in Brazil.
Picchi opened in 2007 and moved to the Regent Park on Oscar Freire in 2014. Chef Pier Paolo Picchi has held a Michelin star here since 2017 in Sao Paulo.
OrderTasting menu of family recipes reworked with Brazilian produce
TipThree tasting menus run alongside the a la carte list: a 12-course, a 6-course classic, and a 4-course pasta-only option.
Sult in Botafogo cooks Italian dishes with Brazilian ingredients from an open kitchen, and it is a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe meat lasagne with Grana Padano fondue and breadcrumbs, the chef's signature dish
TipThe pirarucu fillet with tucupi and jambu risotto is the Amazonian counterpart; the wine list leans to small, low-intervention producers.
Fame Osteria hides behind an iron door between a gym and an ice cream shop. Chef Marco Renzetti cooks a single nightly tasting menu in Sao Paulo.
OrderAgnolotti Mantovani and Arroz de polvo com tutano
TipOnly four counter seats face the open kitchen, and the tasting menu starts at the same time for every guest, so arrive on time.
Gero Rio is the Fasano hotel's Italian restaurant facing Ipanema beach, where chef Luigi Moressa cooks pasta, risotto and meats, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderGnocchi di patate dorati with squid and scallops, or the spaghetti alla carbonara
TipSunday service runs straight through from 12:00 to 22:00, and Riotur lists the traditional bollito on the Sunday lunch menu.
Gero Rio, in the Fasano hotel on Avenida Vieira Souto, serves classic Italian pasta and meats from chef Luigi Moressa, with a beach veranda in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe spaghetti alla carbonara, or ravioli di vitello ai funghi, veal ravioli in mushroom sauce
TipAsk for a veranda table over Ipanema beach; Friday and Saturday service runs to 01:00, and Sunday is continuous from 12:00 to 22:00.
Artigiano near Jardim de Alah makes more than 30 fresh pastas by hand in the Emilia-Romagna tradition, a Michelin Bib Gourmand pick in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderGarganelli with lamb ragù, or the zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy
TipPastas, breads and desserts are made by hand daily and finished to order, and pizzas come from a wood oven, so ask what is fresh that day.
Casa do Sardo in São Cristóvão serves Sardinian cooking from chef-owner Silvio Podda, who opened the house in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, away from the beach.
OrderAgnello alla Vernaccia, lamb cooked in wine, with mushroom or red onion risotto
TipThe house is in São Cristóvão, well away from the beach districts; it closes on Mondays and at 16:00 on Sundays.
Shihoma Pasta Fresca is Marcio Shihomatsu's fresh-pasta counter in Sao Paulo's Vila Madalena, drawing a queue since it moved on from home delivery.
OrderThe tortelli di gamberi, thin pasta filled with fresh pink prawns and butter, on the menu since opening.
TipCompact room with an open kitchen so you can watch the pasta being rolled; arrive early, there is usually a line at the door.
Vinheria Percussi has run as a family Italian wine room in Sao Paulo since opening as a wine shop back in 1985, now led by chef Silvia Percussi.
OrderThe tonnarelli alla carbonara, the beef ossobuco, and the tiramisu served on a platter at the table.
TipThe cellar holds a 300-strong wine list; ask sommelier Lamberto Percussi for a pairing before ordering the pasta.
Grado cooks Ligurian-inspired Italian food from chef Nello Garaventa in a 1940s Jardim Botânico house with a wood oven and open kitchen, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderThe fixed three-course menu, with the spaghetti with clams or the breaded pork rib
TipThe sourdough bread basket opens the meal; a lobster linguine is offered as an extra on top of the fixed menu.
Casa do Sardo serves Sardinian cooking in São Cristóvão, away from the beach, from chef-owner Silvio Podda, who opened it in 2012, in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderAgnello alla Vernaccia, lamb cooked in wine, with mushroom or red onion risotto.
TipThe house is in São Cristóvão, well away from the beach districts; it closes on Mondays and at 16:00 on Sundays.
Zena Cucina has cooked Ligurian recipes in Jardins since 2009, chef Carlos Bertolazzi's gnocchi-focused menu earning a repeat Bib Gourmand in Sao Paulo.
OrderGnocchi al pesto genovese, the house specialty
TipThe name is the Ligurian dialect word for Genoa, and the whole menu leans on that region's olive oil and pesto cooking.
Babbo Osteria is chef Elia Schramm's tribute to his father, serving handmade pasta and Italian-carioca dishes in a two-storey Ipanema house in Rio de Janeiro.
OrderUova Pepenara, tagliolini with bacon and a soft egg, the chef's take on carbonara
TipOne dining room is decorated like a traditional osteria; Michelin points to the filetto with pepper sauce and the pistachio and lime dessert.
Borgo Mooca kept the name of its original Mooca house before moving to Santa Cecília, where it now serves a classic Italian menu in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
TipThe name recalls the original Mooca location; the restaurant itself now operates from this Santa Cecília house.
Giulietta Carni grills thick Italian cuts over wood and coals next to sister room Nino Cucina, an industrial-look meat house in Sao Paulo's Jardim Europa.
TipThe open kitchen behind an iron door sits next to Nino Cucina, the same group's original pasta-focused restaurant.
Più Pinheiros is a small Italian house in Sao Paulo's Pinheiros district where chef Marcelo Laskani pairs affordable prices with Brazilian ingredients.
OrderThe lasagne bolognese with green pasta and Italian mortadella, or the polpettone gratin.
TipSet in a converted small house with exposed brick and an open garden; the kitchen and bar are visible from most tables.
Grotta Cucina is a cave-themed two-floor Italian dining room in Sao Paulo's Jardins, its walls built to echo the Grotte di Castellana near Bari.
OrderThe Sinfonia D'Anatra pappardelle filled with duck, and the Parigi gnocchi with parmigiano and truffle butter.
TipThe candlelit rooms across two floors are built to look like a limestone cave; book ahead if you want a table on the lower floor.
Piselli is a Piedmont-leaning Italian restaurant in Sao Paulo's Jardins, one of three local branches run under owner Juscelino Pereira's brand.
OrderThe burrata calda al tartufo baked in focaccia, and the tortelloni with mozzarella di bufala.
TipEvery plate is finished with three peas, a nod to the restaurant's name; the ossobuco alla milanese is the heavier order.
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