27 editor picks in São Paulo.
27 cheap eats places in São Paulo, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in São Paulo: the places editors actually return to. All São Paulo food.
Mocoto has served sertaneja cooking from the Almeida family since 1973 in Vila Medeiros, now run by chef Rodrigo Oliveira in Sao Paulo, a Bib Gourmand pick.
OrderDadinhos de tapioca, fried tapioca and cheese cubes
TipFounder Seu Ze Almeida opened the original house in 1973; his son Rodrigo Oliveira now also runs Balaio IMS and a Vila Leopoldina branch.
Padaria Santa Tereza, on Praca Joao Mendes in Sao Paulo since 1947, is Brazil's oldest bakery still trading, founded in 1872 by the Teixeira and Vaz families.
Bar do Mane is the counter inside the Mercado Municipal in Sao Paulo credited with inventing the oversized mortadella sandwich in the 1970s.
OrderSanduiche de mortadela (mortadella sandwich)
Bar e Lanches Estadão is a 24 hour lanchonete in central Sao Paulo, its pernil sandwich a cheap late-night fixture for journalists and night owls alike.
OrderThe sanduiche de pernil, roast pork leg sliced to order at the counter.
TipIt never closes, so it works as a stop on the way home from a night out; the bife a cavalo is the plate if you want more than a sandwich.
Ponto Chic is the budget-friendly Paissandu lanchonete in Sao Paulo credited with inventing the Bauru sandwich, still served at the counter today.
OrderSanduiche Bauru
Bar e Lanches Estadao, opened in 1968, is a 24-hour lanchonete in central Sao Paulo, its roast pork pernil sandwich a cheap and filling late-night fixture.
OrderSanduiche de pernil (roast pork leg sandwich)
Capim Santo, chef Morena Leite's garden restaurant at Solar Fabio Prado in Sao Paulo, serves breakfast on weekends and holidays before its weekend lunch.
OrderWeekend breakfast, then the tapioca ravioli filled with Canastra cheese and herb sauce at lunch
TipWeekend and holiday breakfast runs 10:00 to 11:30; the weekend lunch menu follows from 12:00 to 17:00.
Brasserie Victória has served Lebanese food since Dona Victoria opened it on Rua 25 de Marco in 1947; now on Avenida JK in Sao Paulo, it is still family-run.
OrderThe kaftas, open or folded sfihas, kibe, labneh with pitta, and the nut-filled atayef pancakes.
TipFor a quick bite, the take-away counter runs until 21:00 Tuesday to Sunday; the nut-filled atayef make the best finish in the dining room.
Ponto Chic is the Largo do Paissandu lanchonete in Sao Paulo credited with inventing the Bauru sandwich, named for the student who ordered it.
OrderSanduiche Bauru
Bar e Lanches Estadão is a 24-hour Centro lanchonete in Sao Paulo, its roast pork sanduiche de pernil once named the city's best sandwich by Veja.
OrderSanduiche de pernil (roast pork leg sandwich)
Casa Garabed has baked wood-fired Armenian esfihas in Sao Paulo's Santana district since 1951, the lamb and pine nut version its house signature.
OrderEsfiha de cordeiro com pignole (lamb and pine nut esfiha)
Pastel da Maria runs its Wednesday stall at the Santana street fair in Sao Paulo, the beef pastel that won the city's own pastel contest twice.
OrderPastel de carne (beef pastel)
Capim Santo, chef Morena Leite's Brazilian kitchen on Faria Lima, has a Michelin Bib Gourmand seal for its all-day menu in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
TipLeite also runs the smaller Casa Capim Santo inside the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in Pinheiros for a more casual version of the menu.
Estado Luso has baked Portuguese-style bread in Sao Paulo's north zone since 1965, winning the 2021 Padocaria award for the city's best bread.
Rotisserie Bologna, founded near Anhangabau around 1925, moved to Rua Augusta in central Sao Paulo in 1951 and now opens around the clock except Sunday night.
OrderCoxinha de frango com catupiry
Casa Garabed sells its wood-fired Armenian esfihas by the piece in Sao Paulo's Santana district, cheap counter food since the shop opened in 1951.
OrderEsfiha de cordeiro com pignole (lamb and pine nut esfiha)
Yerba + shares a Campos Eliseos storefront in Sao Paulo with a secondhand bookshop, pouring coffee and mate alongside focaccia under high ceilings.
Casa do Pastel keeps its Rua Tuiuti pastel counter in Sao Paulo's Tatuape district open 24 hours, the brand's first unit, opened on that street in 1981.
OrderPastel (fried Brazilian pastry)
Hwang To Gil is a Bom Retiro home-style Korean kitchen in Sao Paulo, opened in 2000 behind a facade marked only in Korean, its dishes cooked by the owners.
TipThe menu has photos to point at; for dinner, arrive between 18:30 and 19:00, as evening service ends early.
Rotisserie Bologna sells its chicken and catupiry coxinha at the counter on Rua Augusta, its home since 1951, open around the clock except Sunday night.
OrderCoxinha de frango com catupiry
Kintaro has poured drinks from a narrow Liberdade counter in Sao Paulo since 1993, its ten-plus daily petiscos drawing mostly Japanese-Brazilian regulars.
TipLook at the display case for the day's ten-plus cold and hot petiscos rather than the printed menu.
Padaria Condessa has run since 1967 on Rua Conselheiro Saraiva in Santana, Sao Paulo, baking bread and cakes daily beside a full sandwich and snack counter.
Bar do Léo has run its Republica boteco on Rua Aurora in Sao Paulo since 1940, pouring draft chope alongside made-to-order sandwiches and quick plates.
OrderSanduiches feitos na hora e pratos rapidos (made-to-order sandwiches and quick plates)
Casa do Pastel keeps its Rua Tuiuti pastel counter in Tatuape open around the clock, the brand's first unit since 1981, frying pastel, esfiha and pizza.
OrderPastel (fried Brazilian pastry)
AE! Cozinha is a Rua Aurea dining room in Sao Paulo's Vila Mariana with a seasonal menu, a creamy pastel starter and desserts led by chef Walkyria.
OrderThe creamy fried pastel starter and the pappardelle with braised beef ragu.
TipThe room is spacious and full of natural light; the seasonal menu changes with the produce, so ask what is new before ordering.
Bar do Léo has run its Republica boteco on Rua Aurora in Sao Paulo since 1940, pouring draft chope beside made-to-order sandwiches at the counter.
TipIt closes early by boteco standards: go for a late lunch chope rather than a nightcap.
Petí Gastronomia is a lunch-only kitchen inside the Pintar art-supply store in Sao Paulo's Pompeia district, run by young chef Victor Dimitrow.
OrderThe set three-course menu with cover charge, or the version built around the fish of the day.
TipThe menu changes roughly every three weeks; ask which of the four set options is running before you sit down.
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Guided tour · 2 hours
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