The Best Old-School Restaurants in São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo is filled with classic, old-school restaurants that really capture the timeless charm of South America’s great metropolis. Ranging from international flavors that reflect the city’s immigrant heritage to bars and restaurants with a distinctly Brazilian vibe, a visit to these spots is a great way to experience the culture of São Paulo.

Bar e Lanches Estadão

Open since the 1960s, this beloved spot is the best place in the city to tuck into a heaping sanduíche de pernil, the roast pork sandwich that is an emblem of São Paulo.

The restaurant is open 24 hours a day and is a real crossroads; you’re liable to see taxi drivers, businessmen, football fans, and late-night partiers alike all enjoying one of their famous sandwiches. Order at the bar—I recommend topping it with cheese—and grab a standing spot along the counter, before paying at the register on your way out. The place is lively at any hour and is a true paulistano experience.

Almanara

Arab food is now an integral part of Brazilian cuisine, but there was a time when now-iconic dishes like esfiha, kibe, and tabule were entirely unknown in the country. Opened in 1950, Almanara is a true original of the Arab food scene in São Paulo, a history which feels very much alive at their original location on Rua Basílio da Gama in the city’s historic center.

The environment is class, with white tablecloths, wood-paneled floors, and an eye-catching mural of a caravan traveling across the desert. The food is just as quality as the ambience; I recommend trying some esfihas abertas (round, open-faced savory pastries with meat or cheese), kibe cru (minced raw beef blended with finely chopped onions and spices), and a beirute, another iconic São Paulo sandwich of roast beef, cheese, lettuce, and tomato between two pieces of pita bread. You can also opt for their rodízio for an all-you-can-eat rotation of Arab plates.

Raful Cozinha Árabe

This lively restaurant, located on a bustling street near the Mercado Municipal, has been a beloved spot for Arab food since the 1960s. From freshly baked esfihas abertas to flavorful spreads like homus and coalhada seca (labneh) and delicious pitas with shawarma and falafel, you have a delicious array of dishes to choose from for a wonderful lunch.

Esfihas Dozza

Opened by the children of Armenian immigrants in 1956, Dozza has grown to become one of the most famous names in São Paulo’s Middle Eastern food scene, with various locations around the city. They serve delicious versions of standard fare like esfihas and kibe, but they also have uniquely Armenian dishes like bastermã (pastirma), thinly sliced cured beef, served in a delicious omelette with cheese. They also have a display case full of delectable Middle Eastern pastries—the baklava is a particular favorite.

Dozza has several locations, so you can choose whichever is most convenient for you; I like the one in Pinheiros, right next to Vila Madalena.

Cantina C… Que Sabe!

Bixiga, São Paulo’s ‘Little Italy,’ is the best place in the city to try old-school Italian food, and this restaurant is one of the oldest in the neighborhood, in operation since 1931. It’s always packed and never lacking in energy, with boisterous diners and live accordion music.

Don’t be shocked to see (and hear) waiters and patrons tossing a silver platter on the floor, as a unique type of toast. Specialty dishes include the gnocchione, enormous gnocchi filled with ham and cheese, as well as their famous lasagna, following the original recipe of Mamma Rosa, matriarch of the family restaurant.

Pizzaria Speranza

Around the corner in Bixiga, in an old house on Rua Treze de Maio, Pizzaria Speranza has been serving up top-quality pizzas since the 1950s. Their menu consists of classic Italian pizzas as well as original paulista creations, reflecting the unique synthesis that defines Italo-Brazilian cuisine. They are also famous for their pão de linguiça, a homemade bread with sausage baked inside of it.

A Figueira Rubaiyat

This high-end steakhouse is regarded as one of the best in São Paulo, not only for the supreme quality of its meat, but also for its stunning setting, built around a century-old fig tree that gives the restaurant its name and provides the centerpiece of its dining room.

Their prices are high, but they reflect the quality, with the beef and pork coming from animals raised on the restaurant’s own farms. Their lunch menu offers a special deal, and it’s great to go during the day anyway, when you can appreciate the tree in all its grandeur as the natural light comes through the glass ceiling.

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