The Best and Cheapest Traditional Lunch Spots in São Paulo
In Brazil, lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day. With breakfast often being little more than a cup of milky coffee accompanied by a piece of plain cake or a slice of toast, and dinner usually served too late to be anything too heavy, lunch is where Brazilians get their daily fuel.
Normally served between noon and 3pm, Brazilian lunches are hearty, sit-down affairs with huge portion sizes, always featuring large helpings of rice and beans. Try and get away with eating a sandwich or a bowl of soup, and Brazilians will dismiss it as “not lunch”.
In São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, lunch takes on an added dimension of importance. In SP’s countless popular lunch restaurants, there is a set menu of lunch dishes for each day of the week, often followed to the letter by the locals.
Feijoada, Brazil’s iconic pork and black bean stew, is served on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while pasta – a nod to São Paulo’s sizable Italian community – is eaten on Thursdays and Sundays. Fridays are for fish; Tuesday is the day for either dobradinha (a Portuguese stew made from tripe and white beans) or bife à rolê (a Brazilian beef roulade), and Monday is reserved for the most São Paulo dish of all – the virado à paulista.
Dating back to the 14th century, the virado à paulista is a culinary monster. The typical version comprises tutu de feijão (refried beans thickened with manioc flour), a pork chop, sausage, a deep-fried banana, fried egg, sauteed kale, pork crackling and a generous portion of white rice.
While this may seem like enough food to feed a small family, Paulistanos will typically tackle these massive portions alone, every day of the week. You may wonder how people can afford to eat so heartily on such a regular basis, but a typical virado à paulista, though more expensive in central areas, costs an approximate average of R$20 across the city – just over £4. Not bad for the most important meal of the day.
Unsurpisingly, there is no shortage of popular lunch restaurants across São Paulo. Almost every street will have its own traditional lunch spot, especially in more peripheral neighborhoods. However, the search for an honestly-priced and classic lunch in the more upmarket central areas can be a bit trickier. Here are some of the best places to visit for a genuine taste of São Paulo.
1. Salada Record
Widely renowned as the place to go in São Paulo for a truly excellent virado à paulista, Salada Record is a superb option for any visitors wanting to experience a properly Paulistano lunch. Located downtown, alongside the famous crossroads of Avenidas São João and Ipiranga and immortalized in legendary Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso’s “Sampa”, Salada Record serves up excellent, no-nonsense food at fair prices. Visit on a Monday to try their virado, you won’t be disappointed.
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Salada Record, Av. São João, 719 – Centro, São Paulo, Brazil +55 (11) 3223-1881
2. Restaurante Ita
Also downtown is Restaurante Ita, a stone’s throw away from Largo do Paissandu. Working out of the same address since 1953, Ita is unashamedly old-school, from its M-shaped marble counter to the wooden stools dotted around it. Ita has barely changed its decor over the last 60 years. The menu is huge, so big in fact that they don’t hand out physical copies. Everything offered by the kitchen is posted on the walls, on dozens of whiteboards. All the classic São Paulo lunch options are available, but the star of the show comes on Fridays when it serves up several different versions of bacalhau, Portuguese dried and salted cod.
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Restaurante Ita, R. do Boticário, 31 – Largo do Paysandu, São Paulo, Brazil +55 (11) 3223-3845
3. Estadão Bar e Lanches
Cafe, Bar, Brazilian, South American, Beer, Wine, Cocktails, Pub Grub, Coffee, Tea
4. Churrascaria e Lanches Pasv
Restaurant, Brazilian, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Fast Food, Street Food
5. Jhony's Bar e Restaurante
Bar, Restaurant, Brazilian, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Beer, Wine, Cocktails
6. Ugue's Lanchonete
Restaurant, Brazilian, South American
7. Linda Frei Caneca
Diner, Snack Bar, Brazilian, Beer, Wine, Contemporary, Street Food, Fast Food, Vegetarian
8. Boteco do Gois
Restaurant, Vegetarian
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