O Globo Just Named São Paulo’s Best Varied-Cuisine Restaurants
BRAZIL · FOOD
Key Facts
- —Who publishes it O Globo, through its SP Gastronomia section and award.
- —Published 21 August 2026, updated the following day.
- —Size Around 300 addresses across the city, in several categories.
- —This list Cozinha variada, meaning kitchens that do not sit in one national tradition.
- —Price range Main courses run from about R$69 to R$320, or US$13 to US$62.
- —Note Several entries have two or more addresses in different neighbourhoods.
About 300 addresses, one useful category, and prices you can actually plan around.
The Guia SP Gastronomia 2026 was published on 21 August. Its varied-cuisine list is the most useful section for anyone who does not already know the city.
What the guide is
The Guia SP Gastronomia is published by O Globo, the Rio newspaper, through a dedicated São Paulo food section.
The 2026 edition covers roughly 300 addresses. It includes restaurants, bakeries, patisseries and ice cream shops.
It is organised by category rather than by ranking. Cozinha variada sits alongside Latin American, Greek, Jewish and Scandinavian sections.
The category articles were published on 21 August 2026. The main award piece was updated the next day.
It functions the way a city guide should. It is a curated list, not a competition with one winner.
O Globo has run the São Paulo guide for years. The paulistano trade treats it as a fixed point in the calendar.
What cozinha variada actually means
The term does not translate cleanly. It means a kitchen that does not belong to a single national tradition.
In practice these are the restaurants a paulistano recommends when a visitor has no fixed idea what they want.
That makes it the most useful category in the Guia SP Gastronomia for a newcomer to the city.
You are not committing to Italian, Japanese or Brazilian. You are committing to a kitchen.
The selection spans roughly R$69 to R$320 for a main course, so it is not a single price bracket.
Categories like Greek, Jewish and Scandinavian sit alongside it, each with its own short list.
The established names
Carlota has occupied a white house in Higienópolis since 1995, under Carla Pernambuco. Its beef wellington runs R$155.
Bistrô Charlô dates from 1988 and stays firmly French. The foie gras terrine is R$220 and the filet rossini R$320.
Spot, on Alameda Ministro Rocha Azevedo in Bela Vista, has been busy since 1994. Main courses sit around R$99 to R$135.
A Figueira Rubaiyat in Jardins is built around a hundred-year-old fig tree that grows through the glass roof.
Its weekday set lunch, with starter, a cut of beef, side and dessert, is R$151, about US$29.
Prices below are as published by the guide and will move with the menu.
The newer rooms
Caco opened in early 2025 in Pinheiros, in a white brick townhouse. Pasta courses run R$77 to R$79.
Lita, also in Pinheiros, is the newest venture from chef Tássia Magalhães and sommelier Danyel Steinle.
Its wine list carries more than 400 labels, with vermouth on tap. Small sharing plates start around R$38.
Motel, in Consolação, belongs to Renata Vanzetto’s group and is deliberately provocative in decor and menu.
Reserve or arrive early there. It has been full since it opened.
Newer rooms tend to be smaller, which makes booking more important than at the older houses.
Where the value is
Several entries run weekday set menus that cost a fraction of the a la carte prices.
Esther Rooftop in República offers starter, main and dessert for R$97, about US$19, with a view over the centre.
Nou in Pinheiros runs an executive lunch between R$64 and R$74, with four main courses to choose from.
Carlota’s weekday menu formula is R$98 for three courses. Mescla in Barra Funda does one for R$59.
Rascal, with ten São Paulo branches, is all-you-can-eat at R$128 to R$144 depending on day and location.
Weekday lunch is where the gap between local and visitor pricing is widest.
The ones with a view or a room
Skye sits on the top floor of the Unique hotel, looking over Avenida Paulista and Ibirapuera Park.
Its kitchen is led by Emmanuel Bassoleil. Main courses run R$155 to R$165, or US$30 to US$32.
Esther Rooftop occupies the top of a modernist landmark building in the centre.
Holy Tavern in Vila Buarque has 23 seats and requires a reservation. It opens only in the evening.
Borgo Mooca, despite the name, is in Santa Cecilia and has a cocktail bar in its basement.
A rooftop table in São Paulo needs booking in the dry season, which is now.
Reading a São Paulo menu price
Prices in the Guia SP Gastronomia are quoted in Brazilian reais, and they move.
At the PTAX selling rate of 5.1625 reais to the dollar for 21 August 2026, R$100 is about US$19.
That puts a R$155 main course at roughly US$30 and a R$59 set lunch at about US$11.
Set lunches are where São Paulo is genuinely cheap relative to comparable cities.
Dinner at the top of this list is not cheap by any measure, local or foreign.
Card payment is universal at this level, and a service charge of ten per cent is normal.
How to use the list
Do not try to work through it. Around 300 addresses is a reference, not an itinerary.
Pick by neighbourhood first. Pinheiros, Jardins, Higienópolis and Itaim carry most of the selection.
Check opening hours before travelling. Many of these close on Mondays or open only for lunch.
Reserve for the small rooms. Holy Tavern, Nomo and Motel all fill.
The Guia SP Gastronomia also runs Bom e Barato, a cheaper parallel list worth reading alongside this one.
The Guia SP Gastronomia is in Portuguese only, so a browser translation is worth having open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who publishes the Guia SP Gastronomia?
O Globo, through its SP Gastronomia section. The 2026 category lists were published on 21 August 2026.
What does cozinha variada mean?
Varied cuisine. Kitchens that do not sit inside a single national tradition, which makes it the most useful category for a newcomer.
How expensive is it?
Main courses across the selection run about R$69 to R$320. That is roughly US$13 to US$62 at the PTAX selling rate of 5.1625 for 21 August 2026.
Is there a cheaper option?
Yes. Several entries run weekday set menus from R$59 to R$98, and the guide has a separate Bom e Barato list.
How many restaurants are in the guide?
Around 300 addresses in total across all categories, including bakeries and ice cream shops.
Sources
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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