A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Sao Paulo

  Traditional Brazilian Cooking

Sao Paulo has a reputation for eating and drinking in both Brazil and beyond. And, cheap and delicious as a rule, few travelers to the city would disagree with this high regard.

The traditional Sao Paulo dining experience is called 'churrascaria'; a kind of all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue, it's inexpensive and unique, and makes a great insight for visitors into everyday life in the city as well as cuisine.

Initially, you help yourself to salad and vegetables and then waiters offer up every kind of cooked meat, from beef to seafood. And, best of all for the hungry backpacker on a budget, once the buffet charge has been paid, you can indulge again and again.

Alternatively, there are also a large number of 'kilo' restaurants in Sao Paulo, which operate (like in much of South America) on a weight system from a buffet and prove another very cost effective dining option.

The city, however, does not just serve local cuisine; there is a thriving Japanese community in Downtown (one of the largest outside Japan, in fact) where seriously high quality sushi can be picked up for next to nothing.

European eateries are also common, with pizza and (slightly more unusually) Swiss fondue popular with the city's wealthy residents.

But here's the key to eating and drinking in Sao Paulo - the gaping rich/poor divide means that, whilst there are many chic, international places, there are also numerous other establishments. And it's these that, as well as being conveniently cheap, typically offer the most authentic cultural experience.

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