Rua dos Pinheiros is replete with great restaurants and often, you'll find many of them playing host to long waits (especially on the weekends). While all those people congregate outside waiting for their table, I head to Empório São João.
This unassuming, but perfectly adorable café is home to my favorite chicken milanesa. Often, you'll find the chicken dried up after having been lightly fried, but not the São João milanesa - theirs is always moist and cooked to perfection. Then the zesty lemon risotto that gets served alongside the chicken is equally excellent.
Another thing I love at SJ is the soup buffet at night. This soup array may not happen always, but I found myself going back for bowls of their homemade varieties, of which there were about 5 to choose from. For lunch or dinner, SJ has consistently satisfied and their passion fruit caipirinha is definitely one of the best I've had. If you get Elton as a server, you're in luck - he's an absolute gem! read more