Tonight, the MICHELIN Guide Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo 2019 selection has been announced, bringing forth a grand total of 165 restaurants, including 32 Bib Gourmand eateries and 18 starred restaurants.
“Today, Brazil’s culinary scene is not only made up of well established chefs, but also by more and more young chefs who are fully committed to developing healthy and sustainable gastronomy,” says Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the MICHELIN Guides, noting that many restaurants are adorned with plush gardens, as well as solar panels to transform food waste into compost, on site. “These are all actions that, beyond the product used, allows their institutions to be part of a sustainable and environmentally responsible approach over the long term.”
“We must not forget the other members of the restaurant teams that are working very hard behind the scenes,” adds Poullennec. “As we all know, the star of the MICHELIN Guide rewards the food on the plate. But these plates are also the products of your team—teams of women and men who care about the smallest details and who are an essential part of your amazing cuisine and high quality products to your customers. Bravo for that!”
Making waves in the one-star category this year is Cipriani, where chef Nello Cassese—a Gordon Ramsay alum—helms the kitchen, delivering Italian-inspired cuisine. In Sao Paulo, chef Luiz Felipe Souza’s Evvai also received one star, for his “modern Italian menu [featuring] dishes that are fresh, well-balanced and highly visual,” per MICHELIN inspectors. The final newly-minted one-starred restaurant in the 2019 edition is chef Alberto Landgraf’s modern Oteque in Rio’s Humaitá district.
All two-MICHELIN-starred restaurants in the 2018 guide retained their status in 2019: Oro in Rio de Janeiro, as well as Tuju and D.O.M. in São Paulo.
Thirty-two restaurants received Bib Gourmand designations in the 2019 red guide, seven of which are new. “These restaurants are very important and bringing quality dining across a broad section of diners,” says Poullennec, “and here, in these restaurants, traditional Brazilian restaurants can be experienced along with international influences imported by some of these globetrotting chefs.” In São Paulo, A Baianeira, Colombian chef Dagoberto Torres’s Barú Marisquería, modern-Korean restaurant Komah, Cesar Costa's Corrutela and Balaio IMS are new entrants. And in Rio de Janeiro, chef Lucio Vieira’s Lilia and chef Elia Schramm’s Pici Trattoria, which “combines classic Italian recipes and Brazilian recipes,” per inspectors, also receive Bib Gourmand status.
The local wine selection in Brazil shall not be forgotten as well. “The result is a range of wine which nobly matches the menus your chefs are offering and together these elements show how Brazil is definitely along full of culinary promise,” adds Poullennec.
Congratulations to all restaurants. Watch the live stream of the star reveal below. View the full list of selections of Rio de Janeiro here and full list of selection of São Paulo here.
