Chef Tadashi names this restaurant after his grandmother, who was the first person to support him in his pursuit of cooking and traveling the world. He is Brazilian born chef of Japanese descent, but is fluent in English, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition to his very cultured background, he’s led service at Hiden in Miami, and he has worked with famed chef Nobu Matsuhisa across Europe. Kanoe offers just 8 seatings per night. One of the most respectable and key reasons for this is Chef Tadashi values work and life balance for himself and his employees.

Open 24 hours, Estadao is probably most similar to an American diner experience. There are stools that are planted into the ground, and it faces the kitchen. You can order your food pretty quickly, and most of the food options they offer are rustic and blue-collar types of meals. Think of these as a glutton of rice and beans with meat. They also offer beer for that post work relaxation. When you walk in, simply head to the back and take a seat anywhere that’s open. The attendant will come to you and take your order, or you can flag him down.

Located in the Rosewood Hotel, Mata Citta is a massive Italian restaurant specializing in classic Italian cuisines, including pizza, pastas, and grilled dishes. I was told the layout of this area is actually composed of a multitude of different restaurants. Each room has a unique Italian themed decor. We were seated in what appeared to be the library. We arrived here without reservations, and there was a wait to get in. There were multiple lines, and in Sao Paulo, there’s a law that they need to accommodate elderly sooner than later. We had my partner’s parent in the group, so we were able to get in within 10-15 minutes.

Located in the Mercadao Municipal area, this restaurant is located in the second floor of this bustling farmer’s market. When I arrived in this area, it’s very similar to farmers markets that have a vast variety of seafood, meats, and eats all over. For me, it felt like a blend of the east meets west, where there were a lot of fruit sellers and of the normal seafood and (cured) meats. We had gone here because one of my favorite actors, Terry Crews, raved about the mortadella sandwich located at Bar do Mane, which is located on the first floor. However, that was closed for some reason, and my partner said this place was better than that place in their opinion.

Famiglia Mancini is a well-known Italian restaurant near the center of Sao Paulo. It offers general portions, and it has won a number of Italian awards in the region. I learned recently that this is where the head chef at the Versace Mansion, Walter Mancini, started out. We were staying near this area, so my partner wanted to check this place out. It’s known for being a tourist landmark with traditional, comfort-style Italian food. We were able to walk in around 5:00 PM without any issues.

Tem Umami is an artisanal bakery and cafe in Sao Paulo. It’s known for its natural fermentation products, which includes special panettones and coffee. Much of the flavors are natural and not artificial, so it can sit well with your stomach too. Surprisingly at 12:00 PM, there was beginning to form a line as eager people waited for this. We were able to place our order relatively quickly, and the dessert came out in less than 10 minutes.

After landing in Sao Paulo, we had some errands to run around town. As the evening gets darker, we finished our errand and were hungry. This item was on my partner’s list for quite some time. This restaurant comes from a Brazilian MasterChef Professional winner, Dayse Paparoto. We were able to walk in at around 9:45 PM on a Thursday evening without any lines or wait whatsoever. We were seated in a 2-seater near the door.

Sal e Brasa is a Brazilian churrascaria (steakhouse) chain that has all-you-can-eat meats, salads, and foods. In the outside, you can see these gigantic ribs on spits rotating. I have no idea if those were real, but they were pretty cool. We were able to walk in with seating for a party of 6 very easily in the middle of the afternoon. This was going to be our last meal before we head back to the U.S., and I was worried if I was going to get full fast.

Nau is a nicer seafood restaurant that also has several locations in Brazil. Many families come here to celebrate weddings or other moments. This restaurant is located in an area near the technology university, and it has a parking lot. We were able to walk in with a party of 4 without reservations easily around 7 PM local time. The moment you step in, the decor felt quite interesting with the nautilus theme going for it.

We wanted to try some less authentic Brazilian food, and we received a recommendation from a friend to try out this place. They mentioned they were very impressed by the quality of the fish and felt it would meet our expectations, especially for sushi. This was one of the few Asian-centric restaurants in Natal. We were able to walk in around 7:00 PM here without any reservations. To our surprise, there were plenty of seats.