Balaio IMS
Balaio is a large straw-like basket, and the purpose of the name for the restaurant is to blend the different culinary cultures of Brazil. It’s located on the ground floor of the Instituto Moreira Salles, which houses exhibitions and a library in photography, theater for screenings and music concerns, and classrooms for courses and workshops. The restaurant comes from chef Rodrigo Oliveira, who opened this restaurant located near our hotel on Paulista avenue. He’s also well known for Mocotó, a restaurant focused on Northeast Brazilian flavors. The restaurant is well known for its cocktails, but we came for the food. We made a reservation for 12:30 PM on a Saturday a few days in advance without any issues. If you are unable to speak or understand Portuguese, they do have the menus in English.
Ambiance & Service
The interior feels like a modern art library with a lot of decorations of woven baskets for lamps. During the day, there are so many entry points for natural light that makes you feel like this is a wonderful lunch area for lunch.
The service was extremely fast once you order.
Food
Melão com Manga (juice of the day) (R$19) was melon with mango. This juice was very fresh and summer-like. Both the mango and melon were not unnecessarily sweet and had a good complementary balance to each other. I love Brazilian breakfasts where they serve fresh fruit, and this emphasizes freshness that much of the USA seems to not stress enough of.
The Cajuína (R$18) was a 310 ml bottle of cashew apple juice. This was very similar to apple juice except it has a subtle tart flavor to it. I have just had cashew apple once in my life, but I always crave the juice of it. For those that don’t know, we often eat the cashew nut above the fruit. The fruit itself though is simply delectable.
The Coco Mania (R$37) came with melon, coconut with rapadura syrup, pineapple, lemon, basil, and sparkling water. My partner really enjoyed this drink due to their love of coconut, but for me, I felt my cajuina and juice of the day was much better.
The original Dadinhos de Tapioca (R$34) came with 6 small cubes. If you haven’t had this, think of this as these small starch cubes that have some excellent starchy flavors. The sauce was interesting and really good. It had some tartness and tang with some interesting guava and peppery flavors to it.
The Acarajazz (R$34) came with 4 pieces of crispy cassava, dried shrimp, and pickled okra. The cassava was similar to a little corn chip, and the paste on top of it reminded me of a bean paste. The dried shrimp gave it that savory, salty, and briny flavor. It was pretty interesting.
The Pork Chop (R$59) came with guava barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and cassava tortilla. The guava barbecue sauce had much tang to it, and the pork meat fell off the bone as if it were pressure cooked thoroughly. The cassava tortilla was interesting because it was a softer tortilla than typical corn or flour, and with the coleslaw it was a nice combination of sweet and savory mini tacos.
The Pork Steak (R$105) came with creamy balão, salt cured Berkshire pork, and red onions. This is actually a picture of the dish divided into 2 portions. That was very nice of them to split up the dish for us and still present it evenly. The food was more than filling and satisfying. The Berkshire pork was beautifully cooked and tender with a ton of flavor. The balao had this crunchy, creamy, polenta like flavor to it. The little red biquinho peppers were a nice complement. The biquinho peppers are similar to pepperoncinis in that they have this pop of flavor, pickled sensations, and heat when you bite into it. The difference is that biquinho peppers are not as long lasting and perhaps a bit more mild.
The Chocolate Pie (R$42) came with Brazil nut and cupuaçu sorbet. This was just straight up sublime. The cupuacu sorbet was the perfect combination of flavors, and it brought me memories when I had this paired with açai sorbet. Cupuacu is a natural complement to anything chocolate, so it’s almost always going to be heaven with this combination.
Overall Impression
Balaio IMS is a very delicious, casual restaurant with very good flavors and portion sizing. The juices are extremely fresh, and the dessert we had was amazing. We’d love to come back here to try more options and look forward to visit chef Rodrigo Oliveira’s main restaurant, Mocoto, in the future.
Yelp & Google Jabs
Dining at this Michelin-starred gem was an absolute delight. The prices were surprisingly reasonable given the caliber of the experience—making it accessible without compromising on quality.
This restaurant actually does not have a Michelin Star. It is a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is given for good quality and value. Restaurants with either ratings will appear in the Michelin Guide, but a Bib Gourmand is not a Michelin Star unfortunately. Nevertheless, the Bib Gourmand is a very appropriate rating for this excellent, delicious restaurant.
I don’t understand how a restaurant that’s in the Michelin Guide can have such bad service. The staff are clearly unhappy and have absolutely no desire to serve customers! I kept wondering if there’s something wrong with me and my husband, if we’re not the “profile” they expect.
Unfortunately, this repeats the common misconception of restaurants on the Michelin Guide. Service is often complementary to a Michelin Guide restaurant, but it is not part of the criterion to be on the Michelin Guide. The Bib Gourmand focuses on exceptional food at a reasonable price, and that’s all. Guide inspectors do document service, decor, and atmosphere, but they do not decide the award or the guide.
Revisions
- Mar 14, 2026 - Initial revision.