Mocotó

Mocotó, in the working-class Vila Medeiros neighborhood in São Paulo's northern zone, is chef Rodrigo Oliveira's tribute to the sertanejo cooking of Brazil's Northeastern backlands, a cuisine his family brought to the city when they opened the original bar decades ago. Oliveira, who took over and reinvented his father's neighborhood bar, is credited with bringing serious culinary attention to dishes that had long been considered humble home cooking: carne de sol (sun-dried beef) served with baião de dois, a rice-and-bean side studded with cheese and squash, and the restaurant's namesake mocotó, a slow-cooked beef trotter stew rich with collagen and spice. The dining room is unpretentious—simple tables, an open kitchen, and a bar up front—reflecting the restaurant's roots as a neighborhood spot rather than an attempt at fine-dining polish, even as its cooking has drawn national and international acclaim and multiple appearances on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. The drinks program centers on cachaça, with an extensive list of the Brazilian sugarcane spirit used in caipirinhas, including a well-known passion fruit variation, alongside other Brazilian spirits and beers suited to the hearty, spice-forward food. Because Mocotó sits well outside the city's central tourist areas, getting there typically requires a taxi or ride-hailing app rather than a casual walk, but the trip is considered part of the experience by regulars who make the pilgrimage for weekend lunch. Reservations are recommended, particularly for weekend service when the restaurant fills with both locals and visitors making the trip specifically for Oliveira's cooking; walk-ins are possible on weekdays but can involve a wait.