If you want to hear some jazz, you go to a jazz club. But who said you couldn’t multitask while you’re at it, by dining to the strains of live jazz? If you, like us, can’t think of any genre of music you’d rather dine to, then read on for our day-by-day round-up of restaurants and bars where you can team dinner with jazz.
Monday
Alucci Alucci
Right opposite the smart Fasano hotel in the heart of designer Jardins, the luxe Alucci Alucci draws a moneyed crowd for contemporary eats in a flamboyant setting. The musician Guerreiro and band liven up every other Monday night, playing the likes of Ray Charles and Cole Porter. Rua Vitório Fasano 35, Jardim Paulista (3086 1252 /alucci.com.br). Cover R$15.
São Cristóvão
While most of its neighbouring botecos take a night off after Vila Madalena’s reliably frenetic weekends, remaining firmly closed, the friendly, low-key São Cristóvão keeps a discerning crowd fed and watered to the tune of live jazz every Monday night. Team it with a plate of hearty fare, such as bacalhau em lascas (salted cod with beans, R$21), to soak up the last of Saturday and Sunday’s suds. Rua Aspicuelta 533, Vila Madalena (3097 9904). Cover R$25 inside. R$18 outside.
Tuesday
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| Cervejaria Nacional |
Cervejaria Nacional
Each month sees a different band take to the stage above the mighty brewing tanks at this microbrewery-cum-bar. To eat, expect excellent bar fare and beyond, with salads, soups, risottos and meat dishes. Avenida Pedroso de Morais 604, Pinheiros (3628 5000/ cervejarianacional.com.br). Cover R$12.
Buttina
One of the big draws of this old-school Italian trattoria is the space – a high-ceilinged interior leads out to an open-air terrace, under the shade of stately jabuticaba trees – as well as its roster of Tuesday-night guest musicians, from Brazil and abroad, playing live jazz as well as MPB and bossa nova. Check the programme at facebook.com/restaurantebuttina. Rua João Moura 976, Pinheiros (3083 5991 / buttina.com.br). Cover R$25-$30.
Wednesday
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| Ruella |
Ruella
The cutesy, candlelit interior and affordable French-inspired bistro fare make this a popular spot for young couples and groups of friends. ‘Dinner Jam Ruella’ is an added draw on Wednesday nights, with a roster of local stars, of the calibre of Blubell (a folk-leaning contemporary singer on the rise), stepping up to the mic with their backing bands. Check the line-up online. Rua Vupabuçu 199, Pinheiros (3097 9257/ruella.com.br). Cover R$28.
Bar.
The upstairs floor at this recently-opened gastrobar transforms into a dancefloor on certain nights as the music ramps up and the tables are cleared away to make space for boogying. Wednesdays are all about jazz, with groove on Thursdays. Rua Joaquim Antunes 248, Jardim Paulistano (3061 3810/barbar.com.br). Cover R$20.
Thursday
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| Brado |
Domenico
Thursdays are the unrivalled best nights for dining out with jazz. From the basement dinner-and-jazz sessions at the Pinheiros antique shop Restaurateur to the light suppers with jazz at the gourmet coffee house Octávio Café, you’ll be spoiled for choice. The recently opened, upmarket Italian restaurant Domenico is getting in on the act, too, hosting a jazz quartet that play the likes of Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. Rua Doutor Melo Alves 674, Jardim Paulista (3037 7323 / domenicoristorante.com.br). Cover none.
Brado
With a commendable attitude towards promoting the arts, Brado sponsors theatre productions, hosts the occasional art exhibition, and transforms its diminutive front terrace into a stage for the jazz trio, Le Serges, playing their own blend of Brazilian-infused French jazz, on Thursday nights. This is one for warmer nights, when the restaurant pushes back the sliding terrace doors to maximise its diners’ acoustic pleasure. Rua Joaquim Antunes 381, Pinheiros (3061 9293/bradorestaurante.com.br). Cover none.
Friday
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| Enoteca Saint Vin Saint |
Amadeo
A relative newcomer to Vila Mariana’s busiest bar and restaurant strip, Amadeo’s calling card is its music. The post-work crowds pile in on Friday nights to tune in to the live contemporary jazz trio play. Helpings of pastas or steaks are a good way to soak up the suds. Rua Joaquim Tavora, 1078, Vila Mariana (2538 2628/ baramadeo.com.br). Cover R$5.
Enoteca Saint Vin Saint
An impossibly charming restaurant, with just 12 tables, a chalkboard menu of Mediterranean eats, and one of the best selections of organic and biodynamic wines in the city, Enoteca Saint Vin Saint ramps up the romance with jazz sax on Thursday nights, and a jazz duet on Friday nights. Rua Professor Atílio Innocenti 811, Itaim Bibi (3846 0384/saintvinsaint.com.br). Cover R$15.
Saturday
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| Verissimo |
Veríssimo
Everything at this Brooklin bar pays homage to Brazilian author Luís Fernando Veríssimo, from the quotes peppering the napkins to the names of the imaginative drinks and tapas-style sharing dishes. Saturday afternoons featuring feijoada (pork-and-bean stew) and choro music are followed by live jazz from 8pm. Rua Flórida 1488, Brooklin (5506 6748 / verissimobar.com.br). Cover R$7.
Blú Bístrô
Serving up decent bistro classics such as French onion soup (sopa de cebola gratinada, R$25) and steak tartare (R$38), this cosy Perdizes eatery has a certain kitsch-meets-quirky charm, with an interior featuring street lamps, shuttered windows and a tiny upstairs balcony. The latter comprises the stage for a jazz trio – acoustic guitar, double bass and trumpet – that plays from Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 9pm. Rua Monte Alegre 591, Perdizes (3871 9296/blubistro.com.br). Cover R$9 (optional).
Sunday
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| Paribar |
Paribar
Poached egg with mushrooms and a muffin (R$18.90) and US-style pancakes (R$9.80) join the old-timers like eggs Benedict (R$25.90) on the new à la carte Sunday brunch menu at the classic boho hangout, Paribar. It’s not the food, however, but the setting, on a leafy square in the heart of downtown São Paulo, that make this worth the trip, now with the added bonus of a changing roster of jazz trios and quartets (11am-2pm), soothing the late-rising, Saturday night party crowd. Praça Dom José Gaspar 42, Centro (3237 0771/paribar.com.br). Cover none.
All prices and performance dates are accurate as of August 2013
