Fish is the forgotten cousin of São Paulo dining culture. Other than sushi, which is a local obsession, the spoils of the sea seem to be more often consumed at the seaside than in town. Sure, there are a handful of good restaurants where you can tuck into the best catch of the day. Think tapas-style dishes at Fishbar & Gastronomia, beautifully presented dishes at upmarket Amadeus, pavement dining at O Catarina, seafood classics from around the world at Peixaria Bar e Venda or the city offshoot of the classic Guarujá seaside eatery Rufino's.
But getting a fix of fresh fish doesn't need to be contained to restaurant dining. From trendy food fairs, to enterprising chefs setting up stalls outside their restaurants, read on for our round-up of sea-foodie experiences.
Ceviche Sundays at Suri
On the last Sunday of the month, a quiet road in Pinheiros comes to life outside the ceviche restaurant Suri, with a stall selling pisco sours and pots of the citrus-cured seafood that has quickly become a São Paulo favourite.
Read more on ceviche Sundays at Suri
Moqueca do Tutu
The culinary mastermind behind this itinerant monthly Saturday afternoon gathering is the São Paulo DJ, Tutu Moraes, whose recipe for moqueca – Brazilian fish stew – is served up, buffet style, in large steaming bowls.
Read more on Moqueca do Tutu
Acarajé at Praça Benedito Calixto
For North-Eastern street food, there’s nothing quite like acarajé – deep-fried black-eyed-pea patties. Try them at the food stalls at the Saturday flea market at Praça Benedito Calixto or at the Acarajé da Barra stall, at the square’s Sunday gourmet food fair, Feirinha Gastronômica.
Tacacá na Tietê
Every month or so, the team at Brazilian restaurant Tordesilhas sets up a stall outside the restaurant to serve tacacá – a Northern dish made with tucupí (a manioc root extract), jambu herb, dried shrimp and gloopy lumps of manioc starch. R$12-$16 per bowl. 5-8pm, 14 Nov 2013. For further dates, check facebook.com/RestauranteTordesilhas
Ki-Peixe stall at the Mercadão
You can't get fish much fresher than the morning's catch at the fishmonger. Ki-Peixe, a sizeable fish stall at the Mercado Municipal – aka the Mercadão – has an adjacent stand where you can have your fish grilled on the spot, and paired with a cold beer. Read more on the Mercado Municipal
