This exposed brickwork restaurant, which caters to a crowd of well-heeled locals, is pretty, with high ceilings and a nice permeability between the inside space and the terrace. The showstopper is the mature sub-tropical garden, where fat plants crowd together, drooping down in the rain and channelling water along their veins into the green pool, since while the food is good in parts, it's not worth a journey in itself.
The menu blends French and Brazilian ingredients and techniques: the oysters in a gratin were a success – juicy, creamy and garlicky, retaining a hint of the oystery texture. The confit, a leg of duck in an açaí sauce also worked well, with the fruit offsetting the fattiness of the well-cooked duck. The entrecôte was less exciting – chewy, and with a dense brown sauce more like your least favourite grandma’s gravy than a light French jus. To follow, a set of three micro desserts was a nice idea, in which the light, creamy crème brulee, with a flowery hint of lavender, stood out as a success.