The number of architecturally significant and gastronomically superb restaurants in São Paulo is astounding. Even so, finding gentrified country dining a block away from Rua Oscar Freire is a surprise. A huge 130-year-old fig tree dominates the dining area of Figueira Rubaiyat, lending it an intimate, romantic air.

The restaurant is famed for serving some of the best beef in the city and for catering to paulistano power couples and the financial elite. The appetiser of carpaccio di funghi in truffle oil is a must, as are the pães de queijo. A main course mainstay is the sumptuous picanha sumus – premium top sirloin.