Sao Paulo

São Paulo is a city built by dreamers with empty suitcases and ambitious appetites, Japanese, Lebanese, Portuguese, and countless others arrived here carrying family recipes, helping create one of the most exciting food scenes in Latin America. Our feasting tour of 12+ tastings explores the lantern-lined streets of Liberdade and the everyday rhythm of República, uncovering the immigrant stories, neighbourhood institutions, and local flavours. We'll eat our way through a side of São Paulo that many visitors never discover. Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of local eateries mean we cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal for the tour so no-one is disappointed:
 ✘ Unsuitable for vegan, vegetarian, halal diet, gluten and lactose intolerance as the tastings would be very limited. ✔ No pork diets, mild nut allergies, pescatarian, no seafood diets are possible though some tastings don't have alternatives.

Beneath the soaring towers of the Sé Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Latin America, we begin where many good days in Brazil begin: at a bakery. Fresh from the oven comes pão de queijo, Brazil's beloved cheese bread. Alongside it is a version stuffed with sweet guava paste, proving once again that Brazilians have little interest in choosing between sweet and savoury when they can happily enjoy both. We also sample queijadinha, a coconut and cheese cupcake that somehow manages to be rich, light, and dangerously moreish all at once. As we make our way towards Liberdade, the city's famous Japantown, the lanterns begin to appear overhead. The neighbourhood's roots trace back more than a century to Japanese immigrants who crossed the Pacific seeking new opportunities. Today, it remains home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan.