Tag: Food Travel

Formula 1 Luxury Travel: 7 Reasons Every Grand Prix Is More Than Just a Race
Formula 1 Luxury Travel at a Glance
The race is the reason I book. The city is why I want to return. For me, the best Grand Prix trips combine the atmosphere at the circuit with memorable meals, a hotel that suits the weekend and enough time to explore.
My firsthand perspective: São Paulo and Barcelona, from restaurants and rooftops to grandstand crowds and weather lessons.
Where I spend: the experiences I would actually choose again, rather than upgrading every part of the trip.
What matters most: food, comfort, time, local character and the people I meet along the way.
My practical advice: book the hard-to-replace experiences first, check current ticket and venue rules, and leave some breathing room.
This is a personal travel story, not a hospitality-package inclusions list. My November 2026 São Paulo plans are still upcoming; planned stays and meals are identified as such.

1. Cities worth returning to 2. Food worth planning for 3. Hotels that fit 4. Cocktails & rooftops 5. Beyond the circuit 6. Planning the whole trip 7. The people & atmosphere

Formula 1 luxury travel started with an interest in racing and turned into a reason to explore whole cities. Working at Ferrari got me interested in Formula 1. Traveling for races turned that interest into something much bigger. Now, booking a Grand Prix means a lot more than choosing a flight and buying a ticket. I am researching restaurants, comparing hotels, figuring out which cocktail bars I can fit in, and deciding how many extra days I can justify taking off work. Usually, I can justify a few.

Formula 1 luxury travel brings together most of the things I enjoy: racing, food, cocktails, hotels, and getting to know a city well enough that I want to come back.

The race still matters. I care who wins. But when I look back on these trips, I remember much more than what happened on Sunday. I remember the meal I am still talking about months later. The bartender who took the time to explain a drink. The hotel that became part of the experience. The people sitting around me at the circuit.

I collect watches, sneakers, T-shirts, and hats. I still enjoy all of them. But experiences have become my favorite thing to collect. The way I think about spending money has changed because of that. I still buy things, but now I find myself asking how much I want something compared with another trip, another dinner, or another few days somewhere I love. Travel has become a much bigger part of what I work for and what I look forward to.

I also have a full-time job and a limited amount of time away from it. When I take a race trip, I want those days to count. That means thinking about where the money goes, what is actually worth paying for, and how much I can realistically fit into a week without turning a vacation into another job.

Formula 1 gives me the reason to book the trip. Everything around it is what turns that trip into something I remember.

If you want to understand where that really started for me, read The Trip That Changed Everything. My first São Paulo Grand Prix ended up changing much more than where I wanted to watch Formula 1.

1. It Gives Me a Reason to Go Somewhere—and Go Back

São Paulo helped renew my love of gastronomy. The city introduced me to restaurants that are now among my favorites anywhere in the world, and it quickly became somewhere I wanted to keep returning to. I have written much more about the city in my São Paulo restaurant guide and my São Paulo destination coverage.

Barcelona taught me something different. It made me think more about the history behind the food and wine I was enjoying. You can sit down to dinner and have hundreds of years of tradition behind what ends up on the table. Then you walk outside and find yourself surrounded by buildings and neighborhoods that existed centuries before the United States was even a country. That puts things in perspective.

I have always appreciated a great meal and a good glass of wine. Barcelona made me appreciate how much more there can be behind both—the people, the traditions, the history, and the culture that helped create them.

That is one of the biggest reasons I like returning to places instead of treating every trip as a checklist. The second visit is different. There is less pressure to see everything. I can go back to a restaurant I already love, try somewhere new, spend more time in a neighborhood that interested me the first time, or simply leave part of the day open. Having favorites gives me a starting point without making me feel like I have finished exploring the city.

I already have restaurants and places I am excited to return to, but I do not feel remotely finished with the city. Every trip becomes a decision between going back to somewhere I already know I love and making room for somewhere new.

It is a good problem to have. My restaurant list just has very little respect for the number of days I actually have available.

That is what Formula 1 luxury travel has become for me. The race gets me to the city, but everything I discover around it gives me a reason to return.

2. The Food Can Be as Memorable as the Race

At Evvai, the food is only part of the experience. The illustrated course cards helped connect each dish to the story behind it.

A course at Mont Bar, one of the Barcelona reservations I made room for.

Pasta at Nelita’s dining counter.

I take restaurant reservations seriously. Anyone who has traveled with me—or looked at one of my itineraries—can probably figure that out.

In Barcelona, Mont Bar became one of my favorite meals anywhere, while Disfrutar was a completely different kind of experience. I would not really compare the two directly. Mont Bar felt more relaxed, intimate and personal. Disfrutar was more theatrical, technical and built around a much longer progression of courses. Both stood out for very different reasons.

In São Paulo, Evvai remains my favorite restaurant in the world. D.O.M., Tuju, A Casa do Porco and Tan Tan have all been part of the reason I keep wanting to explore more of the city’s food. These meals become things I look forward to for months.

A meal that changes your mind

I want to see what a chef is doing, try ingredients I might never order on my own, and understand why a dish works. Sometimes the kitchen puts something in front of me that I would have skipped on a menu, and it ends up being one of the best things I eat all trip.

Evvai managed that with its take on feijoada. I do not generally like beans, yet I loved that dish. That is a pretty convincing argument for occasionally letting someone who knows what they are doing choose dinner.

Staying with familiar ingredients would have cost me an experience I still remember. I explain more about that in my take on whether tasting menus are worth it.

The explanation matters, too. Evvai’s pop-art course cards gave me something to connect with as the dishes arrived and something to take home afterward. I enjoy knowing what inspired a preparation and why the ingredients belong together. It makes me pay closer attention to what I am eating.

Mont Bar also showed me how much the people and the room contribute to dinner. The team took time to talk with us, the music helped give the place personality, and the service felt comfortable. It was ambitious food without the experience ever feeling stiff.

Returning favorites and the next reservation

For my upcoming November 2026 trip to São Paulo, I am planning a little of both: returning to places I already know I love and making room for somewhere new. I am going back to Evvai and Tan Tan, and I want to try Goya Zushi and Jacó.

If I can make the timing work, I also want to get back to A Casa do Porco. That may even end up being lunch before my flight home, which would be a pretty good way to finish the trip.

I also plan to spend another evening at Rosewood São Paulo, even though I am staying elsewhere for this trip. Taraz and Rabo di Galo are both places I enjoyed enough to want to return to, and Rosewood has become one of those hotels where I am happy to spend an evening even when I am not staying there.

I may also make my way back to Palácio Tangará during Grand Prix week.

On my previous visits during Grand Prix week, the security presence at Palácio Tangará was noticeable. Race-week access is something I would confirm with the hotel before making plans. If I book dinner there, I will confirm the reservation, arrival instructions and any restrictions directly. A restaurant reservation should never be treated as a promise of access to teams, drivers or private areas.

That gives me another excuse to go back, have dinner or a drink, enjoy the hotel, and take in some of the atmosphere surrounding race week.

The race is obviously the center of the trip, but Formula 1 spills into the hotels, restaurants, bars, and the rest of the city. You start noticing teams, sponsors, and fans everywhere, and places that are already interesting take on a completely different energy for the week.

A famous restaurant name may get me researching, but the full experience is what makes me want another reservation: the cooking, the drinks, the room, the people, and the feeling of being somewhere I know I will think about again after I get home.

For me, food is a major part of Formula 1 luxury travel. A Grand Prix weekend might start with the race schedule, but some of the restaurant reservations become experiences I anticipate just as much.

3. The Hotel Has to Earn Its Place in the Trip

Sir Victor was my base in Barcelona during the Grand Prix trip.

Hotel Unique remains my overall São Paulo Grand Prix hotel pick, with the rooftop and race-week atmosphere playing a big part in that choice.

W São Paulo: I have visited the bar; the full hotel stay is planned for November 2026.

I enjoy a great hotel, but I also want it to make sense for the trip I am actually taking. São Paulo is a good example because I have stayed at several of the city’s top hotels, and they each offer something different.

For a Formula 1 weekend, Hotel Unique is still my best overall pick. It has the atmosphere, the rooftop, the crowd, and the energy that fit the São Paulo Grand Prix weekend especially well.

I have also been looking at Posh Club Grand Prix parties for my November 2026 trip. Before building an evening around one, I would check the organizer’s current venue, dates, ticket requirements and hotel access rules before booking.

A future stay is not a finished review

For my upcoming November 2026 trip, though, I decided to stay at W São Paulo. Part of the reason is the rooftop.

I like having somewhere at the hotel where I can come back after a long day, have a drink, and still feel like the night is not over. But I also want to experience the W as a complete hotel and get to know it better.

I have spent enough time comparing São Paulo hotels that sometimes the only real way to understand one is to stay there and see how it fits into the trip.

That does not mean I think the W is the most luxurious hotel in São Paulo. If we are talking about pure luxury, Rosewood São Paulo is on another level. The rooms, design, and overall experience make it one of the most impressive hotels I have stayed at in the city.

Palácio Tangará belongs in that conversation as well. It offers a very different kind of luxury—quieter, more traditional, and removed from some of the energy of the city center.

And then there is Emiliano, which is still on my list. I have not stayed there yet, so I am not going to pretend I can rank it against hotels I have actually experienced. But based on its reputation and location, it is one I want to get to know for myself.

The most luxurious hotel is not automatically the best hotel for every trip.

That is especially true with Formula 1 luxury travel, where the right hotel can become part of the race-week experience rather than simply somewhere to sleep.

A beautiful room matters. So do the service, the crowd, the bars, the location, and what happens when I come back at the end of the night. That is what I am really paying for.

4. There Is Usually a Cocktail Worth Finding

A few liters of water, a couple of drinks and some time on the rooftop became part of my Barcelona routine.

The rooftop at Sir Victor became my go-to place after long days exploring Barcelona.

Sometimes the right cocktail stop is simply the hotel bar—somewhere to sit down, have a drink and relax after a long day.

My research rarely ends with the restaurant. Cocktail bars become part of the trip too, but I do not choose every bar because it appears on a World’s 50 Best list or because someone considers it a temple of mixology. Sometimes I want that experience. Sometimes I just want a good drink and somewhere comfortable to sit down.

In São Paulo, Tan Tan is one of the places I keep going back to. I like that it works as both a restaurant and a serious cocktail bar. The Tsukemono I enjoyed was a good example: tequila, wasabi, cucumber and orange bitters may not sound like an obvious combination, but it worked for me. That is a memory of the drink I had, rather than a promise about the current menu.

The Liquor Store gave me something completely different. On my visit, it felt like a very small, intimate bar, and that changed the experience. The bartenders can spend more time talking with you, figuring out what you actually like, and adjusting drinks around your preferences.

That is one of the things I appreciate most about a great cocktail bar. The drink matters, but so does the person making it.

Destination bars and the hotel rooftop

Paradiso in Barcelona was another kind of experience. The creativity, presentation, and atmosphere make the bar a destination in itself. It is the type of place I specifically plan around because I want to see what they are doing.

But not every memorable drink needs that kind of production.

While staying at Sir Victor in Barcelona, the rooftop became my go-to after a long day exploring the city. After walking all day, a few liters of water and a couple of drinks up there became part of the routine. It was not about chasing another famous cocktail bar or checking another place off a list. Sometimes I just wanted somewhere comfortable to sit, cool down, look out over Barcelona, and relax before deciding what came next.

I found the same thing in São Paulo. After spending an entire day at Interlagos, sometimes the last thing I want to do is immediately rush somewhere else.

The bar at the InterContinental São Paulo became a good place to sit down, have a drink, and relax for a while before getting ready for dinner. I have used the W São Paulo the same way. Sometimes a hotel bar is exactly what I need after a race day: somewhere comfortable, a good cocktail, and an hour when I do not have to be anywhere.

Then there are places like Overstory in New York, where the setting becomes part of the experience. You are there for the cocktails, but being high above Manhattan with that view turns a drink into something bigger.

I do not need every cocktail bar to have an award, a complicated concept, or a place on a global ranking.

I also have to be realistic about how much I try to fit into one night. A cocktail before dinner, a long wine pairing, and several bars afterward can sound like a great plan when I am sitting at home building the itinerary. Then I remember there is usually another full day waiting for me.

At this point, I would rather give one or two places enough time to enjoy them than spend the entire night watching the clock and rushing to the next reservation.

The problem is that the list never gets shorter. There are only so many dinners, cocktails, and evenings in one trip, and somehow I always find more places than I have time for.

5. I Want to See More Than the Circuit

If I am taking time off work and flying to another country, I want time to experience the place beyond the race. That means leaving room for neighborhoods, architecture, museums, food, and sometimes just walking around without every hour assigned to something.

Barcelona made that especially clear to me. There is so much history built into the city that even a normal walk can become part of the experience. Gaudí’s architecture, the Gothic Quarter, the old streets, the cafés, and the markets all gave me reasons to keep exploring beyond the race itself.

São Paulo has been different, but just as interesting. I love the street art at Beco do Batman. I have spent time exploring Ibirapuera Park, one of the city’s major cultural and green spaces, and I have visited the Ayrton Senna memorial there. Ibirapuera is the kind of place where you can spend hours walking and still feel like you have only seen part of it.

The places still on my list

There are still parts of São Paulo I want to experience more deeply. One of them is Liberdade, the neighborhood most closely associated with São Paulo’s Japanese community. I especially want to experience it on a weekend, when the streets are busier and the neighborhood has more of that festival and street-market atmosphere.

Another experience on my wish list is a Sunday morning exploring the car scene around Avenida Europa. Classic cars, Ferraris, Porsches and other exotics are very much my kind of Sunday morning.

Of course, there is one problem. During Grand Prix weekend, Sunday morning is not going to happen. I will be at Interlagos.

Every trip gives me another list of places I want to return to and things I still have not managed to fit in.

Give yourself time to enjoy the city

Race days themselves can take more out of you than the itinerary suggests. In Barcelona, I walked more than twelve miles on each of those days, including getting to the circuit and exploring once I was inside. I loved it, but that is a substantial day before dinner even enters the conversation.

I wrote more about that weekend in Why I Love Formula 1: Racing, Travel & Belonging.

So when I say to allow extra days, part of the reason is simply having enough energy to enjoy where you are. I do not want to fly to another country, spend every day at the circuit, eat dinner, go back to the hotel, and then head to the airport. That would feel like I attended a race in another country without really experiencing the country.

I want time to stop for a coffee, walk into a shop, take a longer route because something caught my attention, or change the plan because someone gave me a recommendation that sounds better than what I had scheduled.

But I also know there is a point where too much planning can start working against the trip. If every hour is assigned to something, then a spontaneous drink, an unexpected conversation, a neighborhood you want to keep exploring, or a restaurant you did not know about suddenly becomes a problem.

The best version of these trips, for me, has both: enough planning that I do not miss the experiences I really care about, and enough open time that I can actually enjoy being somewhere new.

To me, Formula 1 luxury travel should include enough time to experience the destination, not just the circuit.

6. The Research Starts Long Before the Flight

I spend a ridiculous amount of time planning these trips. And I mean hours. Possibly days.

I search social media, read food blogs and travel sites, look through restaurant and bar accounts, ask chefs and bartenders for recommendations, and talk to other travelers about what they loved, what they would skip, and what they would actually do again.

I also go through Reddit travel boards and local discussions, then use ChatGPT to keep researching the city’s restaurant, hotel, cocktail, and Formula 1 scenes from different angles.

I want enough different sources and opinions that, by the time I start booking, I am not relying on one list or one person’s idea of what is worth doing. For dates, reservations, admission rules and package inclusions, I check the current information with the venue or official organizer.

By the time I leave, I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, what has to be booked in advance, and what can stay flexible.

Build around the hardest bookings

Restaurant reservations usually take the most attention. Some places open months ahead. Others release tables much closer to the date. Some require a credit card guarantee. Some disappear almost immediately. Wanting to eat somewhere and actually getting a reservation are two completely different things.

Then there is the circuit. Getting there, getting back, deciding how early I need to leave, and figuring out what is realistic afterward all matter. A race day that looks simple on paper can become a very long day once transportation, walking, crowds, and weather are added to it.

That is why I usually build the trip around the things that are hardest to move. The published race sessions are the starting point. A restaurant I really want may have only one reservation time available. A hotel event, party, or special experience may happen on one specific night.

Once those pieces are in place, I can work the other meals, bars, neighborhoods, and sightseeing around them.

The challenge is making those ideas work together. Every individual idea may sound easy enough on its own. Then I start putting everything on a map and matching it against race sessions, restaurant times, traffic, transportation, and how tired I am realistically going to be after a full day at the track.

Geography, time and the whole budget

Geography matters just as much as availability. Two reservations can both technically work and still make for a miserable evening if getting from one to the other takes too much time. I would rather spend that time enjoying where I am than sitting in traffic or watching the clock because I tried to force too much into one night.

My time on the trip has value too.

I also try to look at the full cost instead of convincing myself that every individual upgrade is reasonable. Flights, the hotel, race tickets, transportation, restaurants, drinks, shopping, and everything else all come out of the same budget.

Looking at each purchase separately makes it very easy to say, “It is only a little more.” Then you add everything together. That is when the trip becomes expensive very quickly.

The best itinerary protects the experiences I care about most while still leaving enough room to enjoy where I am.

For me, good planning is part of Formula 1 luxury travel. I do all of that research so that once I get there, I can spend less time worrying about what I should be doing next.

The goal is not to complete an itinerary. The goal is to enjoy the trip.

7. The People Make the Weekend

The view from the grandstands at Interlagos—and São Paulo’s unpredictable weather—changed how I think about choosing Formula 1 seats.

It doesn’t matter who you support. It matters that you love F1.

Even between sessions, I could spend hours taking this place in.

These were the seats I loved: a view of the track and a whole weekend of people to meet.

Sector G. Where my love for Formula 1 and São Paulo really began.

Setor G. A wristband from the weekend that changed how I saw Formula 1—and São Paulo.

Some of my strongest Formula 1 memories involve getting soaked in Sector G at Interlagos, drinking beer and canned Jack and Coke, and talking with people I had never met before. We were there for the same reason. Different teams. Different drivers. Different countries. Same sport.

When people made room for me under shelter from the rain, that small gesture stayed with me. We did not all speak the same language, but it did not matter much. Formula 1 already gave us something to talk about.

For someone who does not always find it easy to start a conversation, that shared interest makes a difference. I have written more about those connections in Why I Love Formula 1: Racing, Travel & Belonging.

Hospitality is a choice, not a requirement

I have also done hospitality and paddock experiences, and I enjoy them. In the experiences I tried, I appreciated the additional access. The added comfort, food and drinks were part of the appeal too. I would happily do those experiences again when they make sense for the trip.

But I have also become more realistic about what I want to spend on them.

If upgrading to hospitality means giving up a great hotel, several dinners, extra days in the city, or another trip entirely, then I have to decide what matters more. Sometimes the answer is hospitality. Sometimes it is not. And that does not make the grandstands feel like a compromise.

I genuinely enjoy being surrounded by fans who care about what is happening on the track as much as I do. When an overtake happens, someone crashes, the weather changes, or a favorite driver comes past, the reaction around you becomes part of the race. That atmosphere is hard to recreate anywhere else.

To me, that belongs in a conversation about luxury travel too. Luxury does not always mean being separated from everyone else.

Sometimes it is a beautiful hotel, an exceptional tasting menu, and a great cocktail. Sometimes it is standing in a packed grandstand in the rain with thousands of people losing their minds over what just happened on track. A great Formula 1 trip can have both.

That mix is one of the things I like most about Formula 1 luxury travel. Luxury can mean hospitality and five-star hotels, but it can also mean having the freedom to choose the experiences that matter most to me.

I want to enjoy the whole trip and make the budget work across all of it.

Hospitality is still on the wish list. But so is another great weekend in the grandstands.

If you want more of my thinking on experiencing the city beyond the race itself, I wrote about that in Formula 1 Beyond the Circuit.

The Race Gets Me There. The Whole Trip Brings Me Back.

Formula 1 has changed where I travel, how I plan, and what I want from a trip. I still look forward to race day. But I also look forward to the dinner reservation I made months earlier, going back to a bar I loved, spending time in a hotel that became part of the experience, and finding another reason to return to a city I thought I already knew.

That is also why I write about these trips. I want to give people more than a photograph of an expensive room, a beautiful plate, or a race ticket.

What made the experience memorable? Would I spend the money again? Would I stay there again? Would I make the reservation again? Where would I sit at the circuit, and would I choose those seats again?

What I would want to know before booking

That last question is something I have learned to take much more seriously.

At my first São Paulo Grand Prix, I learned the value of a covered grandstand. It does not rain every São Paulo Grand Prix, but São Paulo weather can be strange. You can go from looking at a sky without a cloud in it to standing in a downpour. I know that from experience.

Getting soaked at Interlagos gave me some great memories, but it also taught me that when I am choosing seats there again, having a roof over my head matters.

Barcelona taught me the opposite weather lesson. My grandstand seats there were directly in the sun during the race. After spending hours at the circuit, that makes a difference too.

Those experiences changed how I look at tickets. I am not only asking whether a grandstand has a good view of the track anymore.

Is it covered? Where will the sun be during the race? Can I see a screen? What section of the circuit am I actually watching? How easy is it to get in and out? And after experiencing it once, would I pay to sit there again?

Those details can matter just as much as the section number printed on the ticket. They are also exactly the kind of details I want to include when I write about these trips, because they are the things I wish I knew before buying the ticket myself.

If you are planning your first Grand Prix trip, give yourself time around the race if you can. Pick a few experiences you genuinely care about. Book the things that are hardest to replace, then leave some room to explore.

And when you buy the race ticket, do not just look at a circuit map and assume every grandstand experience is the same.

Your version of Formula 1 luxury travel should reflect what you actually enjoy. Mine usually involves a great hotel, too many restaurant reservations, a few good cocktails, a lot of walking, and plenty of time around people who love Formula 1 as much as I do.

It adds up. I am very aware of that.

But when I look back at the races, the cities, the meals, the hotels, the people I met—and even the lessons learned from getting soaked in Brazil or cooked by the sun in Barcelona—I usually come to the same conclusion.

Completely Unnecessary. Absolutely Worth It.

Planning your own Interlagos weekend? My São Paulo Grand Prix Travel Guide covers my experiences with grandstands, transport, rain, food at the circuit, and fitting dinner into a race weekend.

Plan the Kind of Grand Prix Trip You Want
For the practical side of those choices, start with my seat-selection lessons and São Paulo race-weekend guide. For the days around the circuit, explore the cities and restaurants that keep me coming back.
Choose your grandstand São Paulo Grand Prix guide Explore Barcelona São Paulo restaurants
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Mont Bar Barcelona Review: The Two-Star Meal That Never Felt Like Fine Dining
Some meals are excellent while you are sitting at the table and begin to fade as soon as the next reservation comes along. Mont Bar did the opposite.

This Mont Bar Barcelona review covers the full tasting menu, wine pairing, service and why the experience ultimately ranked among my five best meals ever.

The more I thought about it; and the more ambitious restaurants I visited afterward; the higher it moved on my list. Months later, I can say it without exaggeration: Mont Bar is one of the five best meals I have ever had.

Mont Bar Barcelona Review: At a Glance

Location: Carrer de la Diputació, 220, in Barcelona’s Eixample neighborhood.

My visit: June 8, 2026, for the full Mont tasting menu with more than twelve wine and sake pours.

Recognition: Two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide.

Menu prices: The official menu currently lists Classic at €190 and Mont at €240 per person, before optional pairings.

What stood out: Smoked tuna belly, warm mochi, razor clams, lobster, mushroom ice cream and Bresse pigeon, alongside the wine pairing and warm service.

Time: The restaurant estimates about three hours for Mont. I would leave the evening open rather than rush to another reservation.

My verdict: One of my five best meals ever, and somewhere I would return without hesitation.

Planning information checked October 27, 2026. The dishes, photographs and wine bottles below describe my June visit, not a guarantee of the current menu.

Menu and reservations Atmosphere and service The tasting menu Wine and cocktails My verdict

Mont Bar Menu, Prices and Reservations

The official tasting-menu page, checked October 27, 2026, lists the Classic Menu at €190 and the longer Mont Menu at €240 per person. These are current planning prices, not a reconstruction of my June bill.

Optional pairings are listed separately: alcohol-free 0.0 at €95, Signature at €160, Spain at €290 and World at €650. Compare the options with your budget before booking rather than assuming the menu includes drinks. The courses change with the season, so use my meal as a sense of the experience, not an exact order list for your visit.

According to the restaurant FAQ, dinner is tasting-menu only. Lunch also offers à la carte, with a minimum of three snacks and two main dishes per person. Everyone in a reservation must choose the same dining option. Classic is estimated at two and a half hours; Mont at three.

Book through Mont Bar’s official reservation page. Review the terms for your party size: changes within 72 hours can trigger menu-price charges, and prepayments have separate conditions. Tell the restaurant about dietary needs before committing; it does not offer vegetarian or vegan tasting menus. I would also confirm any seating preference directly rather than assume a particular table or counter seat is guaranteed.

That is a serious statement for me. I have eaten tasting menus around the world, traveled specifically for restaurants and spent amounts of money on dinner that no rational person needs to spend. I have experienced bigger dining rooms, more theatrical presentations and restaurants with more famous names. Very few have put food, wine, hospitality and atmosphere together as naturally as Mont Bar.

It was my first day in Spain. I had just arrived in Barcelona, visited the Sagrada Família and could have made the safe choice by keeping dinner simple. Instead, I booked the full Mont tasting experience with the wine pairing.

It turned out to be exactly the right way to begin the trip.

Mont Bar Barcelona Review: A Two-Michelin-Star Restaurant That Still Feels Like a Bar
Mont Bar feels more like an energetic neighborhood bar than a formal two-Michelin-star dining room.
Mont Bar sits on a corner in Barcelona’s Eixample district. The room is small, the music has energy and the bar remains visually and emotionally central to the restaurant. It does not feel like a formal dining room that happens to serve small plates. It feels like an excellent neighborhood bar that somehow learned how to cook at an extraordinary level.

That difference matters.

Mont Bar was created by Iván Castro, whose family roots are in the small village of Mont in the Val d’Aran. He opened the restaurant in 2013 and built it around the idea that serious cooking and serious wine do not need to come with a stiff or intimidating experience. Today, Castro and Kasaundra Williams lead the restaurant with chef Fran Agudo, whose cooking blends tradition, modern technique and a clear willingness to borrow intelligently from Japanese flavors and methods.

The restaurant received its second Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide. Michelin describes it as a gastro-bar using fresh, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, but even that accurate description does not fully explain why the restaurant works.

The real achievement is that Mont Bar has continued to feel personal as its reputation has grown.

Iván was not hidden in an office. He was present as a host. Fran was accessible, and both of them took the time to speak with us during dinner. The service team was polished without becoming robotic. There was great music, conversation in the room and the sense that the people running the restaurant actually wanted you to have fun.

It was two-star execution without the two-star attitude.

Why the Relaxed Service Mattered

The conversations with Iván and Fran were part of the meal, not a substitute for the meal. That distinction matters to me. A restaurant can be friendly and still leave the cooking feeling secondary, just as it can deliver technically excellent food while making the evening feel impersonal. Here, the attention to the guest and the attention to the plate supported each other.

For someone arriving in Barcelona on the first day of a trip, that combination was especially welcome. I had chosen an ambitious dinner rather than an easy first-night option, but the room never made that choice feel like work. I could enjoy the music, ask about what was being served and let the meal unfold without feeling that there was a correct way to behave.

The Mont Tasting Menu: Small Bites With a Lot to Say

The menu began with mushroom and Jerusalem artichoke: first as a crisp, then as a broth with butter emulsion. That opening told me almost everything I needed to know about the kitchen. The flavors were recognizable and comforting, but the textures and concentration were far more precise than the casual room suggested.

Then came a long sequence of snacks:
Cockle soufflé with sourdough and hondashi
Quisquilla shrimp vol-au-vent with ajillo sauce and tosazu
Sea bass ceviche toast with avocado
Chicken skin and squid sandwich
Wagyu terrine with foie gras and horseradish
Crispy brioche with pickled foie gras
Warm mochi with sobrasada and Mahón cheese
At Mont Bar, the smallest snacks receive the same precision as the main courses.
At Mont Bar, the smallest snacks received the same precision and attention as the main courses.
This is where Mont Bar’s identity became clear. The restaurant treats snacks with the seriousness other kitchens reserve for their centerpiece courses. Each bite had to arrive with the correct temperature, texture and balance because there was nowhere for a weak idea to hide.

The quisquilla shrimp vol-au-vent captured that approach perfectly: delicate pastry, sweet shrimp, the familiar pull of ajillo and a brighter Japanese-influenced finish from the tosazu. The chicken skin and squid sandwich was even more direct; crisp, savory and genuinely fun to eat. The warm mochi with sobrasada and Mahón cheese could have become a gimmick in a less disciplined kitchen. Instead, its warmth softened the chewy mochi and brought out the richness of the spiced pork and salty cheese. It was creative, comforting and completely coherent.

That is one of Fran Agudo’s strengths. The food is creative, but it is not creative merely to prove that the kitchen can be clever. The techniques serve flavor.

Looking back across those snacks, what stands out is how many different forms the kitchen used without losing its direction. A vol-au-vent, a sandwich and mochi are very different things to put in front of someone. Here, they belonged to the same meal because each offered a direct, enjoyable bite rather than an explanation that was more interesting than the food. That is why the opening sequence deserves space in this review instead of being reduced to “a selection of amuse-bouches.”

From White Asparagus to Smoked Tuna Belly

After the opening snacks, the menu widened into more composed dishes.

The white asparagus with oyster escabeche and béarnaise brought together richness, acidity and a subtle marine character. The idea sounds busy on paper, yet the dish remained focused.

The smoked tuna belly with pine nut emulsion was one of my favorite dishes of the entire meal. It was also one of the plates that visually defined Mont Bar for me. The tuna arrived arranged in a precise spiral, finished with small orange flowers, but it ate even better than it photographed. The gentle smokiness deepened the richness of the belly without masking it, while the pine nut emulsion brought a creamy, nutty balance that never became heavy.

Then came razor clams with ponzu à la donostiarra, prepared at the table. This was another example of the kitchen crossing Spanish and Japanese references without losing the identity of either. It had the garlic-and-pepper energy associated with the Basque-style donostiarra preparation, sharpened by ponzu.

The seafood continued with turbot in beurre blanc with caviar and lobster with noisette and consommé. These were luxurious ingredients, but the meal never felt like a checklist of expensive products. The caviar had a reason to be there. The lobster was treated as an ingredient, not a status symbol.

That sounds obvious, but it is not. Too many tasting menus lean on caviar, wagyu and truffles as shortcuts. Mont Bar used luxury where it added something and moved on when it did not.

The Plates I Would Point Someone Toward First

If someone asked me to explain this dinner using only a few dishes, I would start with the smoked tuna belly, the razor clams and the warm mochi. The tuna captured the visual precision and balance; the clams made the Spanish and Japanese references easy to understand; the mochi showed that a serious kitchen could still serve something immediately comforting and fun. They were different expressions of the same approach, not three unrelated attempts to surprise the table.

That does not mean I would arrive expecting those exact plates again. This was my June menu. The useful takeaway is the way the kitchen handled them: technique, richness and presentation all had a purpose beyond making the meal look expensive.
White asparagus with oyster escabeche and béarnaise balanced richness, acidity and subtle marine flavor.
Razor clams with ponzu à la donostiarra were finished at the table.
Turbot with beurre blanc and caviar showed how Mont Bar uses luxurious ingredients without allowing them to overwhelm the dish.
Lobster with noisette and consommé was refined, focused and treated as more than another luxury ingredient.
The Course I Did Not Expect: Mushroom Ice Cream

One of the most unusual savory courses paired perrechico mushroom, mushroom ice cream and white miso.

Mushroom ice cream can sound like the kind of idea a restaurant creates because it wants diners to talk about it. This was different. The cold temperature changed the way the earthy mushroom flavor registered, while white miso added depth and seasoning. It created a bridge between the seafood courses and the final meat course without simply repeating the richness that came before it.

It was strange enough to be memorable and good enough to justify being strange.

Its place in the sequence also helped explain why the full menu worked for me. After the seafood, another conventionally rich savory plate could have made the dinner feel repetitive. The mushroom course changed the temperature and the expression of earthiness before the pigeon arrived. It gave the meal a different direction without feeling disconnected from everything around it.
Perrechico mushroom, mushroom ice cream and white miso was strange enough to be memorable and good enough to justify being strange.
Bresse Pigeon, Morels and Cacao

The final savory course was Bresse pigeon cooked two ways with morels and cacao.

Pigeon and cacao can easily become dark, dense and exhausting at the end of a long meal. Mont Bar kept the dish controlled. The pigeon was deeply flavored, the morels added earthiness and the cacao reinforced the savory elements instead of making the plate taste like dessert.

The presentation was restrained compared with some of the earlier courses. That restraint felt right. By this point, the kitchen no longer needed to prove anything.

There was also an optional Miyazaki A5 wagyu supplement, but the pigeon was the more interesting choice for this menu. It carried the personality of the restaurant and gave the savory portion of the meal a proper finish.
Bresse pigeon cooked two ways brought the savory menu to a focused finish.

Mont Bar Barcelona Review: Desserts That Continued the Story

The first transition into dessert was a drink combining gin, bay leaf, lime and smoked black tea. It was delicious and remarkably smooth, with the lime and tea keeping the gin bright instead of sharp. Even the bay leaf itself tasted incredible; a genuine wow moment from a detail that could easily have been treated as nothing more than garnish. It reset the palate without falling back on the predictable citrus sorbet.

Then came one of the menu’s most distinctive combinations: nori seaweed, rice ice cream and caviar. Sweet, salty and oceanic, it reflected the same Spanish-meets-Japanese thinking that had appeared throughout dinner.
The smooth gin, bay leaf, lime and smoked black tea drink included an edible leaf that became an unexpected wow moment.
Nori, rice ice cream and caviar continued Mont Bar’s confident combination of sweet, salty and oceanic flavors.
The final sequence included:
Bordaloue millefeuille with Saint-Germain
Cherries with rose, hibiscus and genmaicha tea
Coffee with mucilage and umeboshi
Petits fours
The desserts did not feel like a separate pastry menu attached to the end of the meal. They continued the restaurant’s point of view: sharp contrasts, savory accents and enough acidity to keep a long tasting menu alive through the final bite.
Cherries with rose, hibiscus and genmaicha brought fruit, acidity and floral flavor to the final dessert sequence.
The desserts continued the menu’s mix of sweetness, acidity and savory accents.
Coffee, mucilage and umeboshi completed the meal with another unexpected balance of sweetness and acidity.
The final bites of one of my five best meals ever.

The Spanish Wine Pairing Was an Education

The wine pairing deserves its own review.

More Than a List of Impressive Labels

The bottle photographs below are worth looking at alongside the food, because the wine was not simply background to dinner. A Palo Cortado from Jerez, a Garnacha Blanca, a Verdejo, a Ribera del Duero wine and a sweet Basque cider tell a much broader story than “Spanish red and white.” Seeing those names again helps explain why I came away interested in exploring more, rather than merely pleased that the glasses had been refilled.

I enjoy wine, but I am not interested in being talked down to or sitting through a lecture before every sip. Mont Bar found the right balance. The team explained the place, producer and reason for each selection, then allowed the wine to do the rest.

The pours moved through less predictable Spanish producers and styles rather than relying on a parade of expensive, recognizable labels. I photographed most of the bottles as they arrived, and looking back at those labels feels like retracing the meal. The sequence included Trípoli Anafe, Privilegio 1860 Palo Cortado from Hidalgo in Jerez, Frontonio The Garage Wine La Loma & Los Santos Garnacha Blanca 2022, Sobrenatural de Menade Verdejo 2019, Alión 2022 from Ribera del Duero and the naturally sweet Basque cider Malus Mama 15.

That range was the point. The pairing was not only about matching acidity to seafood or weight to pigeon. It showed how broad Spanish wine can be; from fresh, mineral whites and characterful natural wines to Garnacha and a complex sweet cider that functioned more like a wine.

There were more than twelve pours over the course of dinner, yet the pacing remained controlled. That number matters. In America, when I do a pairing with twelve or more wines, I usually expect to feel it the next morning; even when the individual pours are not large. After this dinner in Spain, I woke up with no hangover at all.

I am not going to pretend I can prove why. It could have been the pour sizes, the pacing, the amount of food, the water, the wine choices or some combination of all of it. I can only report what happened: I tasted more than a dozen different pours, learned a tremendous amount about Spanish wine and felt completely fine the next day.
Trípoli Anafe was one of the early discoveries in a pairing built around less-predictable Spanish wines.
A Palo Cortado from Jerez showed how far the pairing moved beyond conventional still wines.
Frontonio’s Garnacha Blanca was part of an education in Spanish producers I would not have discovered on my own.
The naturally made Verdejo added another texture and personality to a pairing that never became repetitive.
Alión brought Ribera del Duero depth as the menu moved into its final savory courses.
Malus Mama 15 functioned more like a complex dessert wine than a conventional cider.
If wine is part of what you enjoy about a meal, I would give the pairing serious consideration here. It expanded my willingness to explore wine, and the explanations added to dinner without taking it over. The current pairing choices and prices are listed above; the bottles pictured here are the ones from my visit, not a promised selection for another date.
A Custom Cocktail Outside to End the Night

Mont Bar gave the evening one final personal touch after dinner. The team made me a custom cocktail on the house, and I took it outside to one of the seats along the restaurant. After a long tasting menu and more than twelve wine pours, there was no need for the restaurant to add anything else. That is exactly why the gesture stayed with me.

Sitting outside in Barcelona with a drink made specifically for me was the right ending. It did not feel like another formal course or a rehearsed luxury-service routine. It felt generous and spontaneous; the kind of hospitality that makes you remember the people behind a restaurant as clearly as the food.

Why Mont Bar Ranked Above More Famous Meals

I ate at major restaurants during this trip. Some had more stars. Some had more elaborate service rituals. Some were more expensive.

Mont Bar was the meal I kept thinking about.

Part of that was the food. There was not one single course carrying the entire dinner; the kitchen delivered across a very long menu. The snacks were as carefully considered as the pigeon. The desserts continued the same ideas instead of abandoning them. The wine pairing opened a door into Spanish producers I did not know.

But food alone does not place a restaurant in my top five.

What separated Mont Bar was how the evening felt. The room had life. The service was serious but relaxed. Iván hosted like someone welcoming people into a place he genuinely cared about. Fran’s food was ambitious without being self-important. I never felt as though I needed to sit up straighter, speak more quietly or pretend to understand something to earn my place at the table.

It felt like home; if home had better food than almost anyone could cook.

That combination is much rarer than technical perfection.

Why This Became My Favorite Barcelona Meal

I am not ranking every restaurant in Barcelona or suggesting that another diner should value the same things I do. This is a personal judgment about the meals I experienced. Mont Bar brought together the parts I care about most: food that held my attention throughout, wine that taught me something, and people who made an expensive evening feel welcoming rather than ceremonial. The custom cocktail was a lovely final detail, but it was the whole dinner that earned the place in my memory.

Is Mont Bar Worth It?

Absolutely.

Mont Bar is not a casual tapas dinner, despite the word “bar” in its name. The full menu and pairing represent a major expense, and dinner will occupy most of your evening. If you only want a few traditional dishes and a bottle of wine, Barcelona has many excellent places better suited to that plan.

But if you want one destination meal in Barcelona that combines technique, creativity, wine and personality, Mont Bar belongs near the top of the list.

The restaurant currently offers a shorter Classic Menu and the longer Mont Menu. For a first visit, I would choose the Mont Menu. The opening snack sequence is essential to understanding the restaurant, and the progression into seafood, pigeon and dessert is what turns a collection of excellent bites into a complete experience.

Would I return? Without hesitation.

Mont Bar did not merely meet the expectations of a two-Michelin-star restaurant. It reminded me why I chase these meals in the first place; not to collect stars, but to find places that create a memory strong enough to compete with every reservation that comes after it.

For me, this was one of those places.
I paid for the meal myself; there was no invitation or sponsored arrangement. The complimentary custom cocktail after dinner was the hospitality gesture described above.
Completely unnecessary. Absolutely worth it.
For more of the trip, read my Barcelona travel guide. You can also follow @Richard.Jarocki on Instagram for more of the food and travel behind these stories.
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Mont Bar Barcelona review
August 29, 2026
Why Evvai Is My Favorite Restaurant in the World
People often ask me what my favorite restaurant in the world is. Considering how much I travel for food, it’s a fair question. I’ve been fortunate enough to dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, experience many of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and eat my way through some of the greatest culinary destinations on earth.
My answer never changes: Evvai in São Paulo.
This restaurant is one of the biggest reasons I look forward to returning to the city. The food matters, of course. But so do the explanations, the illustrated course cards I still keep, the disciplined kitchen, and the fact that a meal this carefully put together can still be so much fun.
Evvai at a Glance
Where: Rua Joaquim Antunes, 108, São Paulo, Brazil.
Chef: Luiz Filipe Souza.
Format: The Oriundi tasting menu, connecting Italian influences and Brazilian ingredients.
Recognition: Three Michelin stars in the 2026 guide.
Why I return: Creative food, memorable explanations, collectible course cards, and precise service without a stiff atmosphere.
Before booking: Check Evvai’s current menu and reservation information for prices, availability, and dietary requirements.
Practical information checked October 27, 2026, using Evvai’s official website and the Michelin Guide. This review draws on earlier visits. Archival menus and dishes below are not a promise of what will be served now.
The food Desserts The course cards Service and atmosphere Why I return
Evvai in São Paulo. It is one of the biggest reasons I look forward to returning to the city.
A caviar-topped course from my November 2025 meal at Evvai.
More Than Italian. More Than Brazilian.
Chef Luiz Filipe Souza describes Evvai’s cuisine as Oriundi, a philosophy inspired by the Italian immigrants who helped shape Brazil’s culinary identity.
It’s not Italian. It’s not Brazilian. It’s both.
Throughout the tasting menu, classic Italian techniques meet ingredients native to Brazil. Jambu, tucupi, cupuaçu, priprioca, native honeys, heart of palm, Amazonian fish, and regional fruits become the foundation for dishes that feel both familiar and completely new.
Nothing is included simply because it’s unusual. Every ingredient has a purpose. Every course tells a story.
Opening bites from an earlier Evvai tasting menu.
Bread service during my November 2025 tasting menu.
A Menu That Never Stops Evolving
One of the reasons I continue returning is because no two meals have ever been alike.
Chef Luiz isn’t interested in creating a menu that stays the same year after year. Every visit brings new ideas, new ingredients, and new interpretations while remaining unmistakably Evvai.
I’ve compared the menus and collectible cards from each visit, and it’s remarkable how much they evolve.
One visit introduced me to King Crab with fresh coconut and caviar, White Moqueca with squid and heart of palm, Duck Tortellini with eel and tucupi, Wild Boar with savage orange, Tongue with oxtail and priprioca, and the unforgettable Popcorn and Ice Cream dessert.
Another visit featured Bluefin Tuna with wagyu bresaola, Cod Tortellini, Fish of the Day with moqueca, Lamb with fregola, Green Corn with Oscietra caviar, Rebel Tiramisu, and a choice between Xinxim Chicken or Japanese A5 Wagyu.
The philosophy never changes. The creativity never stops. Every return feels like discovering Evvai all over again.
The ORI25.2 menu from a previous visit. This is a keepsake, not the current menu.
The OR24.2 menu from another visit, showing how much the experience changes.
Every Dish Has a Personality
I’ve had tasting menus where every course was technically perfect, yet by the end of the evening I struggled to remember what I had actually eaten.
That has never happened at Evvai.
The King Crab with fresh coconut, delicately topped with caviar, perfectly balanced sweetness, richness, and salinity while proving that elegance doesn’t have to be complicated.
The White Moqueca challenged everything I thought I knew about one of Brazil’s most iconic dishes. By removing its vibrant colors, Chef Luiz created something visually unexpected while preserving every bit of the soul and flavor that makes moqueca so beloved.
The Duck Tortellini with eel and tucupi remains one of the most memorable pasta courses I’ve ever eaten.
One of my favorite surprises was a playful green corn ice cream cone topped with Oscietra caviar. At first glance, it makes you smile. Then you taste it. Sweet corn and luxurious caviar shouldn’t work together as well as they do, yet somehow the combination feels completely natural. It’s whimsical, technically brilliant, and unmistakably Evvai.
A scallop crisp served with greens during my tasting menu at Evvai.
A green tasting-menu course from my November 2025 visit.
The scallop crisp pictured here is another example of how much there is to look at during the meal. The crisp itself is scallop-based, rather than simply a garnish beside a scallop.
A savory course with orange sauce, photographed during my November 2025 meal.
A plated course with dark sauce from my November 2025 meal.
Desserts That Remember to Have Fun
Popcorn and ice cream doesn’t sound like something you’d expect from one of the world’s best restaurants. Until it arrives.
Finished with popping candy, every bite combines creamy sweetness, buttery popcorn, and the crackling sensation of Pop Rocks. It’s nostalgic, interactive, and impossible not to smile while eating it.
That perfectly sums up my experience. Now recognized with three Michelin stars. World-class technique. Yet it never forgets that dining should be fun.
The Pop Rocks ice cream bar during my tasting menu at Evvai.
A decorated dessert from my November 2025 tasting menu.
The frozen dessert pictured above is the Pop Rocks ice cream bar. That playful presentation belongs in this story just as much as the pasta, the caviar, and the technique. It is part of why I remember the experience so clearly.
“Popcorn… Ice Cream… Sinners…”: even dessert has its own story.
Oriundi 25.2 artwork: the visual storytelling begins before the first course.
Every Course Tells a Story
Every course begins before the plate ever reaches your table.
The service team introduces each dish, explaining the ingredients, techniques, and inspiration behind Chef Luiz Filipe Souza’s vision. Their knowledge is remarkable, and they present every course with the same care and precision that went into creating it.
Then the storytelling continues.
Throughout the meal, you’re handed beautifully designed collectible cards inspired by vintage comic books and pop art. Each card corresponds to one of the courses you’ve just experienced.
Some make you laugh before you’ve even taken the first bite.
A halo-wearing crab proclaims “Holy Crab!”
A revolver loaded with pasta reads “Pasta La Vista, Baby…”
A duck relaxing in tucupi jokes, “Like a Hot Tub After a Busy Day…”
Others challenge your expectations with “No Tongue, Really?!”, “Popcorn… Ice Cream… Sinners…”, and “Give Me That Hand!”
Then you flip the card over.
Instead of simply listing ingredients, Chef Luiz explains the thought process behind the dish, the techniques used, and the inspiration behind its creation.
It’s one of the most thoughtful touches I’ve experienced in any restaurant. I still have every single card from every visit to Evvai. They’re more than souvenirs. They’re a collection of memories.
Every time I flip through them, I remember not only the dish itself, but the conversations, the presentation, and exactly how I felt experiencing it.
Most restaurants leave you with photographs. Evvai also gives me something I can hold onto and revisit long after dinner.
“Holy Crab!”: one of the cards I kept from the meal.
“Pasta La Vista, Baby…”: pasta with a sense of humor.
A duck relaxing in tucupi: “Like a Hot Tub After a Busy Day…”
“The Elegant Gentleman, Dressed in White”: the illustrated introduction to white moqueca.
Turn the card over and the explanation continues: white moqueca with fish, squid and heart of palm.
“No Tongue, Really?”: Evvai does not take its storytelling too seriously.
The “Savage Orange” course card.
The illustrated Essence No. 5 card.
The “Give Me That Hand” illustrated card.
Fine Dining Without the Pretension
At some fine-dining restaurants, the formality can take over the evening. The room becomes silent. Guests whisper. Everyone seems afraid of making too much noise. While I appreciate that level of refinement, it can sometimes feel more like attending a ceremony than enjoying dinner.
Evvai feels alive. Everything about the restaurant is polished, professional, and worthy of three Michelin stars. Yet it never feels intimidating. Guests laugh. Servers joke with the tables. Courses surprise you. The playful comic-book cards become conversation starters.
An ice cream cone topped with caviar appears. A dessert crackles with Pop Rocks. The atmosphere is relaxed without ever sacrificing professionalism.
That balance is incredibly difficult to achieve, and I honestly can’t think of another Michelin-starred restaurant that does it quite the same way.
Chef Luiz Filipe Souza’s Leadership
I believe that atmosphere starts with Chef Luiz Filipe Souza.
His creativity is obvious in every dish, but what impressed me just as much was the culture he’s built inside the restaurant.
One of my favorite moments at Evvai doesn’t happen at the table. It happens in the kitchen. Throughout service you’ll hear Chef Luiz, or whoever is leading the brigade that evening,calling commands. Instantly, the kitchen responds together with a loud, unified:
“YES, CHEF!”
It’s authentic. It’s disciplined. It’s organized. You can hear the respect the team has for one another and the pride they take in their craft. That passion extends beyond Chef Luiz himself.
The pastry program is led by Bianca Mirabili, whose creativity perfectly complements the rest of the tasting menu. In 2025, she was recognized as Latin America’s Best Pastry Chef, an honor that feels completely deserved after experiencing her work.
Together, they have built something incredibly special.
The kitchen’s call-and-response has a military precision to it, but the experience at the table stays warm. The team explains what is arriving and why it matters. That combination of discipline and personality is a big part of what makes Evvai feel different to me.
More Than Just a Restaurant
Over time, Evvai has become much more than my favorite restaurant. It’s become one of those rare places that feels familiar every time I walk through the door.
I make restaurant reservations all over the world whenever I think there’s even the slightest chance I can get away. Sometimes work wins, plans change, and I end up cancelling.
But Evvai is different.
When I started planning my return to São Paulo for Formula 1 in November 2026, there was one reservation I refused to leave to chance.
Evvai.
In fact, I confirmed my dinner reservation before I even purchased my Formula 1 ticket. That probably tells you everything you need to know. If Formula 1 were cancelled tomorrow…
I’d still make the trip.
That’s the highest compliment I can give any restaurant. The service is impeccable. The food is extraordinary. The storytelling is unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere else. Most importantly, despite now standing among the very best restaurants in the world, it has never lost its personality.
It remains warm. It remains welcoming. It remains creative. It remains fun.
I’ve traveled thousands of miles chasing unforgettable meals and have been fortunate enough to experience some of the finest restaurants on the planet.
Only one has ever made me say, without hesitation, that I’d book a flight just for dinner.
That restaurant is Evvai.
Planning Your Own Evvai Dinner
The menus photographed here are from my previous visits, and that distinction matters. Part of the reason I return is that the cooking keeps changing. Go for the experience rather than expecting every dish in these photographs to appear in exactly the same form.
Start with the restaurant’s official website for the current offering and reservation process. If you have dietary restrictions or a particular question about the meal, confirm it directly before booking.
For more of my firsthand restaurant stories, explore Food & Drink. If you are building a trip around a meal, my travel page is a place to keep exploring. And if you have eaten at Evvai, I would love to hear which course stayed with you.
Evvai website and reservations Talk food with me on Instagram
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