Alex Atala is probably Brazil’s most famous chef. His DOM is one of the few Brazilian restaurants with a global reputation – being named one of Restaurant Magazine’s top 50 restaurants in the world – so January’s opening of Dalva e Dito was eagerly awaited.
Like Heston Blumenthal or Ferran Adrià, Atala is known for the quality of his food and his experimentation. But Dalva e Dito steers a different course, with head chef Alain Poletto bringing sophistication to Brazilian home cooking .
The impressive food is a beguiling blend of the simple and subtle. Atala subscribes to much the same “culinary watchwords” as all the best chefs: fresh, locally sourced ingredients, natural flavours and simple presentation. There is also an emphasis on the theatre of dining: dishes are finished and joints of meat are carved at the table.
Starters include a couscous “Paulista” featuring large prawns, and a Brazilian take on risotto. Among the main courses, moqueca is an epic fish stew in a thick-walled stone pot, brought to my table and then half-filled with rich fishy broth.
Another notable dish is the saddle of lamb, cooked sous- vide at low temperature for a very long time. The tender meat has an amazing sweet, almost grassy, flavour .
For dessert, there are wondrous fruits from the Amazon – açai berry with banana and guaraná, or papaya cream with catuaba. There’s also chocolate teamed with the rare Amazonian herb priprioca, whose woody, spicy tones are more often used by perfume manufacturers.
When Adrià visited São Paulo last year, Atala is reported to have said that within five years Brazil would be among the world leaders in gastronomy. He may just be right.
Dalva e Dito, Rua Padro João Manuel, 1.115, Jardins, São Paulo, tel: +55 11 3062 6282; www.dalvaedito.com.br
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