Walking around Liberdade has always been one of my favorite things to do in São Paulo. The oriental lamps, the people speaking other languages, the newspapers written in characters that prevent me from distinguishing an article from a verb. The whole atmosphere makes me feel like I’m on the other side of the world without leaving Brazil.
Among all the things we can do there – shopping, visiting the Japanese Garden, the Japanese Immigration History Museum, going to Karaoke – I think eating is one of the coolest. With dozens of Japanese, Chinese or Korean food restaurants, first-time visitors may even get lost when choosing where to satisfy their hunger. Here are some tips on restaurants that I went to and recommend in the Liberdade neighborhood.
Freedom Fair
Freedom Square, on Sundays
The best day to visit the neighborhood is, without a doubt, on Sunday. It is on this day that the streets of Praça do Liberdade are filled with people who go to eat and buy at the market. Okay, this isn’t really a restaurant, but it’s a good and cheap alternative for those who want to try oriental cuisine. At the food stalls you can buy sushi, yakisoba (for some reason, the busiest stall), bean jam, squid skewers, shrimp and other not-so-exotic flavors. There are also options for those who are not very fond of raw fish: one of the stalls sells excellent fogazzas.
After filling your belly, the craft stalls are also good alternatives for those looking for souvenirs.
Korea Portal
Rua da Glória, 729
I had never eaten Korean food until I went to this restaurant and fell in love. It works more or less like this: the starter is served in six little pots with bamboo shoots, tofu, a type of omelet with spinach and other snacks. The main dish is meat. You choose from the menu and it comes raw, with seasonings and accompaniments. The waiter lights some kind of chafing dish (a metal stove with a pan), which is attached to the table, and you prepare your dish there, right away.
The best part is that, after spending a lot of money, the bill comes and doesn’t scare anyone. At a table with seven people, we paid around R$30 each.
Karê Ya Sushi Bar and Restaurant
Liberdade Square, 258
On the first floor there is a sushi bar and an a la carte restaurant. The second floor is for those who want to stuff themselves: an all-you-can-eat Japanese food style. The house specialty is curry rice and tonkatsu, or translated into good Portuguese, fried pork chops and empanada.
Salmon combo
Half Hectare Garden
Tomás Gonzaga, 65
A small restaurant, not very flashy and where almost all the staff and customers speak an oriental language that I, obviously, couldn’t identify. The place is modest, but the food, Chinese, is good, well served and not too expensive. The menu has options of meat, pasta, Chinese rice and others. Dessert? Go for Melona, a Korean popsicle sold on every street corner in Liberdade.
Local markets sell various products imported from Japan and Korea. The candies are delicious. Speaking of which, see our guide to all the stores in Liberdade.
If you’re lucky, you can also watch several presentations related to oriental culture at Liberdade. They say that visiting the neighborhood during Chinese New Year is worth it!
