When we hear about a Michelin-starred restaurant, we immediately imagine high-quality culinary masterpieces, exquisite dishes, incredibly friendly staff—all in one place.
There are three Michelin stars in total. One star means that the restaurant is good in its category, two stars mean that the restaurant is worth visiting to try the cuisine, and three stars mean that the restaurant is impeccable. Starred restaurants are included in the Michelin Red Guide. It is also easy to lose a star, so restaurants have a difficult time because they always have to be at their best.
In São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in terms of population, there are eight Michelin-starred restaurants. Strangely enough, four of them are Japanese. But only one restaurant has been awarded two Michelin stars. And that restaurant is called D.O.M.
Purpose of the restaurant
It was opened in 1999 by Brazilian chef Alex Atala. The aim of the restaurant was to highlight local traditions in cooking methods, introduce ingredients from completely different regions of the country, and demonstrate that national and haute cuisine can go hand in hand. Over the past few decades, D.O.M. has become the benchmark for Brazilian cuisine.
"Brazilian cuisine is a dream come true," says chef Alex Atala, describing the restaurant's goal. The restaurant was created at a time when few people knew what Brazilian flavors were like. The restaurant considers it its duty to introduce the whole world to local products. For example, açaí, a berry from the Amazon, or jambu, a unique fruit whose leaves and flowers cause numbness in the mouth when chewed.
How to get there
You can visit the restaurant by booking a table in advance on the website or by calling the contact number. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday. On weekdays, it is open from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and on Saturdays, it is open only from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
About the atmosphere
D.O.M. is located at Rua Barão de Capanema, in the Jardins district of São Paulo. At the entrance, you will see a huge front door, which, despite its size, is unremarkable in my opinion. I probably wouldn't even notice the doors, which match the rest of the building. There is no terrace inside the restaurant. All seating is located inside. But maybe that's for the best, since Jardins is not the most favorable area of the city.
The establishment has two floors and few tables, but they are all placed close together.
The interior combines classic and modern, acceptable and wild. There are stuffed birds, the horns of some unknown animal, and many interior details that are impossible to take in at a glance. At the same time, the kitchen is separated from the main dining room only by glass walls. You can watch the best chefs bustling back and forth, trying to surprise you.
About service
As far as I'm concerned, the service here is really top-notch. The polite waiters are happy to present each dish and tell you its story. By the way, the staff here speak English, which is quite a rarity in Brazil.
Throughout the entire dinner, which lasted four hours, the waiters joked a lot, lifted everyone's spirits, and were happy to help with any questions.
Another plus for the establishment: when booking, they will ask if you have any allergies so that they can take this into account when serving you.
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About the menu
The D.O.M. restaurant does not have an à la carte menu. The establishment offers only a tasting menu. According to the restaurant's creator, this is the best way to enjoy a gastronomic experience that would be difficult to capture in just one dish. Chef Alex Atala presents only his own menu, demonstrating his boldness in experimenting with Brazilian ingredients. Vegetarian tasting dishes are also available upon request.
The menu consists of 2 appetizers and 12 dishes and changes periodically. During my visit, I was able to try the following appetizers:
- Ants and pineapple—this interesting combination was also served with something resembling kombucha. To surprise the guests even more, the Amazonian ants were dyed pink and covered with glitter. They tasted somewhat like mint, but the insect's legs were too long and dry.
- Pumpkin soup and acerola—a red tropical fruit from the Amazon that tastes sour.
- A basket made of dough with catfish roe.
- Rice with quiabo is a traditional Brazilian fruit that, when cooked, resembles green beans.
- A selection of cashew-based snacks.
- Watermelon and Jerusalem artichoke.
- Pancake with blue crab meat and pine nut paste.
- Cassava curd.
- Vegetables in tukupi sauce, which is made from the root of wild cassava in the Brazilian Amazon jungle.
- The Brazilian arapaima is a tropical freshwater fish.
- Langoustine with black rice pasta.
- Contrafile with babassu sauce, which is the name of a tree from the palm family.
- Cassava with white mold and sour honey.
- Green coconut ice cream combined with bakuri oil, jackfruit, and cupuaçu—a fruit tree closely related to cacao.
- The chef's signature coffee: coffee with flour, served in a flask, paired with a brigadeiro cake made from Amazonian mushrooms.
Although there are quite a lot of dishes, they are very small in size. Therefore, it is quite possible to try them all. Still, I can say that many combinations will seem rather strange and inedible to the average person. Although the chef's main goal is to prove that all these ingredients can be combined together. My impressions were mixed; many dishes are forgotten immediately, and by the end, you don't even remember what you ate.
About prices
It's worth acknowledging that they are quite high, but what else would you expect from an establishment of this caliber? A visit to the restaurant will cost $143 per person without wine and $240 if you want wine to accompany your meal. You will also have to pay for water or other drinks and tips, which will be included in the bill.
There is also a deposit required when making a reservation. For lunch, it is $30 for a small group and $80 for a group of 7-10 people. For dinner, the deposit is $40 for a small group and $160 for a group of 7-10 people.
About the restaurant's awards
In 2012, D.O.M. ranked fourth on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. And in 2021, it was ranked third in Latin America by the same organization.
In 2022, chef Alex Atala ranked 10th in the prestigious The Best Chef Award, which recognizes the 100 biggest names in global cuisine.
Overall impressions
To be honest, I prefer brightly lit establishments. The dim lighting combined with the stuffed animals in the interior of the D.O.M. restaurant evokes something magical.
As for the main purpose of any restaurant—the food—the presentation is certainly original and surprising, sometimes even seeming incompatible with the usual understanding. But I was only able to identify 3-4 truly excellent dishes out of 12. Perhaps a true connoisseur would be able to fully appreciate the uniqueness of each ingredient, but unfortunately, I am not one of those people.
