Restaurant in São Paulo, Brazil
Two Michelin Plates. Book it.
Cantaloup holds back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) and a 4.7 Google rating from over 1,500 reviews — strong signals for a reliable $$$-tier international restaurant in Itaim Bibi. The room suits special occasions and business dinners equally well. Book ahead for weekends; this is not a walk-in venue at its price point.
If you have been to Cantaloup once and left satisfied, go back. This is a venue that rewards repeat visits: the international format is broad enough to hold different experiences across two or three trips, and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 confirms that the kitchen is consistent enough to justify the return. At $$$ pricing in Itaim Bibi, it sits in the same tier as Maní and Jun Sakamoto, which means you are paying for a considered dining experience rather than a casual neighbourhood meal. The question is whether it earns that spend on visit one, and even more so on visit two. The answer is yes — with some caveats worth knowing before you book.
Cantaloup occupies a handsome address on Rua Manuel Guedes in Itaim Bibi, São Paulo's most concentrated pocket of serious dining. The room is the first thing you register: the kind of setting that works for a business dinner as easily as a date, calibrated to feel considered without feeling stiff. That visual composure is part of what makes Cantaloup a reliable special-occasion choice in a city where the line between ambitious and overwrought can be thin.
The cuisine is classified as International, which in São Paulo's context means the kitchen draws from European and broader global references rather than anchoring to Brazilian regional identity. That positioning is a deliberate choice, and it creates a different dynamic from peers like D.O.M. (Modern Brazilian, Creative) or Maní, where the Brazilian thread is explicit. At Cantaloup, the frame of reference is wider, which suits guests who want technical precision and composed plating without a regional agenda. It also means the menu has enough range that a second visit is unlikely to feel like a repeat of the first.
The Michelin Plate , awarded in both 2024 and 2025 , signals a kitchen producing food at a level above the casual mid-range without reaching starred territory. In Michelin's own framing, the Plate denotes fresh ingredients and carefully prepared dishes. Within São Paulo's competitive dining scene, holding that recognition for two consecutive years is a meaningful data point: it tells you the kitchen is not coasting. For special-occasion diners who want credentialled reliability rather than the pressure of a full tasting menu at a starred table, this is a good call.
A 4.7 rating across 1,516 Google reviews is the kind of signal that matters at scale. At that volume, a score in the high 4s reflects genuine and repeated satisfaction rather than a run of enthusiastic early adopters. It also suggests that Cantaloup handles execution consistently enough to satisfy a broad range of guests, which is a relevant consideration when you are booking for a group or a table where not everyone shares the same appetite for culinary risk.
First visit: treat this as a benchmark meal. Order across the menu to understand the kitchen's range and calibrate whether the international format lands the way you expect. The $$$-tier pricing means you are not testing the water at low cost, so commit to the full experience rather than hedging with minimal ordering.
Second visit: use what you learned. If the kitchen showed strength in a particular direction on visit one, lean into that on visit two. International cuisine at this level tends to have a house signature even when it is not formally labelled as such , a technique, a sauce architecture, a sourcing preference that recurs. By visit two you will have enough context to notice it.
Third visit, if you are building Cantaloup into a regular São Paulo rotation: consider it for business dining. The room and the price point are aligned with that use case, and consistent Michelin recognition means you can recommend it to guests without qualification. Pair it with a broader São Paulo evening using our full São Paulo bars guide or explore the city's wider dining options through our full São Paulo restaurants guide.
If you are travelling to São Paulo from elsewhere in Brazil and want to plan the full trip, our full São Paulo hotels guide and our full São Paulo experiences guide cover the context around your dining itinerary.
São Paulo's serious dining scene is layered across price tiers and culinary philosophies. Cantaloup at $$$ sits below the $$$$ ceiling of Evvai and D.O.M., which makes it an accessible entry point for a celebratory meal without requiring the full financial commitment of a starred dinner. It also sits alongside strong competition at the same price point: Maní brings a creative Brazilian-international lens that some guests will prefer, while Jun Sakamoto offers a Japanese precision that is a fundamentally different dining format.
For guests visiting São Paulo on a broader Brazil itinerary, it is worth benchmarking Cantaloup against what the country's other cities offer at comparable price points. Oteque in Rio de Janeiro operates at a higher level of ambition, while Origem in Salvador and Birosca S2 in Belo Horizonte represent strong regional alternatives. Cantaloup holds its own in that national context, particularly for guests who want a polished room alongside the food.
Within Itaim Bibi itself, Cantaloup's neighbours in São Paulo's dining scene include venues across Ecully, Emiliano, Le Jardin, and Loup , a strong cluster if you are building a multi-night itinerary around the neighbourhood. For those with wider interests in São Paulo's food and drink scene, our full São Paulo wineries guide covers the wine angle.
Address: R. Manuel Guedes, 474, Itaim Bibi, São Paulo. Cuisine: International. Price range: $$$. Awards: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025. Google rating: 4.7 (1,516 reviews). Reservations: Moderate booking difficulty , plan ahead for weekends and special occasions; this is not a last-minute venue at its tier. Dress: Not formally specified, but the room and price point suggest smart casual as a safe baseline. Group suitability: The address and format suit groups, though confirming group-specific arrangements directly with the venue is advised given the absence of published booking details. Hours and phone: Not available in current data , check directly before visiting.
For broader international context on what Michelin Plate recognition means at the $$$ tier, venues like TRB - Temple Restaurant Beijing and Marcel von Winckelmann in Passau represent comparable positioning in their respective cities. And for those planning a broader Brazilian escape beyond São Paulo, Mina in Campos do Jordão and Orixás | North Restaurant in Itacaré are worth knowing. State of Espírito Santo in Rio Bananal rounds out the regional picture for adventurous travellers.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Cantaloup | $$$ | — |
| D.O.M. | $$$$ | — |
| Evvai | $$$$ | — |
| Maní | $$$ | — |
| Jun Sakamoto | $$$ | — |
| A Casa do Porco | $$ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
For a step up in price and prestige, D.O.M. and Evvai both sit at $$$$ and offer tighter, more concept-driven tasting formats. Maní is the closest peer at $$$ with a more Brazilian-rooted identity. Jun Sakamoto is the call if you want precision over range. A Casa do Porco is the better pick for a high-energy, carnivore-forward meal at a lower price point. Cantaloup earns its place as a reliable Michelin Plate option in Itaim Bibi's most competitive dining corridor.
Cantaloup's address on Rua Manuel Guedes in Itaim Bibi is a sit-down restaurant format — suitable for small groups celebrating a special occasion. For larger parties, check the venue's official channels to confirm private or semi-private arrangements, as the $$$ price point and Michelin Plate standing suggest a room built for considered dining rather than high-volume group turnover.
Cantaloup's international format and $$$ pricing put it in the range where a tasting menu, if offered, should be treated as the primary way to assess the kitchen's range. It has held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which signals consistent kitchen output. If you are after a single format meal, the counter or à la carte route may give you more flexibility — check current menu options when booking.
No specific dietary policy is documented for Cantaloup, but a $$$ international kitchen with two consecutive Michelin Plates is typically equipped to handle standard dietary requests — communicate your requirements at the time of reservation. For unusual or complex restrictions, follow up directly before arrival to confirm the kitchen can accommodate without reducing the meal.
Cantaloup is at R. Manuel Guedes, 474, Itaim Bibi — São Paulo's most competitive dining neighbourhood — so expect a composed, room-aware experience rather than a casual drop-in. At $$$, it sits below the $$$$ ceiling of Evvai and D.O.M. but demands the same level of planning. Book in advance, go hungry enough to order across the menu, and treat the first visit as a range-test before deciding whether to return for depth.
At $$$ with a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, Cantaloup delivers a credible return in São Paulo's mid-to-upper dining tier. It is not the cheapest way to eat well in Itaim Bibi, but the consistent Michelin recognition makes the price defensible for a special-occasion meal. If you are choosing between Cantaloup and a $$$$ restaurant like D.O.M., the question is whether the format justifies the extra spend — Cantaloup is the smarter call when budget discipline matters without sacrificing quality.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
