Restaurant in São Paulo, Brazil
Helena Rizzo's casual bistro, easy to book.
Manioca da Mata is a bistro-scale offshoot of Helena Rizzo's Maní group, run by chef Fernanda Fernandes in Itaim Bibi. The menu mixes snacks, pasta, burgers, and more composed plates — including fish in banana leaves with black-eyed pea vinaigrette — at a more accessible price and formality level than the flagship. Booking is easy, making it a practical entry point into São Paulo's creative Brazilian dining scene.
Yes, if you want a relaxed, lower-pressure entry point into the culinary world that Helena Rizzo built at Maní. Manioca da Mata, on Rua da Mata 212 in Itaim Bibi, is a bistro-scale offshoot that trades the formality of a full tasting experience for something more casual and repeatable. It is run day-to-day by chef Fernanda Fernandes, and the menu pulls from the same creative Brazilian ethos as the flagship while carving out its own identity with dishes you will not find elsewhere in the group.
The format here is deliberately approachable: snacks to start, pasta dishes, gourmet burgers, and more composed plates that show where the kitchen's ambition sits. The standout among the more elaborate options is fish cooked in banana leaves, served with banana purée and a black-eyed pea vinaigrette. That dish in particular illustrates the restaurant's logic — regional Brazilian ingredients, handled with technique, without the ceremony of a multi-course progression. Think of it as the group's casual register rather than its full voice. If you are coming from somewhere like D.O.M. or expecting the arc of a tasting menu, recalibrate: this is a bistro, not a destination dining room.
The menu's range — from burgers to banana-leaf fish , means it works for different moods at the same table. That flexibility is part of the draw. It is also one of the more accessible ways to experience Rizzo's culinary thinking in São Paulo without committing to the full Maní experience, which sits at a higher price point and requires more planning. For a broader look at where Manioca da Mata fits among the city's options, see our full São Paulo restaurants guide.
Booking here is rated easy, which puts it in a different category from the harder-to-access rooms in São Paulo's dining scene. You are unlikely to need more than a few days' notice for most sittings, though weekend evenings in Itaim Bibi fill faster than weekday lunches. If your schedule is flexible, a weekday booking gives you the most room. No phone or website details are currently listed in our records, so check current booking channels directly with the restaurant before visiting. For context on what else is happening in the neighbourhood and city, our São Paulo hotels guide and bars guide can help you build the full day.
Manioca da Mata works leading for food-focused visitors who want to engage with São Paulo's serious restaurant culture without the formality or spend of the top-tier rooms. It is a good call for groups with mixed appetites , some wanting something light, others wanting a more composed plate , because the menu handles both. It also suits return visitors to the city who have already ticked Maní or Evvai and want to explore the wider ecosystem. First-timers to Brazilian creative cuisine will find the banana-leaf fish and the black-eyed pea vinaigrette more approachable introductions than a full tasting menu at Tuju or D.O.M.
If you are building a broader trip around Brazilian food culture, it is worth pairing a meal here with research into what is happening in other cities. Oteque in Rio de Janeiro, Origem in Salvador, and Mina in Campos do Jordão each represent a different regional expression of the same movement. Birosca S2 in Belo Horizonte and Orixás in Itacaré round out the picture further. For reference points outside Brazil, the progression-focused dining at Lazy Bear in San Francisco and the technical precision of Le Bernardin in New York City show how different the Manioca da Mata model is , it is resolutely informal by comparison, and that is the point.
Address: Rua da Mata, 212, Itaim Bibi, São Paulo. Booking difficulty: easy. Price range, hours, and dress code are not confirmed in our current data , verify directly before visiting. For more on what to do around the meal, see our São Paulo experiences guide and wineries guide.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Manioca da Mata | — | |
| D.O.M. | $$$$ | — |
| Evvai | $$$$ | — |
| Maní | $$$ | — |
| Jun Sakamoto | $$$ | — |
| A Casa do Porco | $$ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Booking here is rated easy, so a few days' notice is typically enough rather than weeks. It sits in a different category from harder-to-access São Paulo rooms like Maní or A Casa do Porco, where advance planning is essential. If you're visiting Itaim Bibi on a specific date, a same-week reservation should be fine, though weekend evenings are worth booking ahead to be safe.
This is a bistro-style offshoot of Maní, run by chef Fernanda Fernandes under Helena Rizzo's group, so the cooking has a serious pedigree without the formal-restaurant pressure. The menu spans snacks, pasta, gourmet burgers, and more composed plates, which means you can eat lightly or go deep depending on appetite. First-timers drawn to Rizzo's reputation but not ready for a full tasting-menu commitment will find this the more accessible starting point.
Manioca da Mata is primarily known for its core concept and execution in São Paulo.
Manioca da Mata is located in São Paulo, at Rua da Mata, 212.
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