A Sao Paulo bar interior, low-lit and ready
Occasion Guide · Sao Paulo

The date-night rooms of Sao Paulo

TC
Tom Callahan
8 min read

Published · Last updated · Reviewed by the barsforKings editorial team

Past the first-date stage. Picking up where the proposal left off. Ten Sao Paulo date-night bars our editors return to.

The date-night bar is a different brief from the first-date bar. The first-date bar has to pass — the date-night bar has to be a place you both enjoy enough to come back to. These ten venues in Sao Paulo are where our editors send couples three months in, three years in, thirty years in. They are not flashy. They are the rooms our editors are sending their partners to, on Tuesday nights when nothing in particular is happening.

The Sao Paulo bars our editors take their own partners to

The first six picks below are the editors' default — the rooms we send a friend to first when they ask. Each is followed by a recommendation we have ordered ourselves at least three times. Click any bar name to read the full review, signature drink notes, neighbourhood guide and how to book.

01
Guilhotina

At Guilhotina in Vila Madalena, the guilhotina manhattan is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.8 of 5.

Order: Guilhotina Manhattan

02
Tan Tan Noodle Bar

At Tan Tan Noodle Bar in Pinheiros, the tan tan sake highball arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Tan Tan Sake Highball

03
Tan Tan Noodle Bar Cocktail

Tan Tan Noodle Bar Cocktail, in Pinheiros, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Tan Tan Yuzu Highball

04
The Spot

In Vila Olimpia, The Spot the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Spot Old Fashioned

05
Luis Cocktail Bar

Luis Cocktail Bar sits in Pinheiros and the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Luis Manhattan

06
Rosalia Cafe

At Rosalia Cafe in Vila Madalena, the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Rosalia Negroni

Three more rooms worth turning into a regular

These last four are the editors' deeper-cut picks. Smaller rooms, more specific energy. If the first six feel obvious to you — meaning you have already been — start here.

07
Bar dos Arcos

Bar dos Arcos sits in Republica and the caipirinha classico arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Caipirinha Classico

08
Momo Cocktail Bar

At Momo Cocktail Bar in Vila Madalena, the momo highball arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Momo Highball

09
Vyttalo Cocktail Bar

In Pinheiros, Vyttalo Cocktail Bar the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.5 of 5.

Order: Vyttalo Spritz

10
Cocktail Club SP

Cocktail Club SP, in Itaim Bibi, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.5 of 5.

Order: Club Manhattan

Weekly editorial

The bars worth going to, weekly.

One email per week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 72 cities worldwide.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime.

What to know before you go

Date-night bars are the venues you want the staff to know your face at. Two suggestions. Pick one from this list and turn it into your monthly Tuesday — the staff will remember, the corner will get held, and over time the bar starts to feel like an extension of your living room. That is the goal.

Advertising

Reach Sao Paulo bar-goers when they are deciding.

Sponsored placements on this article, on the Sao Paulo city guide, and across the barsforKings network. Contact us to put your bar in front of the right audience.