São Paulo's bar scene is the deepest in Brazil and arguably in Latin America after Mexico City. Guilhotina is on every Latin America 50 list. Riviera and SubAstor have been pouring serious drinks for over a decade. The 10 below cover Itaim Bibi, Pinheiros and Vila Madalena. The cachaça programs alone justify the trip.
Part of our 50 Best Bars in the World listThis article is one chapter in our larger global guide. See the full pillar with every featured city.
Read the world list
The 10 best bars in São Paulo
01 · São Paulo
Itaim Bibi
$$
Industrial · Loud
São Paulo's most consistent serious cocktail bar. The cachaça program alone is worth the night. Latin America 50 fixture.
Order: Caipirinha with their selected aged cachaça
02 · São Paulo
Vila Madalena
$$
Below Bar Astor
Below Bar Astor. The classical cocktail bar of São Paulo. Long bar, no gimmicks, just craft.
Order: A Manhattan, made properly
03 · São Paulo
Higienópolis
$$
1949 · Restored
Operating since 1949 in a beautifully restored room. Classic SP institution that takes itself seriously.
Order: A negroni + a paulistano
04 · São Paulo
Centro
$
1948 · Live music
Operating since 1948. Vinicius de Moraes wrote Garota de Ipanema here. Live samba and jazz programming.
Order: A chopp + the late samba set
05 · São Paulo
Vila Mariana
$
Boteco · Pastel
Vila Mariana boteco. Famous for its pastel and caipirinha. The most authentic SP boteco experience.
Order: A pastel de palmito + a caipirinha
Weekly editorial
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email per week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 60 cities worldwide.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
06 · São Paulo
Vila Madalena
$
Vila Madalena boteco
Vila Madalena cornerstone boteco. Working-class drinking, simple food, late hours.
Order: A chopp + a coxinha
07 · São Paulo
Pinheiros
$
Café-bar · All-day
Pinheiros all-day café-bar. Coffee in the morning, cocktails by night. The neighbourhood meeting point.
Order: A house caipirinha
08 · São Paulo
Jardins
$$$$
Hotel rooftop · Pool
On top of Hotel Unique. Red-painted pool, glass walls, sweeping view of Avenida Paulista. The defining SP rooftop.
Order: A caipirinha at the pool's edge
09 · São Paulo
Itaim Bibi
$$$
Hotel bar · Maksoud Plaza
At Maksoud Plaza. Long bar, cellar-deep cocktail program, the most polished hotel-bar experience in SP.
Order: A Sazerac
10 · São Paulo
Vila Olímpia
$$$
Italian-Brazilian · Modern
Italian-Brazilian fusion cocktail bar in Vila Olímpia. Inventive aperitivo program built on Brazilian ingredients.
Order: A spritz with cachaça base
More SP bars by categoryCocktail, hidden gem, live music — the full São Paulo index.
See the full list
How São Paulo cocktailing fits its city
São Paulo is enormous and the bars are spread across multiple neighbourhoods. Pick one neighbourhood per evening: Vila Madalena for Bar Astor and SubAstor, Itaim Bibi for Guilhotina, Pinheiros for the cocktail-bar cluster. Cachaça is taken very seriously here — try aged ones at Bar Brahma or Veloso for the historical context.
