Editorial
Sao Paulo drinks deeper than any city in Brazil, from world-ranked cocktail rooms to century-old botecos pouring caipirinhas by the basket. These eight spread across Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, Jardins and the centre, the kind of places that justify the trip on their cachaca lists alone. We checked each against current listings and venue records in June 2026 and kept only the rooms still trading. Two names from older lists had closed, so we cut them.
Guilhotina in Pinheiros is the bar that put Sao Paulo on the global map, a regular high entry on the World's 50 Best Bars and Latin America 50 Best lists. The room is warm and low-lit, the cocktails inventive and Brazilian in spirit. Order a cachaca-led signature from the seasonal menu. Best from 9pm when it fills with industry and regulars. For drinkers who want the city's most awarded room.
SubAstor sits beneath Bar Astor in Vila Madalena, a dim basement that has poured serious cocktails for more than a decade. The team leans technical, with house infusions and a strong classics list. Order a stirred drink or a cachaca old fashioned. Best late, after dinner upstairs, when the room loosens. For drinkers who want one of the city's pioneering cocktail bars.
Riviera Bar on the corner of Avenida Paulista and Rua da Consolacao revived a 1960s modernist landmark as a cocktail bar and bistro. The room runs sleek and the list ambitious, drawing a stylish after-work crowd. Order a signature and a snack at the marble bar. Best at the end of the workday as Paulista empties. For drinkers who want design and a deep menu in one room.
Bar Brahma at the corner of Avenida Sao Joao and Ipiranga has anchored downtown since 1948, a piece of old Sao Paulo where samba and live music still play. It is more historic bar than cocktail temple, but the chope and the cachaca shelf earn it. Order a cold draft and a plate of bar food. Best on a live-music night. For drinkers who want the city's nostalgic heart.
Veloso in Vila Mariana is a tiny boteco famous for two things, its caipirinhas and its coxinhas. The fruit caipirinhas run through tangerine, lime and beyond, and the queue out the door is part of the ritual. Order a tangerine caipirinha and a basket of coxinhas. Best early evening before the wait stretches. For drinkers who want the classic Paulistano boteco.
Filial in Vila Madalena is a classic boteco that has drawn artists, journalists and night owls for decades. The room is plain and the draft cold, with a bar-food menu that runs late. Order a chope and a plate of bolinho. Best after midnight when the post-show crowd arrives. For drinkers who want an unpretentious Vila Madalena institution.
Gato Que Ri at Largo do Arouche is a Sao Paulo institution that has traded since 1951, a historic Italian dining room that doubles as a late bar in the central nightlife district. The setting is old-school and the crowd mixed. Order a drink and a plate of pasta. Best late, when the Arouche bars fill. For drinkers who want history and a central after-hours spot.
Skye Bar crowns the Hotel Unique in Jardins, a rooftop of curved lines, a red pool and one of Sao Paulo's best skyline views. It is a hotel rooftop rather than a cocktail den, but the setting is unmatched. Order a caipirinha at sunset by the pool. Best at golden hour before the dinner crowd. For drinkers who want the view above all.
Sao Paulo is enormous, so pick a district per evening. Pinheiros holds Guilhotina, Vila Madalena keeps SubAstor and Filial, and Vila Mariana hides the tiny Veloso. The centre gathers the historic Bar Brahma and Gato Que Ri, while Riviera Bar anchors the Paulista corner and Skye Bar crowns a Jardins rooftop. Cachaca is taken seriously across all of them.
For more across the city see the Sao Paulo cocktail-bars guide and our Sao Paulo bar guide.
Sofia Reeves covers bar design and the craft behind the room, from Sao Paulo's botecos to the late bars of Europe.
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