Michelin shakes Brazil
The 2026 Guia Michelin awarded three stars to both Evvai and Tuju in São Paulo while adding Madame Olympe as a new one‑star entry in Rio de Janeiro. (g1.globo.com) Detroit was also added to the Michelin Guide this year, marking a notable expansion of the guide’s coverage in the U.S. dining scene. (clickondetroit.com)
Brazil’s Michelin Guide has crossed a line it had never reached before: São Paulo now has two three-star restaurants. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin announced on April 13 that Evvai and Tuju earned three stars in the 2026 Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo guide, and the company called them the first three-star restaurants in both Brazil and Latin America. The ceremony took place at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro. (guide.michelin.com) The same edition added Madame Olympe in Rio de Janeiro as a new one-star restaurant, and G1 reported that no restaurant in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo lost stars this year. Madame Olympe is in Leblon and is led by chefs Claude Troisgros and Jéssica Trindade. (g1.globo.com, panrotas.com.br) Michelin’s three-star rating is the guide’s top tier, reserved for restaurants its inspectors say justify a special trip. In Brazil, that top tier did not exist until this week, even though Michelin has covered Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for more than a decade. (guide.michelin.com, forbes.com.br) The promotions also reshuffle the map inside Brazil’s fine-dining scene. Michelin’s official 2026 list shows D.O.M. in São Paulo and Lasai and Oro in Rio de Janeiro at two stars, with a larger group of one-star restaurants spread across both cities. (elle.com.br, guide.michelin.com) Evvai is run by chef Luiz Filipe Souza, and Tuju is led by chef Ivan Ralston. Michelin said Evvai blends Italian and Brazilian influences, while Tuju’s tasting menu is built around Brazilian ingredients and a kitchen-and-garden approach. (guide.michelin.com) The timing also fits Michelin’s wider push into new markets in the Americas. On April 8, Michelin and tourism partners announced a new American Great Lakes edition that will cover Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and Milwaukee, with the first ratings scheduled for 2027. (clickondetroit.com, freep.com) That leaves Michelin expanding on two fronts at once in April 2026: deeper recognition in Brazil, and broader geographic coverage in the United States. For chefs in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the guide’s highest rung is no longer theoretical. (guide.michelin.com, clickondetroit.com)
