Michelin hits Latin America
For the first time, Latin America now has restaurants awarded three Michelin stars — a milestone landing in São Paulo this week. (elespanol.com) The coverage names two São Paulo chefs, Ivan Ralston and Luiz Filipe Souza, and notes tasting-menu price points around €250 as part of the announcement. (elespanol.com) (guia.folha.uol.com.br)
São Paulo now has Latin America’s first three-star Michelin restaurants, after Evvai and Tuju were promoted in the 2026 Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo guide. (michelin.com) Michelin announced the awards on April 13 at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro. The two restaurants are led by chefs Luiz Filipe Souza at Evvai and Ivan Ralston at Tuju. (guide.michelin.com) Both restaurants had held two Michelin stars before this year and were moved up in the 2026 edition. Michelin said the guide still covers 149 selected establishments across Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with 12 new additions this year. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin’s three-star rating is its top tier, used for restaurants it considers worth a special journey. Until this week, no restaurant in Latin America had reached that level in the guide. (guide.michelin.com) The result also shifts Brazil’s place inside Michelin’s map of the region. Michelin currently publishes the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo guide for Brazil, and this year’s ceremony turned that edition into the first in Latin America to hand out the guide’s highest award. (michelin.com) The prices put the milestone in luxury territory. G1 reported Evvai’s tasting menu at R$1,150, while Folha said the menus at Tuju and Evvai demand “cacife alto,” or deep pockets, from diners. (g1.globo.com) (saopaulo.folha.uol.com.br) Michelin’s own descriptions show why the two kitchens stand apart in style. It says Evvai builds a dialogue between Brazilian and Italian cooking, while Tuju centers seasonal Brazilian produce and changes its tasting menu with the climate. (guide.michelin.com 1) (guide.michelin.com 2) The same ceremony also kept D.O.M. in São Paulo and Lasai and Oro in Rio at two stars, and added one star for Madame Olympe in Rio. G1 reported that no restaurant in Rio or São Paulo lost stars in this edition. (michelin.com) (g1.globo.com) For Michelin, the headline is simple: the guide’s highest badge has finally landed in Latin America, and it landed twice, in the same city, on the same night. (michelin.com)
