São Paulo earns three stars

São Paulo now has Brazil’s first three-star Michelin restaurants, with Evvai and Tuju reaching the guide’s top rating in the 2026 Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo selection. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin announced the awards on April 13 at a ceremony at the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro. The same update gave Rio restaurant Madame Olympe its first star, and Michelin said no restaurant in Rio or São Paulo lost stars this year. (g1.globo.com) Evvai is led by chef Luiz Filipe Souza in São Paulo, and Tuju is led by chef Ivan Ralston. Michelin said both restaurants are the first in Brazil and in Latin America to earn three stars. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin’s three-star label means a restaurant is judged worth a special trip, the guide’s highest distinction. Until this 2026 edition, the Rio and São Paulo guide had awarded one and two stars in Brazil, but not three. (guide.michelin.com) The 2026 guide lists 149 selected restaurants across the two cities, including 18 Bib Gourmand picks for good value. Michelin said the one-star total rose to 19 with Madame Olympe, while five restaurants kept two stars. (guide.michelin.com) Those five two-star restaurants are D.O.M., Evvai, and Tuju in earlier editions’ ranking history, plus Lasai and Oro in Rio, according to Michelin’s 2026 announcement that five establishments retained two stars before Evvai and Tuju moved up to three. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin’s inspectors described Evvai as blending Brazilian and Italian influences, a nod to São Paulo’s large Italian heritage. The guide described Tuju as a multi-floor tasting-menu experience built around Brazilian ingredients and a large open kitchen. (guide.michelin.com; guide.michelin.com) Madame Olympe, in Rio’s Leblon neighborhood, is run by chefs Claude Troisgros and Jéssica Trindade. Michelin said its tasting menu changes with Brazil’s seasons and climates and combines French technique, Brazilian ingredients, and Japanese influence. (guide.michelin.com) Michelin returned to Brazil in 2024 after a break, again covering only Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The 2026 result gives São Paulo the headline prize, while Rio added a new one-star address and kept its established starred names. (guide.michelin.com; g1.globo.com) For Brazil’s restaurant industry, the shift is now visible in Michelin’s own ranking: the country is no longer waiting for a first three-star kitchen. It has two, and both are in São Paulo. (guide.michelin.com)