The three stars that sprouted from the earth
By gastronomizaê · 2026-04-14
On the night of April 13, 2026, at the Copacabana Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian gastronomy wrote an unprecedented chapter in its history. For the first time, two restaurants in the country received three Michelin stars — the highest distinction from the world’s most influential gastronomic guide. The honorees were Tuju and Evvai, both in São Paulo. With this, Brazil also became the first Latin American country to reach this milestone.
Before this edition, the ceiling of Brazilian achievements in the Michelin Guide was two stars, held by establishments like Lasai and Oro. The leap to three, therefore, is not merely symbolic: it is the consolidation of a gastronomic ecosystem that took decades to mature.
Tuju: the cuisine of biomes
Leading Tuju is chef Ivan Ralston, who over the years has built a menu deeply rooted in Brazilian biomes and seasonalities. Ralston is recognized for working in close collaboration with small national producers, structuring menus that function as a sensorial map of Brazilian territory — from the Amazon to the Cerrado, from the Pantanal to the Mata Atlântica.
Tuju is located in Jardim Paulistano, in São Paulo, and figures among the best restaurants in Latin America according to the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking.
Evvai: the encounter between Brazil and Italy
Evvai is led by chef Luiz Filipe Souza, and its proposal stems from the oriundi concept — an Italian word that designates descendants of emigrants — to explore the fusion between Italian cuisine and Brazilian ingredients. The result is a 14-course tasting menu, currently priced around R$ 895 to R$ 995 per person, with wine pairing as a separate option.
The creative team includes pastry chef Bianca Mirabilli, elected Best Pastry Chef in Latin America in 2025.
The restaurant is located in the Pinheiros neighborhood, in São Paulo.
A milestone for Brazil
The conquest of three stars by Tuju and Evvai represents the international recognition of a generation of cooks who bet on Brazilian identity as a path, not as an obstacle. The distinction definitively places São Paulo on the map of the world’s great gastronomic capitals — alongside Paris, Tokyo and Copenhagen.
For the Michelin Guide, three stars means the restaurant “justifies a special journey.” For Brazil, it means it’s time for the world to come here to eat.