Restaurante Natural com Artes

I stole this photo from their website of the dining room
looking through to the kitchen.
http://www.naturalcomarte.com.br/

oh.my.god

My mother would let me get away with blaspheming* here if she had come with us to Restaurante Natural com Arte last weekend. We were invited to a little girl's first birthday. They are not Brazilian so they chose one of the prettiest spots I've seen yet to host her birthday lunch. No clowns, no trampolines, no monitors or hotdogs... though of course they had beautiful pink brigadeiros, essential for a birthday here.

This restaurant is located in Embu but not in the main part of town that some of you might know. When you drive there you might think you are lost along this little dirt road, but stop at No. 340 as this is their house - it has no restaurant name on a plaque. They are a family run business - Felipe Senatore is a painter (hence 'artes') and Tatiana Cardoso is the chef, and they grow all their vegetables organically in their big back yard. They have a beautiful set up with an open kitchen (i want one) and a charming little dining room which seats probably up to 30 people.

A man with a guitar singing in the background old Brazilian classics. Champagne to start, with fresh bread from the brick oven built into the outside wall of their house, and delicious little antipastos. Fresh vegetable soup for the children and babies. A sit down lunch consisted of a beautiful fresh salad with a to-die-for spinach quiche, mozzarella and basil ravioli, and then a buttered white fish that had been roasted over hot coals (in a giant pot plant). Their heritage is italian, greek, brazilian.. and it all comes together wonderfully in their home.  I really felt like I had been away for the weekend being pampered in such a beautiful setting.

They have a restaurant in Moema which is open only at lunchtimes. If you want to go and check out their home, they will only open for reservations - don't just turn up! The usual clientele are politicians, actors etc... so save it for a special treat, and I would definitely suggest lunch so you can laze around all afternoon eating. I would go every Saturday afternoon if that was possible... We were lucky enough to be treated to this extravagant lunch, but I don't doubt one bit that it is close in the price range of DOM or a Fasano restaurant in town.

If I was turning 1 again, this is definitely where I would want to have my birthday!

*My english is getting so bad now I have to really root around in my head for a word in english... is blaspheming even a word?