Monte Carlo São Paulo: A Neighbourhood Boteco Evening
Monte Carlo was just around the corner from our hotel in São Paulo. We noticed the old neighbourhood-restaurant feel before sitting down, then spent an evening eating small sandwiches, sharing an Original beer and watching the street. It was not a meal where we loved every bite. It was a good evening inside the everyday life of the city.
The corner restaurant near our hotel
Bar e Restaurante Monte Carlo occupies a lively corner near Paulista Avenue, where Rua Dr. Rafael de Barros meets Alameda Santos. Its history goes back to 1967. Wooden tables, a bottle-lined bar and an open connection to the pavement made it feel like the sort of place we had hoped to find close to where we were staying.
A boteco is a Brazilian neighbourhood bar where drinks, snacks and conversation often overlap with a wider food menu. Monte Carlo gave us that mixture. Some people were eating, others drinking and talking, while the corner outside kept moving.
We liked watching how people used the place: what arrived on the tables, what was shared and how an ordinary evening unfolded. That was more memorable to us than any particular sandwich.
Small sandwiches and house-made hot sauce
We ate a few different small sandwiches that evening but did not photograph them. One detail we did record was the hot sauce made by the restaurant. Its handwritten label carried the word pimenta, date fields and the name of the person responsible.
That bottle was a small but characterful part of the table. We do not read a precise shelf life into the photograph; what caught our attention was the handwritten record on a sauce the restaurant had prepared itself.
Feijoada is another option
Monte Carlo also serves traditional dishes such as feijoada. The photographs below show its clay-pot presentation, with rice, greens and orange on the accompanying plate. Our food order that evening was sandwiches, so these photographs are not a feijoada tasting verdict.
A 600 ml Original to share
We ordered a 600 ml bottle of Antarctica Original. It came in a cooling sleeve, and we poured it into small glasses a little at a time. Sharing one bottle suited the two of us at that table.
The bottle stayed on the table while we talked, topping up the glasses as we went. This way of sharing the drink is one of the things we remember when we think back to Monte Carlo.
A sweeter caipirinha than Z Deli’s
We also drank caipirinhas. We had already enjoyed one at Z Deli, and Monte Carlo’s tasted sweeter to us by comparison. Our preference in that comparison remained Z Deli.
Staff also brought bottles in ice-covered holders to offer other drinks. The photograph shows Campari and Licor 43; these should not be described as local Brazilian spirits. The presentation was part of the lively evening bar service.
Our take
We found the prices normal for our visit, without recording a bill to quote here. The main reason we would consider returning is the neighbourhood setting: somewhere close to Paulista to sit down, eat something and watch local life. Treat it as a boteco evening rather than a destination for an elaborate tasting menu.
Where is Monte Carlo?
Bar e Restaurante Monte Carlo
Rua Dr. Rafael de Barros, 86Paraíso, São Paulo, Brazil
Corner of Alameda Santos
Check the day’s menu and opening hours before visiting, especially if you want a particular traditional dish rather than sandwiches.
Before you go
Did we eat feijoada here?
Our order that evening was small sandwiches. We included the feijoada photographs to show another part of the restaurant’s food offering.
What beer did we share?
A 600 ml Antarctica Original, served with small glasses and a cooling sleeve.
Why does the place stand out in our memories?
For the corner setting and the chance to spend an ordinary evening alongside local diners.
Adapted from our Harbiyiyorum visit account.
You may also enjoy
Support the campaign we run with UNICEF Türkiye. Helping children heal helps the world heal.
