Its pedigree couldn't be better, owner Alex Atala owns nearby DOM that's become a Sao Paulo culinary right of passage. But for his sophomore eatery, which is presided over by chef Alain Poletto, Atala creates less of a culinary statement for fine dining than a feel-good destination defined by Brazilian traditional cruise and dressed-up street food. The space is a dazzler, in an even more architectural space than DOM composed of exotic Brazilian woods in an elegantly modern dining room construed of wide-plank tabletops and walls filled with crafts and collectibles that's consistently one of the top dinner reservations in Sao Paulo
The Food
Less formal than you’d expect of an international top chef, the menu at Dalva is defined by feel-good classics like fried mandioca and dry meats between heaping of locally grown salads and exotic meat dishes. House favorites include a slow-roasted rotisserie chicken cooked on a specially made spit as well as a slow-cooked roast beef that sits for 7-hours in a low degree oven.
Last Word
Can’t score a table? Come as you are are and scout-out a seat in the bar with its own menu of house specialties and appetizers that doesn’t require a reservation.
