Latin Exclusive, the outstanding agency specialized in temporary rentals of luxury homes, knows well that an ideal trip cannot do without gastronomy. Latin Exclusive allows you to embark on a journey to the land of the culinary arts. If escaping from everyday life and discovering a new destination is already a journey in itself, gastronomy also allows you to travel thanks to the discovery of new flavours. It is necessary to combine geographical disorientation and gustatory pleasure, to taste a new cuisine in order to immerse oneself even better in the local culture and traditions! Latin Exclusive offers you a tour of starred and highly recommended restaurants in our favourite destinations! From Colombia to Brazil, through Mexico and Europe, discover our addresses, they will make your stay even more unforgettable.
Let's start with Brazil and São Paulo, this megalopolis where gastronomy occupies a place without common measure in the rest of the continent. Famous for its countless delicious restaurants honoring the gastronomy.
D.O.M - This restaurant, which is well known to the Brazilian public, is a must. Its chef, Alex Attala, has become a personality, defending Brazilian haute gastronomy by mixing flavours from all corners of this large country. He goes in search of new sensations in the Amazon rainforest and returns regularly with culinary creations that are more incredible than the others. Dining at D.O.M is an essential experience to discover the culinary richness of this country.
Mani - With the talented Helena Rizzo at the helm of the kitchen, this restaurant is at the cutting edge of local and seasonal products. Resolutely engaged, Mani asserts itself by offering a creative and contemporary menu. This Brazilian cuisine has not finished impressing visitors who have been spreading the word for several years now... there is no better place in São Paulo to immerse oneself in such an affective Brazilian gastronomy.
A Casa do Porco - Jefferson Rueda has no need to prove his worth... acclaimed by Brazilian and international critics, his recipe is everyone's dream. A Casa do Porco is a perfect mix between a "boteco" (unpretentious Brazilian bar) with a relaxed atmosphere and a menu of dishes, each more tempting than the next. A highly successful bet for this great chef who decided, in this country renowned for its beef, to create his dishes around the pig, revealing an incredible talent for making this ingredient a must taste! An extraordinary gastronomic experience highly recommended!
Let's continue the culinary journey in Brazil by joining Rio de Janeiro, where some great addresses are added to the visit of the wonderful city.
Lasai - What more could you ask for in this charming city? Nestled in a small, bucolic street in the Botafogo neighbourhood, the gastronomic hub of Cariocas, Lasai is a house where you feel immediately welcome. Upstairs, a terrace offers a superb view of Christ the Redeemer, who seems to bless our plates. At the table, a unique tasting menu promises a feast for the eyes and the taste buds... all the products have been selected with the greatest interest, everything is fresh, organic and forms an ideal harmony between land and sea. Highly refined, the table is already legendary in Rio, and its chef Rafa Costa e Silva is a master in his kingdom.
Oteque - In the same street, decidedly the hippest address in Rio, is the famous and wonderful restaurant Oteque. Here, elegance reigns, both in the place and in the plate. The standard of food is very high and the ingredients served are all of the highest quality. The tasting menu is absolutely seasonal and the pairing of dishes with wine shows the level of professionalism of the team at the disposal of the customers. Alberto Landgraf, who has already proven himself in São Paulo, is well known in Brazil and is one of the great chefs to watch.
Let's go to Mexico, a country with a worldwide reputation for gastronomy... here is a selection of restaurants whose names are already recognized in international rankings:
Fauna Baja California - In this beautiful region is an incredible restaurant, idealized by a young couple, David and Maribel. Together, they cook with four hands, inventing a new menu every day according to the fresh arrivals, to the great surprise and delight of the guests. Here, the ingredients are sublimated by the chef who takes pleasure in exploring the infinite possibilities of cooking, working and serving a food. Vegetables, herbs and other ingredients are revisited and offered in a new form. The setting alone is worth the journey, the surroundings and the view are breathtaking. But it would be a sin not to try the seafood and other local products!
Le Chique - Located in the famous Mexican region of Riviera Maya, this restaurant is already well known. It is one of the most renowned restaurants in Latin America, and for good reason...here, all the senses are stimulated. The plate is completely recomposed, each ingredient is deconstructed and then assembled with another to form a unique and ultra-creative recipe. Chef Jonathan Gomes Luma is considered an artist who turns everything he touches into gold. The experience is unique and well worth the trip!
Moving on to Colombia, which is increasingly offering a list of restaurants that is on par with its neighbours.
Leo - In Bogota, one of the most interesting addresses is without a doubt Leo's. The journey is immediate and this is the intention of the chef Leonor Espinoza. This is an itinerary through the sensations, emotions, ethnic territories of the country, the products offered by the soil and the sun of this rich land. Through her genius and generosity, the chef invites us to experience the meal through our various senses...hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and of course tasting. The experience is unique, and is worth being accompanied by the wines conscientiously chosen by the sommelier of the place. As an added bonus, the restaurant works closely with a foundation that aims to protect the traditions and well-being of local communities.
Criterion - At the helm of this restaurant in the Colombian capital are two brothers with a passion for gastronomy and a long list of awards for the quality of their menus. One manages the menu, the other the desserts. And it is in this perfect harmony that the dishes follow one another according to the creativity of the chefs, who are constantly on the lookout for the finest products and excellent service. Refined cuisine, reinvented dishes, stunning flavours and sophisticated presentation make this a temple to contemporary Colombian cuisine.
Celele - This is the best address in Cartagena, a little gem that is the result of hard work in gastronomic research. After several years of meeting local people along the Caribbean coast, the two chefs embarked on this adventure, to the delight of the customers who frequent the establishment. Voted one of the best restaurants in Colombia and included in the list of the 50 Bests of South America, the table promises a most impressive gastronomic journey. Each dish is prepared according to the products found on a daily basis, allowing the menu to evolve and maintain the highest quality in the mouth. The waiters, always attentive to the needs of the customers, will be the best allies to guide them towards one dish or another. The result of this work is a culinary experience of the highest level. A must!
Let's leave Latin America for Europe, the cradle of high-flying gastronomy, culinary traditions and table arts. In France, here are our favourite addresses:
L'Arpege - Alain Passard is one of France's most starred chefs and his restaurant l'Arpège in Paris is probably his best work. A temple of vegetables and freshness, the restaurant's menu revolves around his carefully tended garden in Normandy. He plays his culinary scales like the great conductors dictate the arpeggios... with brio! His menu evolves with the seasons, giving each vegetable the most important place on the plate. At lunch, the chef offers us a "vegetable walk", according to the improvisation in the kitchen. With Passard, we put all our knowledge to the side and learn once again to discover the real flavours.
Septime - New cuisine is in the spotlight at this most modern of Parisian restaurants. This modern bistro offers a deliberately sophisticated menu in a relaxed, very Parisian atmosphere. The chef did his training with Passard, and advocates a gastronomy marked by freshness and organic products. The address was awarded the prize for the best ecological restaurant, and continues to work hand in hand with the wine growers who make the wine list one of the best in Paris. A must in the capital of gastronomy!
In Italy, there is no lack of addresses, each trattoria is worth a visit...the following addresses are highly recommended:
Arnolfo - Close to Siena, this restaurant offers a view of the surrounding countryside, allowing you to enjoy the beauty of Tuscany. The chef, Gaetano Trovato, who is passionate about architecture and drawing, has fun drawing the dishes on a sheet of paper before bringing them to life on the plate. The result is astonishingly beautiful, colourful and almost like architecture creations. His brother Giovanni takes care of the cellar and offers a fantastic menu to accompany each dish. The two Michelin stars are well deserved and guarantee an extraordinary experience.
Il Falconiere - This restaurant in beautiful Tuscany has a menu that displays the origin of each product. Carefully selected, each one must be harvested as close as possible to the chef's kitchen. The herbs are picked from the garden itself, the eggs are laid 3km away, the figs and radishes come from a village 9km away...which says a lot about the importance of the gastronomic quality that the chef sets in his kitchen. A Michelin star for this restaurant with absolutely delicious traditional Italian recipes!
La Pergola - The address is well known to gastronomic connoisseurs. The only 3-Michelin-starred restaurant in the Italian capital, La Pergola is the emblem of Roman haute cuisine. Here the ingredients are honoured and sublimated in each plate. Contemporary fusion cuisine is served with fully Italian ingredients. The result is a masterpiece of unique flavours. To complete the moment, the view from the restaurant over the historic centre of Rome is breathtaking!
In Spain, there are also many starred restaurants, here is a small selection of our favourite addresses:
Dins Santi Taura - Passion, effort and perseverance are the key words of the chef! Santi Taura, a native of the island of Mallorca, is a person who respects and seeks to enhance the historical memory of the Balearic Islands. His recipes are therefore a tribute to the place, perpetuating the heritage and culinary history of the island. The result is a unique and amazing tasting menu, in 11 steps, each step representing a local story. The icing on the cake is that the wines offered in harmonisation are also from the Balearic Islands, inviting you to truly immerse yourself in the local culinary journey!
Messina - In Marbella, this is definitely the best table! Idealised by the couple Pía Ninci y Mauricio Giovanini, the restaurant was soon granted a Michelin star. For here, technique is the key, and the results are impressive. The fish is in the spotlight, as is all the seafood from the coast. Elegance is sought after in each dish, as is the freshness of the ingredients. The result is a perfect combination of high quality of taste, beauty of the plate and top technique! A must!
Finally, in Portugal, Latin Exclusive recommends these must-try addresses:
Al Sud - To understand the quality of this extraordinary chef, one must first point out that he has previously worked in some of the most prestigious restaurants in Europe. Louis Anjo is now operating in the south of Portugal, near Lagos. He offers a unique moment through 3 tasting menus whose dishes evolve according to the day and the products available. Inspired by the restaurant's scenography, he likes to say that the sea is his muse! Each dish is carefully decorated, each ingredient retains its original flavour and still manages to surprise the palate! Magical!
Fortaleza do Guincho - Overlooking the beautiful Guincho beach near Cascais, this Michelin-starred restaurant seduces both by its natural scenario and the quality of its dishes. Inspired by the ocean, the chef composes his menu with the best ingredients from Portugal, mainly from the Portuguese coast. The terroir, seasonality and quality of the products are the core values of the establishment, and are reflected in the tasting menus offered. By respecting the traditional recipes of the country, the chef Gil Fernandes places his gastronomic restaurant in the list of the most beautiful addresses of the country.
Latin Exclusive will be your ally in making the most of these experiences, helping you to book the best tables in each destination. Always on the lookout for new addresses, our teams will be delighted to inform you of the latest and greatest.
