Having dinner at @fame_osteria is a must for anyone either living or visiting São Paulo.

Fame is run by the couple Erika and Marco (@casal_renzetti), who are respectively the restaurant’s sommelier and chef.

The entrance is kind of hidden, without a sign, on a buzzling street in the upscale Jardins neighborhood. But the clientele, who book their table well ahead of time, know exactly where to go and happily climb the narrow staircase that leads to the dining room.

Their tasting menu has the power to transport you to Italy for the length of the meal. The food is impeccable, and to my palate it’s as comforting as nonna pasta can be.

There are many tasting menus out there that I really like but feel that having them just every once in a while is enough. Not Fame ‘s. This is the type of food that warms me inside and that I would want to eat every day at home if I could.

Moreover, having dinner there made me want to invite the couple for a weekend trip to the countryside. Not only to eat delicious food, but also to have the chance to watch Marco cooking at an open fire space, have a nice bottle of wine chosen by Erika and talk about food, ingredients and life with them. That is the kind of wishful thinking that a meal at Fame instantly brings me.

The squid is as strong a start as any menu can have. It is served whole and cooked to perfection, where the texture is not at all chewy, but still with a good bite to it. It also has a very charcoal smoky aroma and a thick ham dashi sauce that is basically liquid umami.

The pasta dishes are fabulous, making it hard for me to say if I preferred the cavatelli with eggplant and shellfish or the pasta and fagioli. Or the lamb agnolotti...

But the best bite of the night was their rice course, cooked with bone marrow instead of butter or any kind of cooking oil. The result? A collagenous and rich dish, topped with whatever is fresh on that given day. Mine had pieces of octopus, but I have heard that grouper fish is often used as well.

I couldn’t finish without mentioning their version of the classic tiramisu that is to die for.

(Versão em Português nos comentários) Less