Bixiga: São Paulo's 'Little Italy'
- Will Gerson
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
São Paulo is home to some five million people of full or partial Italian descent, making it the largest Italian community of any city in the world, even more than anywhere in Italy. Italians have left an indelible mark on the culture of the city, nowhere more so than in Bixiga (also known as Bela Vista), São Paulo’s ‘Little Italy.’
Bixiga is one of the best places in the city to try old-school Italian food. Like in other places in the diaspora, the Italians in São Paulo preserved their traditional recipes while adapting them to their new environment, creating a familiar cuisine but with its own unique twists. The immigrant cuisine proved so popular that many dishes considered to be hallmarks of Brazilian cuisine are in fact of Italian origin, such as galeto (roast chicken), bife à parmegiana (veal cutlet with tomato sauce and Parmesan), and frango com polenta (chicken with polenta). The Italian restaurants here have their own takes on traditional pizza and pasta dishes as well.
Restaurants
A neighborhood staple, Osteria Generale is a great place for hearty portions of standard Italian fare.
Located in an old house on Rua Treze de Maio, in the heart of Bixiga, Pizzaria Speranza has been serving up pizzas since the 1950s. Their menu consists of classic Italian pizzas as well as original paulista creations.
This restaurant is a true original in the neighborhood, in operation since 1931. It’s always packed and never lacking in energy, with boisterous diners and live accordion music. Don’t be shocked to see (and hear) waiters and patrons tossing a silver platter on the floor, as a unique type of toast.
Specialty dishes include the gnocchione, enormous gnocchi filled with ham and cheese, as well as their famous lasagna, following the original recipe of Mamma Rosa, matriarch of the family restaurant.
Only open Friday-Sunday, Cannoleria do Bixiga is famous for its cannoli as well as its pizza. The place is a bit of a hole in the wall, but its specialties are well known throughout the neighborhood. They have traditional cannoli filled with ricotta and others with fillings like chocolate hazelnut, doce de leite, and rum raisin.
Open since the 1940s, this spot is a classic Italian cantina popular among locals.
Another classic cantina located across the street from Roperto, in the heart of Bixiga.
A specialty market opened in 1914, Laurenti is the go-to place for fine imported products as well as fresh baked breads and homemade pastas. The market also has a deli serving delicious sandwiches, pastas, and desserts.