During my 5 days in São Paulo my friend's family said I absolutely MUST try "Brazilian pizza" at…read moreleast once during my trip. So one night, our group of 6 went to Speranza so they could show me what Brazilian pizza is all about. The restaurant had a nice ambiance, and was bustling with conversations and laughter. Our party had a reservation and we were seated immediately upon arrival. Because of the language barrier my friend and I had, the ordering was left to my friend's uncle and cousin. For starters, we had an appetizer pizza which I think is included for all diners. It was a simple crust with cheese...no sauce or anything. It was really crunchy which I liked! My friend's family insisted that I order a drink, so I tried a strawberry/sake drink which was amazing, especially considering I'm not usually a fan of sake! There was tons of fresh strawberry in the glass, and I couldn't even taste the sake (which means that they use legit sake or are able to mask the taste very well). For dinner, my friend's uncle ordered 3 items. First, I tried the cheese pizza which was EXTREMELY cheesy and good! Now I don't really eat pizza all that much and can't speak to authentic pizza as I live in Hawaii, but anything with a ton of cheese and a slight crunch thanks to the crust is a winner in my book. Next, I tried a calzone-looking thing that was stuffed generously with ham, veggies, and cheese. The crust on this was a little soggier than the cheese pizza (probably because of all the stuffing) but this still tasted great! The final dinner item was a pizza with tons of toppings: ham, onions, capers, olives, hard boiled eggs, and tons of cheese. This was a very hearty and filling pizza, and although the combination of toppings confused me at first they went surprisingly well together! I was pretty full at the end of dinner, but was strongly encouraged to get dessert. There were your typical dessert offerings like pies and cakes, but I was looking for something a little more unique. Cue the crème papaya! This dessert was amazing, and I learned that its actually very easy to make at home! For those who don't know, crème papaya is basically ripe papaya blended with vanilla ice cream and topped with a sweet liqueur. It has a soupy consistency and should be eaten with a spoon. I grew up eating papaya but have never had papaya in this form. Since this was my first crème papaya I can't say it was the best or worst...all I can tell you is that it was extremely delicious and a must try if you come across a place that serves it in São Paulo! TL;DR - busy but comfortable restaurant, tons of cheese on everything, and crème papaya!

I used to live very close to Speranza in Moema. Normally I would go to Braz (super famous pizzeria…read morein Sao Paulo), but that first time it had such a long wait that we decided to try this place. And how happy I was that we did! Speranza has amazing pizzas! Their Special Margherita with Mozzarella di Buffala is fantastic. Their bread with meat (forgot the name) is also very good. Make sure you ask them to bring it before the food since often they end up bringing it together with the main meal. I never had to make a reservation or had to wait to be seated so it is the perfect place to go when you want to eat great pizza without stressing out about waiting.