Everybody knows that Sao Paulo is the best city to eat great Japanese food outside Japan. I always…read morehad great experiences eating at Izakaya Issa, one of the best Japanese food I have already had (different from te sushi-sashimi we are use to). I have never been in Japan, but I heard that Izakaya Issa is very authentic and traditional. The ladies working there are always very friendly, and Dona Margarida Haraguchi, the owner, is so sweet and conversationist! The star dishes from the place is the octopus balls (really creamy and well-flavored) and the ramen!

An Izakaya is first and foremost a neighborhood bar that serves drinks and bar food. This place did…read morea great job making me feel welcome, offering me a menu in English as we greeted. There were certainly plenty of Japanese speaking customers mixed in with Portuguese. And I, the odd tourist, felt right at home. The bamboo shoot and shitake mushroom appetizers were delectable. The chicken broth ramen was insipid. The Gyukatsu Kare (breaded fried beef with curry sauce over rice) was better, but not the ultra crispy panko planks I've had in some places. Maybe it was because I ordered it at the end of the night. The Brazilian brewed cold sake was really good. Could hardly tell the difference from Japanese sake. But, the highlight of the dinner of Sanma Shio--grilled pike mackerel with sea salt. Inexpensive for Sanma, uber fresh, grilled crispy so that you could crunch up the head and tail! The service was prompt, efficient and very warm. Even the owner came by to chat several times. Arigato gozaimasu! Obrigado! Thank you.

Very good Japanese! Loads of vegetarian options! Good environment, with charming and romantic…read morelights!! I recommend it ;) P.s.: the only thing I didn't like was the lemon mousse!

Loved the ambiance and the service. The fish was very fresh!…read more I got a miso soup and noodle dish to start. The miso soup had tempura in it. Yum! I got a combination plate with various sashimi and a choice of a side. I got the gyōza. They were very generous with the portions. This was super fresh. Staff were very kind. I thought the fish and flavors were great!

As visitors, we rolled through Liberdade during the Sunday street fair and didn't have time to eat…read morein one of the restaurants. It was likely that we were only going to get to try one Japanese restaurant in Sao Paulo on our trip. Sushi or dinner plates? Luckily Yamaga has both. And both are delicious. They have an English menu! :) Although it was nice to see a Japanese menu in Portuguese. The salmon on salmon roll was fresh and so delicious. The beer hella (San Francisco Bay area slang for "very") cold, the sake delicious. The tempura generous and artistically plated. The OyakoDon comforting and delicately balanced. The okonomiyaki was crispy and the mushroom was good with beer. Everything was good. We ordered so much because we wanted to try it all, I wish I could eat here again.