Excellent Indian food option in São Paulo. Quaint place with really good food. I went with 5 work…read morecompanions from India and the reviews were very positive; authentic, the right flavor, and spiced correctly. They were specific about the level of spice they wanted. We had pekoda, samosa, butter chicken, white fish, and 3 bean dishes. Worth the trip.

Ok, let me start with a reason to my 4 stars - my origins betray me....being Indian my tastes have…read morebeen honed for good Indian food and although Samosa does a spectacular job especially compared to other so called Indian restaurants in Brazil, I am guilty of being a tough critic here. Let's get to the restaurant, it's a small colourful house turned into restaurant with low lighting and a porch seating - the place is clean and the service is friendly, a lot of the times the owner personally is there to talk to you and ensure that you get a proper experience of Indian food. The food does come pretty quick and you can ask the kitchen to control the spice level - not to a great extent but telling them definitely helps. The food is fresh, I generally go for the Chicken Tikka starters and there is this great lentil soup called "Maa ki Daal" (mom's lentil soup). The chicken vindaloo is to die for (warning - it's spicy!) and the breads are fresh and exactly as one would expect. The menu is quite elaborate with several choices for veggies too and the kitchen is always willing to help you out. Portions are not small and there is always food to take home. The restaurant isn't fancy but it delivers where it matters most - food authenticity and service. Right now it is my favourite Indian place in São Paulo.

This is the closest I've come to a Kmart/Walmart big box option in SP. They redesigned the store…read morelayout with a huge focus on the grocery section. It's surprisingly full of organic veggies and fruits though the variety is not amazing. When moving to the city, this is a good place to come stock up on all of the necessities - from a hanging rack for laundry (say goodbye to dryers) to school supplies to kitchen appliances you can find pretty much everything you might need besides furniture. They also have a big snacks and sugary drinks section next to the beer so good for throwing a big party as well. The problem with this store and all others like it in Brazil is that the cost benefit ratio is poor. The quality of most things is bad and the price not that low. They do have some cheap Havanas if you need to bring a bunch of gifts back with you though not of the coolest designs. For an added bonus, many of the store's attendants are outfitted with rollerblades in order to get around faster. They totally crack me up every time. I'm still hoping to see someone do some tricks when out of sight of their boss, but most just seem to be trying not to fall.

My tip is be sure to hit the garage on the 3rd floor before going to the 4th floor to get a…read moreshopping cart. Good grief this took me 3 days to figure out. Big shop. Huge in fact. You can probably get just about anything here is my guess. Wines/beer reasonably priced. As is the food/produce in general. Checkout was easy even with my limited Portuguese. They take debit and credit cards but I only used credit. If you are coming from the Mariott you want to take the walk bridge over the main road (Kubitschek or something like that) which deposits you on the 2nd floor (I think).