Mii, another new rooftop in SP, takes Greek inspirations to Vila Anália

On the top floor of the Vila Anália restaurant complex, in the east side of São Paulo, the Greek restaurant Mii will open its doors on the 13th. And, like everything else around there, the numbers draw attention — there are 600 square meters and capacity for up to 250 people , almost a third of the capacity of the entire building, which has five other restaurants.

In addition to a kitchen and bar, the environment has an artificial lake measuring 20 square meters, home to a shoal of 5,000 ornamental fish. The outdoor area is pure ostentation, with a pergola covered with straw mats, decorated with strings of lamps and hanging Greek eyes, surrounded by four palm trees weighing five tons each.

Inside, the floor and white walls were carved by hand, imitating the stones of Mykonos – after all, everything there gives a wink to the culture, history and geography of Greece. The architecture of the famous Greek bathhouse also appears in a golden slatted panel, imitating gold leaf. In addition to the R$14 million that have already been invested in the construction of the entire complex, the group spent another R$4 million to complete the rooftop.

The Italian chef Antonio Maiolica is in charge of the pans, who is also in charge of the menu at Temperani, another of Vila Anália’s restaurants. “Antonio used to say that he was never able to make a clean kitchen. We decided to give him this opportunity”, says Guilherme Temperani, spokesman for the group, which has three other cousins ​​as partners.

The menu includes the beet hummus starter, accompanied by carrots and goat cheese (R$42.70), in addition to fried green tomatoes, with ricotta cream, artichokes and paprika mayonnaise (R$48). Among the main ones, good options are the lamb shoulder, served with Moroccan couscous, vegetable caponata and basil, and the grilled tuna with eggplant purée, pistachio and fennel salad — these prices have not been confirmed.

As everything in today’s world is experience, oysters, fish, lobsters and fresh crustaceans are on display in an aquarium, where the customer can choose which one he would like to see on his plate. The animal is then weighed and freshly prepared. Among the side dishes, there are rustic potatoes with rosemary, mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables and house pita bread with tzatziki sauce, a yogurt with cucumber.

The bar is signed by Luis Carlos Cruz de Freitas, who also created the menu for four other restaurants in the group. It is worth toasting with the Icarus cocktail, in reference to the mythological character. The drink costs R$34, a mixture of whiskey, spice syrup, lemon juice and passion fruit extract.

Desserts are in charge of Pedro Frade, who oversees Vila Anália Pâtisserie, a mix of confectionery and ice cream parlor installed next to the main door of the building. For the restaurant, he created the goat cheese cheesecake with fig jam and almond crisps (R$36), the chocolate baklava, with filo pastry and pistachio gelato (R$36), and a yogurt with roasted peach. , yogurt gelato and honey syrup (R$ 34).

As is tradition in Greek restaurants, the breaking of dishes is also present. But there is a social cause involved. Legend has it that the ancient Greeks believed that the noise of the breaker scare away evil spirits, as well as being a way to prove detachment from material goods.

Therefore, the restaurant will make plaster dishes available for people to smash on the floor. “For each broken plate, a lunch box will be donated to the needy population”, says Temperani.