New Carmem bar wants to attract gay people to Bom Retiro with drinks and snacks

If the days of Bom Retiro are ruled by the back-and-forth of commerce and shop windows, the nights are quiet. There is an occasional snack bar, a Korean restaurant there, another Paraguayan restaurant there, discreet doors that hide karaoke. That’s why the buzz on Silva Pinto street is different.

Spread out on the sidewalk, cool people have drinks and snacks from a bar while chatting to the sound of Brazilian music at the only open spot in that part of downtown São Paulo.

It’s Saturday night and we’re at Carmem, a new bar that adds to the cultural mix that marks the neighborhood, a traditional stronghold of Jewish and Korean immigrants.

“The neighborhood has all this cultural mix, but it still didn’t have a more modern bar”, says Helder Ferreira, resident of Bom Retiro and partner of the house with photographer Rafael Paixão. “I always knew it had to be a bar with delicious drinks at affordable prices,” he says.

Ferreira also says he is concerned about attracting more gay people to Bom Retiro. “We exist here in the neighborhood, but there’s nothing for us around here,” he says, who is gay, but stressing that the house is open to everyone — even though the space sells itself as the “gay flag of Bom Retiro “. “I just want everyone to feel good here.”

Although the name Carmem refers to Spain, Ferreira says that it is the name of his mother, who is from Minas Gerais and, according to him, “a full-fledged cook”. Even so, they use this accidental reference to make a nod to the Mediterranean on the menu. “We didn’t want it to be anything themed.”

Created by Pedro Albbez, from Void, a mix of a hipster store and bar with a unit in Pinheiros, the food menu is short and includes items such as sea vinaigrette (R$35) and sardines marinade (R$25). With a dry and elongated dough, the semi-cured cheese pastel uses kimchi, the Korean fermented Swiss chard, from the store in front of the bar. It costs R$ 25 with three units. The portion of bologna croqueta comes with mustard sauce made there and costs R$28.

But the real thing is to go there to drink. The menu highlights drinks with prices between R$28 and R$38. There is also a section with Brazilian cocktails —caipirinha, firecracker and rabo de galo, each for R$28. For teetotalers, there is a section for recipes without alcohol.

Bar chef Francini Reiter’s creations include Carmine, with Jameson, raspberry syrup, lemon and maraschino luxado (R$32). Ferreira points out that it is the same name as the square at the end of Rua do Bar — other author recipes also refer to Bom Retiro.

“We want to be a bar for the neighborhood”, he says, emphasizing the relationships he seeks to maintain with the neighborhood. Even so, he hopes that the opening will begin to bring a new audience to the region. “Now there is a bar for gay women to drink in Bom Retiro.”