Chef Bel Coelho uses Brazilian ingredients without scaring off those unfamiliar with them at Clandestina

Clandestino, a project by chef Bel Coelho that was put on hold during the pandemic, has returned in a different way. One of the city’s main Brazilian cuisine establishments, which closed in 2020, is now called Clandestina, has an à la carte menu and no longer requires reservations, as it did before.

The most interesting thing about this new phase is that Brazilian ingredients that are not part of the basic menu are appearing on the menu without fanfare and without scaring away an audience that may not be familiar with them. This is done in a relaxed manner, both in the menu, which is based on portions to share, and in the atmosphere. The restaurant is located in the old location of Chef Vivi, divided between a dining room surrounded by windows and small tables on a quiet street in Vila Madalena, west of São Paulo.

The simple but interesting menu includes, for example, a meat crudo, very chunky, served with Yanomami mushrooms and melon pickles (R$56). Another example is the tempura of chili pepper with beijú and shrimp with a spicy sauce that brings out the sourness of the Amazonian fruit bacuri (R$53). It reminds us of the delicacy of a breaded and fried pumpkin flower, but with more powerful flavors.

Another hit at Clandestina in its opening week, according to the waiters, is the duck gyoza with tucupi and Brazilian pepper oil. Among the more substantial options, there is glazed pork belly with black tucupi, butter beans and maxixe (R$84) and mini rice made with ribs from the country’s native Curraleiro cattle, with fried okra in corn flour (R$86).

If you happen to miss the roasted cabbage with cocoa miso and spicy cashew sauce (R$55), give it a try – and eat the sauce with a spoon.

Dessert also follows the same theme as the savory dishes: a classic cheese pie, with the aroma of vanilla from the Cerrado and jabuticaba syrup (R$39) is among the options. Wines and drinks are also included. In the first category, for example, there is a cider from Vinícola Goes produced in São Roque, in the interior of São Paulo, as well as an orange from Era dos Ventos (from Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul) and the white Ribolla Gialla (from Urubici, Santa Catarina).

Since 2021, when Clandestino stopped operating, Bel Coelho began to dedicate himself to another place, Cuia. The combination of café and restaurant was opened at the foot of Copan, in downtown São Paulo, in the same space as the Megafauna bookstore.

There, the chef was able to work with fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs and other Brazilian ingredients in recipes served from breakfast to dinner. One example is the fitzgerald made with jambu foam and jabuticaba powder.

Cuia succeeded in continuing, in a more informal way, the work that made Clandestino famous. This project began in Bel Coelho’s house and later moved to a property in Vila Madalena, near Beco do Batman, where the chef served periodic menus guided by a theme, such as orishas and biomes of Brazil.

Now, with Clandestina open for almost a week, research once again has more space to occupy a longer meal – but without the duration of a tasting menu, as before. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Bel Coelho has worked at El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and, in Brazil, at Alex Atala’s DOM. She also ran the restaurant Dui, which operated until 2013.

Clandestine
R. Girassol, 833, Vila Madalena, tel. (11) 97617-9154. Tue. to Fri., from 7pm to 11pm. Sat., from 12pm to 4pm and from 7pm to 11pm. Sun., from 12:30pm to 5pm. @clandestinarestaurante