Fresh food from Azul do Mar makes you forget the chaos of the metropolis

Few environments are less evocative of a paradisiacal beach with blue sea than a busy market just a few blocks from a chaotic avenue like Faria Lima, in Pinheiros. Still, a barbecue set up next to a fishmonger allows you to have one of the best seafood experiences in the city.

Even without anything like the image its name might suggest, Azur do Mar makes up for it with food so fresh and well prepared that, with a little optimism, you can even forget about being in São Paulo for a second.

The simplest way to find out is with the executive, offered for R$77 during the week. The main dish is always a fish selected for the day and prepared over the grill. At a September lunch, the choice was mackerel, which was served with its skin charred by the fire, but still with a soft texture and lots of flavor.

The fish is served in a large portion, accompanied by excellent rice, banana and bacon farofa with smoked and sweet touches and a light moqueca pirão that looks like a cream, with a good touch of coconut milk. And lots of coriander.

The menu includes a refreshing salad, topped with small pieces of fried vegetables that give a great texture.

To go beyond a quick lunch, there are also more elaborate options of stuffed fish and sea parrilladas.

The restaurant also offers starters that are worth the visit in themselves, such as the choriporvo (R$56), with two small sandwiches prepared with the mollusk. Served on a brioche bun with a tentacle in the middle, it looks like a hot dog, and captivates the palate combining soft octopus, chimichurri and a great aioli.

The freshness of fish from Azur do Mar is guaranteed by the Nossa Senhora de Fátima fishmonger, which neighbors the market. Instead of focusing on the menu, customers can go directly to the store and choose their seafood, which is cooked fresh on the grill.

It includes popular fish such as tuna and salmon, but also options such as snapper, horse mackerel and mecca (which is beautiful grilled). And there are also Amazonian ones, such as puppy and tambaqui. The restaurant charges a fee starting at R$40 to prepare the chosen barbecue.