Mag, chef Pedro Pineda’s new restaurant, mixes cultures from Bom Retiro in the kitchen

The only certainty that Pedro Pineda had when he decided to open his own restaurant, in a chat thrown away on a random night, was the neighborhood: it had to be in Bom Retiro. Before thinking about the menu or the name, the chef decided on the address of Mag, which opens its doors this Thursday (26th) in the center of São Paulo.

“I didn’t want to open in Jardins, Itaim Bibi or Vila Buarque, I’ve already made my way there”, he says. His solo debut comes after ten years in the kitchen. Pineda made his career at addresses such as the Beverino wine bar, the Mila restaurant and the Takko coffee shop. He formulated the menu for the opening of Domo, a listening bar where he matured his style and gave his final shift.

At Mag, he mixes a little of what he did in previous houses with gastronomic influences from the cultures that populate Bom Retiro, known for being home to immigrants and descendants from different communities.

“I’m in love with the neighborhood. It has a lot of history, not just Korean, but Jewish and Latin American. I want to do this cultural exchange, but without it being forced,” he says.

An Andean corn that he buys from a Bolivian supplier in the region, for example, adds crunch to the raw meat (R$52). The tartare is prepared with wagyu tenderloin, pieces of green apple, served with house mayonnaise and a vinaigrette that contains sesame oil, honey and other items.

The dish comes accompanied by a bread with braided sesame seeds, purchased at a Jewish products emporium in the region.

The Latin influence also appears in the leche de tigre used to prepare the raw fish (R$83), served over mashed potatoes seasoned with wasabi, mayonnaise and dill, plus fried onion, sesame seeds and coriander.

Gochujang, a Korean pepper paste, adds spice to recipes such as tomato rice with eggplant and chrysanthemum and watercress leaves (R$49), served on an iron platter, to be scraped with a spoon.

To round off the meal, the traditional pudding is made with tahini, covered with homemade whipped cream and puxuri shavings – it costs R$25.

Having worked in bars, Pineda gave the same attention as the kitchen to a bar in the lounge. To this end, he invited bartender Luiz Felippe Mascella (from Regô and Terê) to put together the drinks menu. The five authors mix Brazilian and Asian ingredients. With a dry profile, Três Rios (R$45) combines sweet potato sochu (Japanese distillate), sake, white vermouth, yuzu liqueur and orange bitters.

Brazilian wines also come from the counter at the entrance, selected by sommelière Sofia Guglielmo, with whom the chef worked at Beverino.

He invited other people close to him to set up Mag, a name inspired by the song “Magnólia”, by Jorge Ben Jor. Deborah Franco, to whom he is married, became a partner and helped formulate the restaurant’s identity.

Much of the structure of the house, which was once a hydraulic pump factory, was maintained. The living room gained an open kitchen and a Mondrian-like look, with geometric shapes and a palette of primary colors, such as the bright red on the facade.

A friend with whom he opened a hamburger and hot dog food truck in 2014, Matias Gras returned as a partner in the chef’s new, more mature venture.

Pineda continues to test recipes and plan new developments. He wants to open Mag at lunchtime, to serve the neighborhood’s commercial clientele. In the search for the ideal property, he came across a corner spot that he fell in love with. When he found out it was available, he closed the deal on the spot.

While still carrying sandbags at Mag’s construction sites, he found himself designing a second business. It will be a “bar and snacks” with natural wines and sandwiches, he says, but there is no opening date yet.

Mag
R. Afonso Pena, 371, Bom Retiro, central region, @magbomretiro