Tau, new restaurant in Vila Madalena, has creative cuisine without animal derivatives

Contrary to the wave of vegetarian restaurants closed in the capital of São Paulo in recent years, Tau appears, with vegan cuisine, which opened its doors in September in Vila Madalena.

The restaurant’s proposal is to avoid reinterpretations of dishes common to many of these addresses — which seek to imitate recipes that include meat or animal derivatives in the composition.

In the new restaurant, the objective is to serve a creative menu with references from cuisines such as French and Japanese, without any ingredients of animal origin.

The decor follows the same idea: instead of being full of plants, it is minimal and contemporary, with white walls and a large glass window facing the street.

The restaurant is a continuation of a project of the same name that held closed dinners for small groups in a mansion in Jardim Europa, led by chefs Fábio Battistella and Gabriel Haddad — who are not vegans.

The duo prepares dishes such as the one that combines four types of potatoes, such as yacon and baroa, served with linseed-based mayonnaise over spinach oil, plus pancs (unconventional food plants), for R$43.

Potatoes also appear in the form of mousseline and chips, accompanied by eryngui mushroom, bok choy chard, pickled red onion and a sauce that resembles demi-glace, but is made with mushrooms and vegetable reduction (R$ 68).

• See a list of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in São Paulo

One of the best options is the katso sando with breaded shiitake, date tarê and chive mayonnaise coleslaw on lightly toasted dairy-free bread. It comes in two portions, which could be larger, for R$49.

To accompany, there is a menu of classic drinks with a reinterpretation of the house, such as the margarita with coriander salt rim (R$41), and the negroni (R$42), made with jabuticaba vermouth. A selection of natural and biodynamic wines was made by Lis Cereja, from Enoteca Saint VinSaint.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.