Izakaya Matsu

I'm visiting a friend who lives in Sao Paulo, and she took me here as a must-try! The ambience is an authentic Izakaya Experience, which made it really fun and special to dine here. (We don't have a place like this in DC, at least not yet). We ate in private area shared with another party. We didn't mind as it still felt separate from each other. Around the restaurant there are a lot of photos of Japan, and there was a displayed video of those Walk-tours of Japan on the tv screen. Overall a fun vibe!

The food itself was very good. We enjoyed the katsu sando! Very crispy fried bread on the outside, juicy chicken inside.
The sara udon was not your typical large noodle but rather pan fried noodle in sauce, so once submerged in the sauce the noodles turn from crispy to soft. It had a lot of good veggies and the squid and pork was tasty too.
My favorite dish was the tempura udon. It was a classic dish, and it hit the spot for me.

The sashimi bowl was good too, but I've had better. The pieces I had were bit dry and chewy, so it didn't taste very fresh; to be honest, it was not the best sashimi I've had.
Good service as well! We got our drink orders and food rather quickly, aside from the tempura udon which came last.
It is really busy - you sign up on the waitlist outside. But the line goes fast!

Fun fact: Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese population in the world outside of Japan. With that fact in mind, we knew we had to check out a Japanese spot while in town. I had a guidebook which recommended Izakaya Matsu as the best izakaya in Sao Paulo so we Ubered over to the Pinheiros neighborhood for dinner.

For those unfamiliar with izakayas, they're narrow bars that serve food. I was luckily enough to hit up a few when I traveled to Tokyo. Izakaya Matsu was no different. We had a 20-minute wait or so as the restaurant was full and spots are limited. After being seated, I started off with a sake capirihinha. Nothing like having Brazil's national cocktail with a Japanese twist!

From there, I had the pork katsu. A classic Japanese dish, I was lucky enough to dine where it was invented in Tokyo. Pork katsu is a deep-fried pork cutlet served with a brown, sweet sauce. It was served with rice and a salad. The portion size wasn't large but it hit the spot. Service was standard.

As far as to-go options go, this Izakaya has pared down its menu to have items that travel well either for pick up at their window or delivery by numerous options.

I got the Karaage Bento--tasty well seasoned boneless fried chicken pieces with finely shredded cabbage, garlic chives with egg, thinly slice marinated bamboo shoot, 2 pieces of tempura roll, kimchi, and sushi rice with a sour plum .

I tried to order another bento next evening via food delivery but the restaurant had closed

Authentic japanese atmosphere. Some of the dishes were great. Many items in the menu were not available.

My favorite Izakaya, with the best Takoyaki! The staff is amazing. I really love this place