At Cristallo, a diner’s options are limited to a delectable minimum: a good cup of coffee with cake or chocolates, pastries or petit fours.

Founded in 1949 by the Italian immigrant Armando Poppa, this small pastry shop chains produced the first panettone on an industrial scale in São Paulo. These cakes are now seen locally as an essential Christmas tradition. In the intervening decades, Cristallo has continued to exercise its gift for creative sweeties: upon request, its “bombas” (bombs) can be filled with chocolate, vanilla, zabaglione or Baileys Irish Cream.

The Cristallo on Oscar Freire provides the perfect pause in a long day of shopping, but the chain also has shops in four other locations.