São Paulo is home to more than 5,000 pizzerias, a fact that is not particularly astonishing considering the corresponding size of its Italian community. Yet somehow when it comes to fresh pasta, Gero is the only place to go.

Another offshoot of the Fasano empire, Gero is the younger, infinitely more relaxed cousin of the eponymous haute cuisine restaurant. It is so hip and authentic that if feels like a gift from Milan to São Paulo. The surfeit of local Italian cuisine has made Paulistanos picky, but they (rightly) cannot get enough of Gero’s risottos, homemade pasta, and fish and meat entrées—every one a dish to die for.