“We are passionate about the people that we work with, inside and outside of the restaurant. We are also super passionate about our gardens – we love them! We don’t really have dishes that stay very long on the menu – it changes according to whatever we have in our gardens and whatever we find in the organic street markets around Rio. All greens and eggs are from local organic street markets or from our two vegetable gardens. We are always trying new products and giving away seeds for the producers so they can also try with us. We learn from them, they learn from us.”

Sea bream with roasted jicama, carrot sauce, spinach and Brazilian extra virgin olive oil; and persimmons with sheep’s milk yoghurt ice cream, pumpkin and persimmon vinegar.

In an old house in a fancy historical region of Rio de Janeiro, Lasai is a family-run business with a modern and sophisticated cuisine. While wife Malena Cardiel stays in the room, Rafa Costa e Silva prepares dishes with the skills he developed as sous chef at Mugaritz, but in a totally different, warmer, tune. Every dinner varies with dishes mainly based on vegetables, roots, and fruits, with some meat. On any given day you can have eggs with roasted broccoli, mustard leaf and gelatinous pork sauce, and a dessert made of persimmons, sheep’s milk yogurt ice cream, pumpkin and persimmon vinegar.