Santo Grão: a summer menu built from contrasting textures

A summer menu is more useful when its lightness is described through ingredients, not asserted as an effect. Santo Grão’s 2023 account supplied several combinations in which leaves, fruit and grains created distinct textures at the table.

WAYFARER Brazil’s December portrait described chef Fabio Vieira’s Tandoori salad with chicken, grains, guacamole and a fig variation on pico de gallo. A polvilho crostini added another texture. The preparation brought several culinary references into one plate rather than treating the salad as a uniform category.

Another dish paired fig with crisp jamón, citrus dressing and Parmesan. A black-eyed-pea falafel with tahini and buckwheat supplied a different organising ingredient. Those choices made the menu’s variety visible through structure as well as flavour.

No new tasting, nutritional benefit or present menu availability is claimed in this adaptation. The source situated the dishes within Santo Grão’s combination of café, restaurant and lounge. That mixed use gives a seasonal menu a particular task: it must work for different moments of the day. Leaves and fruit provide one register, but grains, dressing and crisp elements decide how complete the plate feels.

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Adapted from the WAYFARER Brazil archive, first published 2023-12-07. English adaptation: 6 October 2026. This is an archival account, not a report of a new visit. Exhibitions, collections and menu details are described in their original context, not as current availability.