TAN TAN — Restaurant in Região Imediata de São Paulo

Attracting the coolest crowd in Sao Paulo, Tan Tan is an Asian noodle house/cocktail bar located in the trendy Pinheiros neighborhood. Owner Thiago Bañares, a São Paulo native from Guaraçaí, first opened Tan Tan Noodle Bar nearly 10 years ago. After an internship with Alex Atala at DOM, Thiago fell in love with the restaurant business. However, his culinary passion can be traced back to his grandfather, and the Katsu Sando. Although it is a rather simple sandwich, it is very important to Thiago. When he was a young boy, Thiago’s grandfather’s favorite dish was batter fried meatballs served with soft bread. Upon further research, Thiago found that the dish is part of Japanese culture and a sandwich commonly served on the bullet trains in Japan. Thiago was also introduced to other oriental dishes from his grandfather of Chinese ancestry, who was a cook in the Navy.

One particular cooking style that caught Thiago’s attention is called Chūka, a Japanese cuisine influenced by Chinese tradition. Japanese immigrants often open sushi restaurants due to their popularity, with Chūka cuisine, which focuses on hot noodle and meat dishes, rarely considered. Thiago strives for simplicity and elegance with his cooking at Tan Tan, combining the techniques of Chūka cuisine and international gastronomy, while always valuing local ingredients. Tan Tan has one of the best ramen in the country and also delicious gyozas.

The bartenders are all top caliber at Tan Tan, and focus on easygoing aperitivo style drinks that don’t overwhelm the palate so that they pair well with the savory food. Tan Tan’s cocktails have a great personality and are a tribute to the classics of the past. The team adds a personal touch to their signatures, and takes prides in a beautiful presentation and...

One of my favorite things about living in Sao Paulo is getting to try all of the amazing Japanese food options. My favorite dish being Ramen, of course. I have heard a lot of hype around Tan Tan Noodle Bar and was eager to try it for myself. The restaurant recently underwent a renovation and has expanded, while also upgrading its decor to be more sleek and modern.

Being an American, I am a big fan of chicken wings and have desperately been trying to find any restaurant to satisfy my appetite. So, as an appetizer, I went with the "Aka teba" chicken wings to see if these could be the wings I have been so desperately looking for. They definitely were. First bite I was already convinced they are the best wings in Sao Paulo - perfect crunchiness with a chili sauce that is absolute FIRE! A must order!

For the main dish, I went with the traditional miso ramen. And again, wow, incredible flavor, beautiful presentation, great quality noodles and meat. It is not the most unique ramen I have ever had but it definitely hits the spot.

After my delicious first experience, Tan Tan has become one of my go-to restaurants for great ramen in Sao Paulo. I now go about once a month to get my fix.

As for drinks, they also have a pretty cool bar with great bartenders making chic drinks that are also quite good.

Lastly, I think the price is very fair for the quality of the food....

As I write this review I’m sitting in the toilet getting the ramen that I had yesterday out of my body through both vomit and explosive diarrea. Thanks Tan Tan! After waiting 2.5 hours to get a table I ordered the ramen; big mistake, huge mistake. It came with a boiled egg, as soon as I eat it I knew I was in big trouble. It was rotten. The place is nice but the service is awful. We had to wait for 30 minutes to get a simple drink and they messed up our order twice. The host gaslighted us into thinking we were gonna wait just 40 minutes, we ended up waiting for 2.5 hours. There’s no order or organisation for the waiting list, people jump the queue and the host doesn’t do anything about it. Over priced, over hyped and over all not worth the time. My drink was good though. I gotta give credit where...