Churrascaria · Jardins, 1958
Rodeio (São Paulo)
Rodeio is a churrascaria on Rua Haddock Lobo in the Jardins district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1958 and owned by Roberto Macedo since 1960, which serves its meat à la carte rather than as a rodízio.
At a glance
- City
- São Paulo, Brazil (Jardins)
- Founded
- 1958
- Style
- Brazilian churrascaria, à la carte
- Owners
- Macedo family (Roberto Macedo since 1960)
- Locations
- Jardins and Shopping Iguatemi
- Known for
- Sliced picanha (picanha fatiada)
À la carte, not rodízio
Rodeio is a Brazilian churrascaria, a restaurant specializing in grilled meat, in the Jardins area of São Paulo. It describes itself as a churrascaria premium à la carte.
The distinction matters for the category: many churrascarias outside Brazil are known for the rodízio format, in which waiters bring skewers of meat to the table for a fixed price, but not every churrascaria works that way. At Rodeio, diners order dishes from a menu.
Jardins, where the restaurant has stood for most of its history, is one of the city's best-known dining and shopping districts; Rua Haddock Lobo crosses Rua Oscar Freire there. The São Paulo guide Bares SP writes that Rodeio helped shape the neighbourhood and has long been associated with the city's business and political elite.
Roberto Macedo, owner since 1960
The restaurant opened in 1958 at Rua Haddock Lobo 1498. Roberto Macedo has owned it since 1960, when he bought out the first owner, his partner Mauro Meirelles. The restaurant's own website dates the arrival of the Macedo family to 1959; the difference of a year between sources has not been resolved.
Bares SP records a remark attributed to the economist and former minister Delfim Netto in the early 1980s, to the effect that having power in São Paulo meant being able to get a table at Rodeio. The guide notes that he never denied it. The line is often repeated in the Brazilian press as shorthand for the restaurant's place in the city's power lunches.
A second Rodeio, designed by the Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, was completed in 2007. The company's website lists two restaurants today: Jardins and a unit in Shopping Iguatemi, on Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima.
The move to number 1448
In October 2025 the owner, Silvia Macedo Levorin, announced that the Jardins restaurant would leave number 1498 after more than six decades and move a few doors along the same street, to Rua Haddock Lobo 1448. The new space was designed by Isay Weinfeld, with about 150 seats against roughly 240 in the old dining rooms, and the move was planned for April 2026. Levorin presented it as a modernization, not a closure.
In October 2026 Forbes Brasil reported on Rodeio at its new address. Steakpedia has not verified the exact reopening date.
Picanha, sliced across the grain
The origin, breed and feeding of the beef served at Rodeio, and whether it is aged, have not been verified by Steakpedia.
The house dish is built on picanha, the rump cap with its layer of fat that is the most prized cut of the Brazilian churrasco. In São Paulo churrascarias it is usually cooked with the fat cap on and sliced across the grain, so that each slice keeps a strip of fat.
Grill and fuel: not verified
The type of grill and fuel used at Rodeio has not been verified by Steakpedia.
Picanha fatiada, the house dish
The dish most associated with the restaurant is picanha fatiada, sliced picanha, which Bares SP describes as a creation of the house and its main draw. This refers to the way of serving the cut, not to the cut itself: the origin of picanha as a named cut is disputed, and several other accounts of it exist.
According to the restaurant's website, a meal starts with a classic couvert or a choice of house salads; meats are accompanied by the house rice, arroz Rodeio, and by roasted palmito pupunha, the heart of the peach palm; desserts close the menu. Prices and the full list of cuts have not been verified by Steakpedia.
Awards: none verified
Steakpedia has not verified awards or rankings for Rodeio.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rodeio in São Paulo a rodízio?
No. It describes itself as an à la carte churrascaria: dishes are ordered from a menu instead of being brought to the table on skewers for a fixed price.
Did Rodeio invent picanha?
Steakpedia found no source crediting it with the cut. Bares SP describes the restaurant's sliced picanha (picanha fatiada) as a house creation; the origin of picanha itself is disputed.
When did Rodeio open?
In 1958, on Rua Haddock Lobo in Jardins. Roberto Macedo has owned it since 1960.
Did Rodeio move?
Yes, within the same street. In October 2025 the owners announced a move from Rua Haddock Lobo 1498 to number 1448, planned for April 2026, in a smaller space designed by Isay Weinfeld.
How many Rodeio restaurants are there?
Two, according to the official website: Jardins (Rua Haddock Lobo) and Shopping Iguatemi.
Sources
6
- Rodeio. Official website. www.rodeiosp.com.br
- Rodeio. "Restaurante Iguatemi." www.rodeiosp.com.br/iguatemi
- Bares SP. "Rodeio." Updated 2 August 2021. www.baressp.com.br/restaurantes/churrascarias/rodeio
- Isay Weinfeld. "Rodeio" (project page). www.isayweinfeld.com/en/?p=11079
- Cruz, Gabriela Teodoro. "Tradicional casa de carnes Rodeio vai fechar as portas? Saiba o motivo." BNews São Paulo, 21 October 2025. www.bnewssaopaulo.com.br/noticias/entretenimento/tradicional-casa-de-carnes-rodeio-vai-fechar-as-portas-saiba-o-motivo.html
- Forbes Brasil (Forbes Life). Article on the new addresses of Rodeio and Così in São Paulo. October 2026. forbes.com.br/forbes-life/2026/10/rodeio-e-cosi-novos-enderecos-em-sao-paulo-a-mesma-essencia
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