On the banks of the Tapajós River is Casa do Saulo, elected three times the best restaurant in the North Region, by Prazeres da Mesa magazine. Under the command of chef, businessman and activist Saulo Jennings, the award-winning restaurant in Santarém, Pará, is known for its authentic Amazonian cuisine, especially for dishes with regional ingredients such as tambaqui and pirarucu. Therefore, the fish, flour, herbs, fruits and handicrafts come from small rural and/or riverside communities close to Santarém. A sustainable production chain that Saulo is keen to maintain, respecting natural cycles and knowing the origin of the products that bring flavor and value to each customer's table. Certainly a great stop for those who are in Alter do Chãowhich is 20 km from Casa do Saulo.
Currently, the chef has three restaurants in Pará and one in Rio de Janeiro, at the Museum of Tomorrow, as well as a jungle hotel with bungalows and boat trips on the river.
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How to get
Casa do Saulo is located in Santarém, Pará, on Carapanari beach, around 27 km from the village of Alter do Chão. It is possible to take a car or taxi to the restaurant, but arriving by boat along the Tapajós River is certainly a more pleasant trip.
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Award-winning restaurant in Santarém
Born and raised on the banks of the Tapajós, Saulo Jennings worked in marketing and sales for multinational companies. But he decided to return to his roots: he bought land away from the center of Santarém on the banks of the Tapajós and started teaching kitesurfing. The fancy post-class snacks started to be a hit, and thus Casa do Saulo was born. Today, 14 years later, the restaurant has more than 300 seats, is a mandatory stop in the region and has become a symbol of Tapajón cuisine.
When you arrive at Casa do Saulo, there are several rooms with rustic decor, and even a charming pool in the middle. The restaurant is spacious and airy, in the middle of the forest, and also has a vegetable garden and stairs that take us to the beach. In other words, those programs that last all day.
The menu offers a variety of starter options, such as the sensational pirarucu sausage with jambu (R$49.90), artisanal fresh pirarucu sausage with jambu in tucupi sauce, with Arapiuns melipona honey lightly spiced with farofa and vinaigrette.
As for the main dishes, there are options for individual dishes or to share. The Paraíso Verde (R$159.90), for example, comes with a fish medallion wrapped in bacon, sealed in black tucupi molasses and Santarém bean hummus, and comes with Amazonian chicory rice and farofa. Another suggestion is the dish named after the restaurant, which is one of the most famous. Casa do Saulo (R$169.90) is fish fillet with grilled pink prawns in Brazil nut sauce with fried plantains, accompanied by rice and farofa.
Social commitment
Furthermore, each dish served at the award-winning restaurant in Santarém helps maintain social projects, such as “Casa do Saulo Amigo”, a public/private partnership that collaborates with the education of 75 children in a community school, and “Tapajós Vivo”, in which the chef promotes conscious management training and cultivation of organic crops. There is also “Cozinha Tapajós”, when chefs from all over Latin America exchange experiences with chefs from Santarém in an immersion in the Amazon production chain.
In fact, the award-winning restaurant in Santarém is a must-see for anyone traveling through the region! An experience that exalts the best of our gastronomy, long live chef Saulo and his beautiful work.
End: Rodovia Interpraias, S/N – Km 4 Curuatatuba São Francisco do Carapanari, Santarém
By Duda Vétere and Daniella Cavalcanti
Photos: Daniella Cavalcanti, Disclosure/Instagram
