Velhão is far from being just a restaurant: it is really a citadel in the middle of Serra da Cantareira, where I go for the magic of leaving São Paulo almost without leaving it.
An incredible getaway in the midst of the green, high up, where there's food, stores and bars. I've even listened to a guy singing in italian there, a country duo... It's like a very unusual theme park!
The cool thing is that the whole complex is made out of recycled demolition material, so I trip out on the place's structures and all of the beauty around it.
There's even a record store where I've found pretty cheap stuff such as classic Elvis and Johnny Cash LPs, some nice findings.
Restaurant Das Véia is incredible and takes you on a tour around Brazil and the world with all kinds of food, pasta, meat and salads at a fixed price, so you can have a blast.
You better eat well at the end to get yourself together if, like me, you decided to get up there on a bike... The way down, though, is gonna be wonderful!