Restaurante Manu Buffara

Manu Buffara, Seasonal Fine Dining in Curitiba

Restaurante Manu Buffara is a fine-dining restaurant in the Batel neighborhood of Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It opened in January 2011 and is led by chef Manoela Buffara Ramos, known as Manu Buffara. The restaurant describes itself as the first in Brazilian history led by a woman and serving only a tasting menu.

The restaurant has five tables and serves an average of 20 guests a night. Its fine-dining approach centers on fresh, seasonal ingredients, 60% of them plant-based. The chef knows where each ingredient comes from, and the restaurant says 80% of them are sourced from producers within 300 kilometers.

A Tasting Menu Rooted in Place

Manu’s cooking is organized around a tasting menu inspired by the stories of the chef, her team, and the producers she works with. The restaurant says it uses fresh products, which can lead to sudden menu changes. Its approach is summed up in three elements: sea, garden, and countryside.

The Chef’s Career and Recognition

Manu Buffara was named Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2022 by the 50 Best Academy. The restaurant’s website lists other recognition: in 2021, the restaurant ranked No. 49 on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list; in 2022, the chef was named Best Female Chef in Latin America by the 50 Best Academy and ranked No. 46 in The Best Chef Awards’ Top 100. She has also served as a permanent judge at the Basque Culinary Center since 2019 and participated in the last four editions of the Gelinaz collective. Chefs Alex Atala and food curator and journalist Andrea Petrini have said, according to the restaurant, that Manu Buffara helped put Curitiba on the global culinary map.

International Projects

From November 2022 to November 2023, the chef led the restaurant Fresh in the Garden at Soneva Resort in the Maldives. Part of the Curitiba team traveled there, and dishes were prepared with ingredients from the hotel’s garden and neighboring countries such as India and Sri Lanka. The venue had 35 tables and a menu with 30% vegan choices, 30% vegetarian dishes, and recipes featuring fish and seafood.

In October 2022, Manu Buffara opened her second restaurant, Ella, in New York City’s Meatpacking District. Designed by architect Isay Weinfeld, the restaurant has 60 seats and presents a more casual side of the chef, with shareable dishes and appetizers made with fresh, seasonal ingredients and a Brazilian touch.

Sustainability and Community

Since Manu opened, the chef has taken part in sustainability initiatives such as protecting native Brazilian bees, supporting young producers so they can remain in Paraná’s fishing and farming areas, and Hortas Urbanas, a program that creates community gardens on vacant lots in the state capital.

Since 2020, the Instituto Manu Buffara has led efforts including the annual Alimenta Curitiba event, which distributes food and supports education and social inclusion in the city’s poorest areas. The chef is also part of Mulheres do Bem, a group of women chefs that serves 400 lunches each week to people experiencing homelessness at a city government facility in Curitiba.

Reservations and Dining Room

The restaurant accepts reservations through its website for the tasting-menu experience. Its published address is Alameda Dom Pedro II, 317, Batel, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

Location and Contact

Alameda Dom Pedro II, 317, Batel, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil · Phone: +55 (41) 3044-4395