São Paulo · ice cream
Frida & Mina
The clearest counter-example to both the Italian and the Amazonian frame: Frida & Mina builds its identity on organic local sourcing and a French/American artisan-ice-cream lineage, and is the single most chef-recommended shop on record here.
What to order
Caramelo com flor de sal, cupuaçu e crocante com macadâmia (author's own recommendation in the followthecolours piece); salted caramel is separately named by pastry chef Rhaiza Zanetti as a house classic
What we know
- Small batches of 10–15 litres made from scratch daily in a visible kitchen behind the counter
- Locally sourced, largely organic base ingredients (milk, eggs, sugar) with no stabilisers or dyes
- Organic vanilla from farms in southern Bahia; coffee flavour made by steeping Martins Café arabica beans in hot milk
- Founders spent roughly two years researching and training (books and courses) before opening, explicitly citing Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream (US) and Berthillon (Paris) as reference points rather than Italian gelato
- Named by three separate working chefs (Catarina Ferraz of Cais, Rhaiza Zanetti of TUJU, and indirectly by Salvatore Loi and Danillo Coêlho) in a single 2024 press roundup of chef favourites
- Status
- open
- Address
- Rua Artur de Azevedo, 1147, Pinheiros, São Paulo
- Maker
- Thomas Zander (production) and Fernanda Bastos, co-founders
- Last checked
- 2026-08-21
Something wrong here? Tell us.