Effendi is an Armenian restaurant I knew about through one of my brothers. It surprised me with the variety and excellent flavor of the esfihas. It was founded in 1973 by Armenian immigrants who found refuge in downtown São Paulo due to the Turkish invasion that caused a genocide of the Armenian population between 1915 and 1923.
Since its founding, it has been one of the restaurants that spread Armenian cuisine in São Paulo with dishes such as harissa (prepared with wheat grain and shredded meat), sarma (grape leaf roll stuffed with meat, rice and spices), the curd-based drink airan, along with delicacies already familiar to Brazilians such as kibe and the meat pies esfihas, which were introduced by Lebanese and Syrian immigrants.
Address: Rua Dom Antônio de Melo, near the metro stations Luz and Tiradentes, beside the street named Rua das Noivas.
In this post, I will describe what I tried on my visit to Effendi on a Saturday: esfihas, airan and harissa.
Esfihas
If you love esfihas, Effendi should be on your list of places to visit in São Paulo. It is undoubtedly one of the best esfiha shops in the city. The meat esfiha I tried there is one of the best I have ever eaten, with the meat being tender and the dough crispy. They serve both open and closed esfihas.
In addition to the meat esfiha, they also have options of esfihas made with cheese, spinach, zaatar and a peculiar variety is the esfiha with basterma dried meat. One of the symbols of Armenian cuisine, the esfiha with basterma dried meat, or basturma, is prepared with a dehydrated meat that resembles the biltong of South Africa and that is usually seasoned to give it flavor. It is a meat that goes well with cheese and esfiha.
Airan
Airan is a curd-based drink, also traditional in Armenia, and is the drink in the image below. It is usually seasoned with salt and looks like yogurt at first glance, but when you taste it, it is like curd juice. It is a refreshing drink for hot days and goes well with esfihas.
Harissa
After the esfihas, I decided to try harissa, or herisseh, an Armenian dish made with whole wheat and shredded meat, served with toasted pita bread and butter sauce. I don’t remember having tried whole wheat before, it would look too much like beans from a distance. It’s reminiscent of Brazilian feijoada with shredded meat, and it’s good when mixed with the butter sauce.
If you love eating esfihas and have not yet visited Esfiharia Effendi, or are just traveling in São Paulo, I am sure you will love the opportunity to try the meat with basterma and feel like you are in a little corner of Armenia in the city.
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