Pitanga

Pitanga is a Brazilian-inspired, health-focused cafe and juice bar on Starr Street in Bushwick, founded in 2015 by Raquel Furtado — a Brazilian-born chef, certified holistic nutritionist, and the first in her family to own and operate a restaurant. The name "Pitanga" refers to Eugenia uniflora, the Brazilian cherry native to tropical South America, and derives from the Tupi indigenous language word "pi'tang," meaning "red." The cafe's tagline — "Born in Brazil, Made in Brooklyn" — captures the spirit of a concept that draws deeply on Furtado's upbringing in the Pantanal region of Brazil, where she grew up surrounded by medicinal plants, herbs, and superfoods. Furtado's path to opening the cafe was shaped by a personal health crisis: after being diagnosed with a thyroid condition, she embarked on a journey into juicing, raw foods, and gluten-free eating that would become the foundation of Pitanga's menu. She holds a Culinary Arts degree from the Institute of Culinary Education and a Holistic Nutrition certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and staged at Musket Room, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Nolita. Pitanga began as a cold-pressed juice delivery service operating out of a shared kitchen before a successful Kickstarter campaign — raising over fifty thousand dollars from 102 backers — provided the capital to open the brick-and-mortar storefront. The cafe occupies an expanded double-wide space on Starr Street, with exposed brick, warm lighting, wall art, and high ceilings in the larger section. The original side offers intimate two-person tables, bar-style seating, and a large communal table, while the expanded section adds a six-seat bar, additional tables, booth seating, and outdoor patio tables. Free WiFi is available throughout, and wall outlets support laptop use at most tables, though booth seating is reserved for non-laptop guests. The menu is veggie-forward and built around organic, locally sourced, non-GMO ingredients, incorporating Brazilian superfoods like acai, guarana, acerola, catuaba, and cacao. Signature offerings include organic cold-pressed juices, gluten-free breads, wraps, salads, toasts, and brunch staples like poached eggs and French toast. Beer, wine, and fresh juice-infused cocktails round out the drink program alongside single-origin Brazilian coffee. Furtado also launched the Pantanal Project, a conservation initiative supporting the Pantanal wetlands after devastating wildfires destroyed thirty percent of the region in 2019. Pitanga has been featured on Resy, Cool Hunting, Bushwick Daily, and multiple lists of the best Brooklyn cafes for brunch and remote work. A second location, Pitanga North, opened in Gardiner in the Hudson Valley in early 2025 as a full farm-to-table dinner restaurant.