Somehow I missed this reply! Thank you! Otaka is on my radar and I’m debating it. Our first 6 nights we are staying in places without a ton of variety in terms of food so I feel like mixing it up with something like Otaka in Ponta Delgada may be a good move. Would a well behaved child be frowned upon at Otaka? I couldn’t tell if it was more of an adult type place and I don’t want to bring her anywhere she’d be potentially disturbing people out for a kid free night. (She’s really well behaved at restaurants, but she’s still a kid!) Did you find reservations were necessary in Ponta Delgada? I’m narrowing down our itinerary and will probably try to reserve a couple places for our nights. Thanks!!!
There were a couple of kids there when we had dinner there, so I don’t think it would be frowned upon at all. We did make reservations at the ag association restaurant and Õtaka as friends had advised we might need them, but most places it seemed like you could walk in and get seated pretty easily. However, we were there in February which is definitely not peak tourist time, so summer could be a different story.
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Thanks!
In my experience, kids are much more welcome in dining establishments in Europe compared to the UK. I’ve watched quite young kids dining in fairly formal settings in France, Italy and Spain and being treated with kindness and respect.
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Thank you! This is our first Europe trip with our daughter. I know I’m biased since I’m her mom, but she really is very well behaved in restaurants (home, another story:joy:
) for a 6 year old. She’s super polite to wait staff and she occasionally will receive a little treat for her politeness (it’s happened multiple times- her latest and greatest was a mango lassi on the house at an Indian restaurant), which keeps the good behavior going. She also is an extremely adventurous eater, which often endears her to wait staff. I am glad to hear that hopefully she will be received well, as it makes it less stressful for us parents too knowing she’s welcome!
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@ieatalotoficecream
I’ve been in Ponta Delgada now for the past 6 days sampling every local dish I can possibly handle! And 2 more days to go!
Yes, for Otaka, I would definitely reserve, and if you have any interest in Michel or Louvre Michelins, the same. Both take reservations and tonight a table at Michel is only available for 9:15.
Some restaurants do not take reservations (Ta Gente, A Tasca), and the wait at the former if one doesn’t arrive at 7, can be about 20 minutes. At the latter, the wait can be much longer, as it seems to be the very most popular restaurant here in Ponta Delgada and gets slammed. Our host says to go at 6 pm, put your name on the list, have a drink and hopefully wait for only 20-30 minutes. We’ll see.
We snagged an early reservation at Alcides at 7 pm, the famous place for beef here, but I would advise you to skip it. There are other spots on the island with much better beef, we think–the above-mentioned Restaurante Associação Agricola is a MUST! Also A Galego in the countryside.
My husband also had an excellent “bife a regional” (lomo) topped with an egg and red pepper sauce at O Silva while I finally experience lapas (limpets) and the alheira sausage plus morcela (blood sausage) served with pineapple!.
As for Cozido das Furnas, it is also a must and utterly delicious (cooked underground for 6 hours) albeit gargantuan. The most “elegant” (tuxedo clad waiters) place to enjoy it is Terra Nostra Garden hotel (where we weren’t staying), but our tour guide took us to a very local place, Vale das Furnas, which served up an excellent version. with no large tour groups, and we were able to see our cozido lifted up from its steaming hole and driven to the restaurant by the manager.
Bar Caloura is a charming place on the water with delicious seafood at the sunset hour.
We are at a hotel and have bolo lêvedo, banana bread, pasteis de nata, assorted queijadas (cheese baked tarts) of mulitple flavors, massa sovada (a sweet potato bread), for breakfast but have yet to find malassadas, round balls of dough, deep fried, then rolled in granulated sugar or fofas (fennel flavored pastries that look like eclairs with a creamy filling and chocolate frosting (from Povoaçao, where we stopped today)…
Tomorrow we’re dining at Tasquinha Viera (with reservations!) so I will report back.
So far, our very best seafood meal has been at BOM PESQUEIRO, which is extraordinary, both the seafood and the service. It’s next to the Burger King facing the public ocean pool in the Portas do Mar, and if our guides hadn’t recommended it so highly we would have missed it.
We’ve had wonderful seafood on the Cantabrian coast (Gueyu Mar in Asturias, D’Berto in Galicia, Kaia Kapie in the Basque Country, but our meal at Bom Pesqueiro was every bit as memorable.
At Bom Pesqueiro we started with their roasted octopus and shared a boca negra, which was charcoal grilled to perfection. And washed down with an Illa do Pico verdehlo white wine. And for dessert, their famous lemon merengue confection to share (so delicious!).
It’s friendly, warm and very family friendly (baby carriages, booster seats). Please do not miss this gem!!
We walked in and easily snagged a table when they opened at 12:30 pm and our waiter directed us to the seafood tank to choose our fish–he suggested the boca negra and it was phenomenal!!!
Each fish is served with 2 side vegetables of one’s choice (we chose sweet potatoes and a grilled carrot, brocoli medley) and 2 sauces (green sauce and the ubiquitous red pepper sauce) .
Unfortunately many restaurants in Ponta Delgada don’t have web pages with menus, but instead Instagram and Facebook.
Fish that we’ve tried to date:
polvo (octopus, of course), garoupa, boca negra, cherne, veja, lapas (limpets), lulas (squid), tuna steak, parrot fish, chicarros fritos (fried mackerel).
Left to try: cântaro (rockfish) and cracas, a type of barnacle, but I haven’t seen them on menus.
Our favorite soft drink: Kima in a can
The island is just unbelievably lush and beautiful and in our 3 day-long excursions, we’ve explored so many extraordinary spots, those miradouros–a photographer’s dream. And our whale watching morning with Picos de Aventura gave us viewings of a large group of sperm whates, plus plenty of dolphins. So much fun! And very popular with families.
You’ll have a wonderful time!
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Oh my gosh! Thank you SO much! This is incredible info. I am about to start reaching out to restaurants to make reservations for our four nights in Ponta Delgada- some of the places you named are familiar and on my list, and others are not so I will add those! We are spending three nights near Sete Cidades and booked a jeep tour with our host one of those days. Three nights will be near Nordeste and then the final four will be in Ponta Delgada. We have a food walking tour booked and will do whale watching too. We read a children’s book about Portugal and the only thing my daughter remembers from it is that many people eat pastries for breakfast and she has now been asking for months when we are leaving for the land where people eat pastries for breakfast every morning so that she too can do so! Have you had any delicious gelato/ice cream? Thank you again!!
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Yes, pastries for breakfast every morning! Our breakfast buffet is a groaning board of pastries.
As for gelato there’s Gelateria Abracadabra in Ponta Delgada that is very popular. Facebook page only.
We spent the entire day on a Nordeste tour, and we both agreed it was the most dramatic scenery to date. We ended our day at the fabulous Ribera dos Caldeiroes, with unbelievable scenery, still working water mills and waterfalls and wonderful walking paths. I’m so glad we chose to add the northeast to our explorations. The towns there are immaculate, beautifully well kept and this section of the island is still somewhat off the beaten path. So peaceful and extraordinarily lush.
Tonight we attempted a dinner at A Tasca but at 8:40 the wait outside on the square was still way too long.
We felt it just didn’t warrant the wait, so we went to Wine & Art instead, which is a couple’s type of place, quite romantic with jazz music, soft lighting, small plates dining ( carpaccio of octopus, 5 island cheese platter, tuna belly with olives, and a top flight wine, port and spirits list, but Ta Gente next door is more family friendly and hugely popular. Best to go at 7 for dinner.
Again, some places do open at 6.
Sunday is tough for dining here, as many spots are closed tight.
That’s why we headed straight to BOM PESQUEIRO for lunch after whale watching.
Oh my cod does a nice food tour.
And for shopping, run don’t walk to the Prince of Cheeses! He sells everything!
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As a mom who has traveled to Europe (Azores, Canaries, Iceland, Scandinvaia, London) with Spring Onion since he was 3, you have nothing to worry about. And even in London, @medgirl, he was treated quite well (he was offered and served a “baby-cino” [steamed milk] in one kinda-posh breakfast place in Mayfair with some fanfare).
Spring Onion, in spite of his many faults (due to his still-developing frontal lobe), behaves very well in restaurants. He asked me last week what he thought about bringing a date out to lunch with us. He wants to impress a classmate who has shown some interest in him. 
Cannot wait to hear about your trip. @ieatalotoficecream. As @Maribel posted, the hydrangeas and the greenery are lush. The ocean is wild and beautiful. As B says about places like this, it’s like the best kind of blood pressure medicine.
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Bom Pesqueiro looks amazing. Do they take reservations? Ta Gente doesn’t take reservations right?
We are doing the hungry whales food tour! So excited!
Happy to hear Nordeste was beautiful. Our rental there has a pool and we don’t have anything planned other than pool, beach, and scenic drives/hikes.
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I had taken Ta Gente off my list because it looked more like a bar - but is it okay for kids? The tapas and cocktails look amazing!
Also - @Maribel -thinking of Restaurante Associação Agricola on way from Sete Cidades to Nordeste (if they do lunch). We’d have a good amount of luggage in the car- would we be okay parking there with visible suitcases in the car? Thanks
@ieatalotoficecream
I think the ASSM would be a great lunch stop during your move and it has its own parking lot. It opens at noon and has a children’s menu.
I’ll check the crowd on the Ta Gente terrace tonight to see if I spot any kids. Inside it looks and feels like a cocktail bar but we have sat on the terrace.
We are a bit too early for the full blown hydrangeas, as the spring has been cooler and wetter than usual, which has delayed the blossoms. There are still plenty to enjoy, but they don’ blanket theroad sides and gardens yet.
Our “fanciest” meal has been at A Terra inside the Hotel Octant with views of the port, but it would be fine for kids at lunch. We enjoyed their 25 euro executive menu, a great value.
I think the Bom Pesqueiro may take reservations, but I’ll check.
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Regarding gelato, there is a stand near the fortress and another Mucca stand near the ship terminal.
The best, the Abracadabra shop opens at 1:30 but closes on Tuesdays.
Ditto to the lovely coffee, wine and lunch stop (kid friendly), “Cascara Coffe”, in PD’s prettiest BnB, the Casa das Palmeiras.
My husband had one of the best sandwiches ever there with that delicious Azores bacon and I enjoyed a luscious Eggs Benedict tucked inside a bolo lêvedo.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DJCL6w8oR1V/
We stopped again this morning at O Principe dos Queixos (the Prince of Cheese, the son of the King of Cheese in the market) and it is a perfect place to purchase picnic fixings or gourmet gifts. He stocks every queixada made on the 9 islands, plus all the islands’ cheeses and breads, Picos wines and liquors and that wonderful pimenta sauce. And here I finally found the malassadas but with a different name.
Do not miss!
Our favorite Azores white wine thus far: Pedras Brancas Reserva from Graciosa island, a blend of verdelho, arinto dos Açores, Boal.
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Great, I’ll book ASSM for our transit day lunch. Thanks for checking out Ta Gente! Since they’re open Mondays, thinking we could try there on our first night in PD which happens to be a Monday - maybe less crowded? But I’ll wait to hear back from you if you think kids are OK to bring there. Funny you mentioned A Terra as I am going to book that for lunch on our day in Furnas. I figured that lunch would be okay with kids! I will try reaching out to Bom Pesqueiro for our final night’s dinner to see if they can book us in. Really hoping the hydrangeas are blooming by the time we arrive in a few weeks as that’s a huge draw for me! Thank you for the ice cream, coffee, and cheese shop recommendations - all going on the list, especially the Prince of Cheese! Lol! Unfortunately I can’t drink wine or beer these days but I’m sure I could convince my husband to try a few glasses of that wine. He’s a big beer guy so we’ll try out a couple of breweries and I love craft cocktails which is why Ta Gente really appeals! Thanks again! I told my husband your posts have made me SO excited for our trip!
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Hi,
Just went by Ta Gente and saw kids on the terrace! Don’t hesitate. Just go early to snag a terrace table.
Our most gastronomic dinner, other than the fabulous Bom Pesqueiro, was tonight at Tasquinha Vieira, just a block away from A Tasca, which at first I thought was couples only, then a couple with a baby in a carriage came in, and they were, of course, warmly welcomed and seated in the cellar in a table for 4, and the little tike looked very happy in his/her booster seat at the table.
The food, my husband declared, was our second best meal, after Bom Pesqueiro.
We had a starter of mussels in a curry sauce (the chef’s sauces are exceptional), then for our mains to share, a deep fried cod-like dish in a fantastic butter sauce with noodles and the best tuna steak with julienne vegetables that I’ve ever had.
And for dessert we shared their chocolate confection on a bed of creme anglaise (photos to follow when we have them organized.
Gastronomic.
The Azores bottle prices were through the roof (we aren’t wine snobs), so we chose a bottle of Herdade de Rocim from the Alentejo, at a more reasonable price. Very attentive service and truly memorable cuisine. If you book here (it opens at 6:30), be sure to request a table either in the cellar or in the back “hidden” garden. This is not your typical mom and pop, huge portions, Azorian cuisine, but rather very refined with a noted chef working almost alone in the open kitchen. Again, children are fine, but book in the cellar or in the back garden.
It’s very close to A Tasca, whose wait for a table was still very long, when we went by at 8:30. We gave it a pass.
We stopped in again at Wine and Art, right above Ta Gente for a final glass. For dessert they serve a killer chocolate cake plus a queijada da Vila topped with ice cream and Chantilly, and the service is delightful. It also has a small terrace. Terrace dining you’ll find everywhere.
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Great, we’ll aim to do Ta Gente Monday evening when they open. Ha, last night I reserved Tasquinha Vieira for one of the nights! But I will email them with the note about the back garden or cellar. Super excited to get there!
I just remembered that Bom Pesqueiro does take reservations, as the table next to us had been reserved. Alas the couple never appeared to honor their reservation.
@ieatalotoficecream and others contemplating a visit to São Miguel,
Last night at Wine & Art I chatted with one of the food and wine tour guides from Hungry Wales, and he explained (in perfect English) what two types of tours they offer, and I mention this because for those interested in a Ponta Delgada food tour, I wouldn’t hesitate to book with them.
The wines from Pico are exceptional, especially the whites, but expensive. A wonderful place to learn more about them, sample them by the glass or by the bottle or purchase them is the lovely wine bistro, Wine & Art by 1,001 Garrafas, in Ponta Delgada. The lovely gentleman owner and his delightful female companion made our 3 visits memorable.
Plus they offer a delicious, very dense chocolate cake topped with gelato and chantilly and a queijada topped with the same for dessert. The best octopus carpaccio and presunto carpaccio with Parmesan cheese that I’ve ever had, along with their superb 5 island cheese platter.
Also, if one is interested in private tours of the entire island, I can highly recommend the services of Pedro Ferreira and his colleagues of Azores Tours.
Because my husband did not want to rent a car and negotiated the infinite twists and turns of the island’s (well maintained and well signed) roads, we chose to book 3 full day tours with Pedro, Jorge and Filipe in their comfortable Mercedes vehicles. We were picked up at our hotel at 9 am and ended our touring days at 5, with a long lunch stop.
On our first day, we chose the Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) & Lago do Fogo (Fire Lake) tour, visiting the two famous lakes, one emerald and one blue.
On the following day we did the Furnas circuit (eastern part of the island) with time to soak in the thermal pools and wander the immaculate gardens next to the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel and watch our cozido being lifted from the geothermal fumaroles at the caldeiras (on the other side of Furnas village) after 6 hours of slow cooking underground.
Our cozido consisted of pork shanks, chicken, beef shoulder, chouriço, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, cabbage, kale and taro (the latter I had never tasted) with morcela (blood sausage) added to the top (not cooked underground with the cozido). It was a Pantagruelian feast, and while we did make a major dent in this gargantuan meal, there was plenty left over for a family of four!
https://www.futurismo.pt/blog/cozido-das-furnas/
For our final touring day we booked the Nordeste & Povoação tour, which was surprisingly our favorite in terms of its truly stunning scenery and pristine villages.
Since these were private tours, we could have tailored them to our wishes, but we trusted Pedro to show us the most beautiful scenery on the island.
These tours did include a visit to the 1883 Cha Gorreana tea factory (one of only 2 tea producing factories in Europe) and the pineapple plantation, Plantacao de Ananases Augusto Arruda, where one can sample all the pineapple drinks and sweets that one can imagine, even pineapple beer and the unusual (to me) combination of blood sausage (morcela) and pineapple.
The Azores, I learned, produces gin. Rocha Negra and Goshawk are the 2 labels that we tried. Alas, we didn’t have time to visit the Gin Library on an estate outside of town, which boasts the “world’s largest collection of gins”.
https://gin-library.com
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Great info!!!
We have a walking tour booked with Hungry Whales while in PD, and a 6 hour tour of Sete Cidades booked while we’re staying out that way. We don’t usually do tours but the Sete Cidades one was appealing since the jeeps can get places easier than whatever car we end up with, and it’s toward the beginning of our trip, and we thought it would be nice to orient ourselves and talk to a local. The food tour looks great as well and since my Portuguese is very rudimentary I wanted to get the scoop on food on the island from a local too. I know my daughter will love it too!
