Cantinho de Amizade Snack Bar Restaurante — Restaurant in Santo Antão

On our first trip in the early 1990s when there was more scarcity, we had spent several afternoons in the (cement-block) courtyard as the CdA had the best beer in RG (still Ceres, if I'm not mistaken), but stayed at a different pension (where I remember a great view from an upstairs loggia open to all guests but a dingy shower flooding the floor). This time we stayed at the CdA on the 2nd floor (no elevator), sharing a spacious recently renovated apartment with the couple we were traveling with. We never used the "living room" but each had a lockable bedroom with its own bathroom, equipped with a tub+shower enclosed with sliding panels, which is unusual for the places we stay at when visiting CV. Our room was dark, with odd windows, no view, but all we wanted was a place to sleep and wash up. Everything was fine, quiet, clean, good bed, good breakfast in an attractive dining room. We also had dinner in the courtyard on the first evening, which was also fine but unremarkable. After breakfast, we usually went to the nearby cafe at the gas station/grocery store to get an espresso and meet our aluguer driver, so it was...

First impression as we entered the recycled bottle top entrance curtain and could see inside wasn't positive. However we were dying for a beer and something to eat.| Just shows how wrong first impressions can be! Service was excellent and the food ( mainly prawns and octopus ) was terrific by any standards. | Don't be put off by appearances this is well...

The place seems to be frequented more by tourists than by locals. Guides bring their clients here. The fish soup was good but the portion was quite small. Prato do dia (450 escudos) - frango gratinado com arroz e salada - was very small, not enough for one person and not very tasty. A lot of dishes are made of frozen...