O Cachalote by Frank — Restaurant in Angra do Heroísmo

So, overall, I liked this place - the steak on a stone is phenomenal. While it does seem a little gimmicky - the combination of the seasoning and sear makes for a truly delicious steak. The tuna on a stone is good too - and delivers a huge amount of tuna for the price - but the steak is the clear winner. The cocktail I got a was very tasty and reasonably priced as well.

All that said - there's a couple things you should know going in. as far as I can tell, there are only three people running it - this can mean service takes a little longer, especially if there are any big parties in the restaurant Frank - the owner(?) and server is a personality, and while he is pretty friendly, he can come across a little pushy or difficult the bottles of water on the table are not complimentary - if you drink them, they will be added to your bill. the garlic bread is very small - think little dinner roll the sides are kind of mid, but mains literally come with nothing else, so make sure to get at least something to accompany your mains.

Dear Frank, not sure if you read these reviews at all - but if so please consider the following suggestions:

get at least one more person to help with the front of house... maybe a bartender/busser?... if not another server - waiting 20-30 minutes for a drink is not a good experience. remove the water bottles from the table or make them complementary - this feels really deceptive and leaves people with a bad feeling... all so you can charge an extra 1.50 euro per person? likewise, update the photos of the garlic bread in your menu, so they better represent what people will be getting and avoid giving people a nasty surprise When we were ordering, you were very pushy about us ordering sides - in hindsight, this sort of makes sense to me, as the steak doesn't come with anything else - but if you think it's necessary for people to order a side with their steak - just build that into the order and make it so that the steak/tuna come with a basic side (included in the price) that people can pay more to upgrade to other options (if any...

This restaurant is a little off the beaten path, however no matter what it takes you need to come here. The owner Frank is an incredible man... we had the opportunity to spend some time with him after closing and really learn about his passion for the restaurant. His attitude is that he gives you the absolute best of himself and his cuisine. The steak that you cook yourself on the lava rocks will blow your mind. So much so that we went two nights in a row. The steak is proprietary, the house wine is proprietary, and Frank has spent days upon days with each of those people to understand who it is he's associating himself with. His story about how he named the restaurant and why was heart touching and gave some insight into the type of man he is. His son who works there part-time with him would come in after karate practice at the age of 15 and assist his father in the final hours of dining. It sounds ridiculous to say, but insofar as food quality and genuine care of service , I've never been anywhere better. I've only eaten the steak but I can't imagine everything else is any less unbelievable....

[TL;DR] Overhyped tourist trap, so many better options in Angra... Only positive point we found is that the stone steak meat was really super tender (probably imported?). The evening we arrived for dinner at 7:30pm and they were already out of the tuna they also advertise, very disappointing. The sides are limited to either a tasteless salad or a very small and mediocre portion of fries (light yellow, no salt, mushy texture). Sauces that come with the meat have zero interest. We asked for a wine recommendation with specific criteria, the owner recommended "something he really likes and that it personalized", only to realize 15 min later that EVERY table in the restaurant was offered the exact same 🤷🏻‍♂️ Owner's response : "oh yes this is my house wine" (and it tasted like grape juice left in a bad wood barrel, no structure and high acidity) I ordered a gin & tonic when we sat down, it arrived after the steak and needed a reminder to arrive (14.5€ price pointwas totally a rip off, I even chose a local gin) Given the above, absolutely zero willingness to try desserts and spend any more...