Restaurant Atletico — Restaurant in Horta

Absolutely brilliant restaurant. I can't believe I have been here for two years and not visited before!

The food is exceptional, specialising largely on being cooked over wood embers. A comprehensive menu of beef steaks, pork, chicken and fish as well as vegetarian options are on offer. Service is exceptional, friendly and efficient, informative and multi-lingual.

Several dining locations are available: There is a large outdoor covered terrace. indoor seating areas and bar and even private dining rooms that can be hired for parties. The ambience and décor are unified making for a very pleasant 'vibe'.

On arrival with friends, we chose a table that was getting the late evening sun, and the attentive head waiter came over within moments of us sitting down, taking the drinks order and bringing the large menu; it was explained that if we wanted fish it was not on the menu but was available to see inside, as it is fresh and different every day. Meanwhile, a speciality seems to be the Russian Beer! Again the waiter was very informative about the type of beers available and their characteristics ... strong if desired!

I ordered a steak rib-eye and was asked how I would like it cooked. My companions ordered pork chops and a vegetarian skewer. All came accompanied by the most amazing 'fries' - coated and seasoned to perfection. In fact, these where not your usual fries or chips, but a meal in themselves. Huge crunchy, soft-in-the-middle wedges. Fabulous. Also each dish had a varied salad, corn on the cob, and a very nicely spicy carrot sauerkraut type of dish.

I tried a little of my friends pork and it was great... I had my own 'warfare' going on with my vegetable sides, so did not try my other friends vegetarian skewers. But he was enjoying it with gusto!

Now, my steak: The flavour was amazing. I shudder to think what the weight was of the piece of beef. It was huge. In fact, half of it is sitting in my fridge here at home ready to be reheated. The flavour and smell of the wood had permeated the meat wonderfully. However, since the steak was at least 6cms thick, I should have chosen medium-well rather than medium-rare. But my own fault. So the centre of the steak was a bit gnarly. Also, worth bearing in mind that these are Portuguese / Azorean cuts and not the same as a UK or US cut, so they tend to be a little bit tougher.... they make you work your jaw muscles a bit more! No complaints - just get a thinner steak if you don't like chewing so much :)

It is worth noting that the pork was 'melt in the mouth'. Next time I must try the fish. And yes there will be a next time. Soon.

The meal was finished with a coffee and I had an Aguardente - one of the best I have tasted on the island.

I can not comment on the total bill, as my friend paid (me next time!), but I did note that the steak...

Great lunch/diner option with lots of BBQ/grill meat/fish/seafood dishes. Outdoor garden is great for summer vibe. We had the following meals for lunch on 13/08/2025: Cabbage salad. It is not fresh cabbage but brined in vinegar with carrot strips. It is nice but make sure you love vinegar infused salad. Rating 7 out of 10. Kelp (seaweed) salad. They give you about 75g of kelp and 75g of wakame. All quite heavily dressed in rice vinegar. Normally you don't this type of heavily dressed with rice vinegar salad in sushi restaurants. Local take on how to do it. As much as I love seaweed and fine with vinegar dressing, this was a bit too overpowered with it. Rating 6 out of 10. Beef tenderloin. We asked medium rare. Was done closer to well done. Tender meat. Nicely char grilled. Comes wit nice baked potatoes, corn from can, fresh salad with onion, tomato, cucumber and bits of iceberg. Generous portion. Rating 8 out of 10. Octopus on the grill was a delight. Not chewy, tender, perfect caramelization on the grill. with baked potatoes, same salad. There was about 250 grams of octopus which is a huge chunk of protein. Rating 9 out of 10. Grilled prawns ordered with crispy sweet potato chips. Chips were done properly and were moreish. Prawns grilled to perfection. No complaints. Great simple plate of food. Rating 9 out of 10. The total was 159.20 Euro for 3 main courses, salad, sweet potatoes side dish, water, coffee and beer. Worth getting back

We had dinner on 14/08/2025 and paid 186 Euro for the following: Fish soup with rice. It was good. Rating 7 out of 10. Tuna sashimi. Tuna was local and not best graded but fresh. Rating 6 out of 10. Cabbage salad pickled. Rating 7 out of 10. Stone crab priced 34 Euro per kilo. Crab was dressed but you had to extract white meat from claws with utensils. Rating 8 of out 10. Blackspotted sea bream locally caught at 25 Euro per portion was perfectly BBQued on the grill. Rating 8 out of 10. Prawns on the grill were nicely seasoned and chargrilled. Rating 8 out of 10. Irio fish (amberjack) was perfectly BBQued, seasoned and flavoured. No complaints with rating 9 out of 10. Simple veggies salad was fresh and with fresh cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, iceberg lettuce and onions. Rating...

Food here hit our expectations, and we would happily return.

Lot's of positives and only a couple irritations. A multitude of options for all folks ( maybe less so if you're vegetarian or vegan), with excellent prices. My partner ordered the bone marrow app, and was like a kid in a candy store. Not my vibe personally, but he spoke about it for the next 24 hours.

As a main, he ordered a pork dish (not entirely sure which one), but once again was a happy camper. I took one of the recommended dishes which was a rump cut stew and it was phen.om.en.al. Excellent flavours, tender meat that melted in your mouth. Abundant. It was so filling and absolutely worth the wait (took a solid 45 minutes after the bone marrow).

Considering how many tables and people there are, it felt surprisingly cozy and intimate. Perhaps because my partner and I were seated at the very back near the kitchen.

The service was medicore. We had a reservation and still waited in line for ten minutes before anyone even said hello. Waiters appear to be responsible for all tables, so we were engaging with different people often.

Reservations are kind of non-negotiable, just like everywhere in small, but touristy areas. If you don't have one, you will likely struggle to get a table, especially at a joint as popular as this one.

All in all, would...