Restaurante Bela Vista — Restaurant in Horta

I joined friends for dinner here, seated outside in a group of 8. The view is indeed 'Bela'. The evening went on for several hours, as we all had a good time enjoying the excellent food and wine. Fortunately, it was August and the weather was balmy, so despite its elevated location we remained comfortable.

The menu was varied. All the usual traditional Azorean fare is there; good fish, seafood, steaks, chicken etc - all of course served with both rice and fries. Very good quality.

One of my friends is vegetarian, and this was no problem. They got creative in the kitchen for him. So if a vegetarian option is not on the menu, just ask!

Starters included Prawns and Lapas (a type of clam), Bread, Cheese Fresco, Olives. For mains, Chicken Fillet, Steaks, Various Fish and A Cheese Omelette made their way heartily from table to mouth. Washed down with some house wine, which was very good; a couple of folks staying on the local beer, which is available by the jug.

The collective bill was reasonable (although not cheap by Azorean standards), so I would put this in the mid price category. Saying that, we did not hold the horses and came away satisfied.

Service was excellent, with the staff happily bringing more drinks and extras as required. Our waiter also spoke English, which was of benefit to some of us ... two of the party only spoke French, so that was a bit tricky! Got to learn some...

Traditional restaurant with a lot of local character and atmosphere. We were welcomed by a smiling and kind staff who swiftly guided us to our table. They maintained high professional standards throughout our visit. We had the beef steak and that was a great choice. Well prepared and flavored, with generous amount of various types of sides. Special mention goes to the homemade sauce. The desserts (also homemade) were delicious and the coffee was also great. Overall, the food was really tasty and an excellent value for money. Our impressions of this restaurant were positive and we enjoyed...

I would not go again!! We came here because of the good recommendations and were very disappointed. The food was really bad, we ordered a sausage and fish/shrimps and both dishes were not good at all. Even the salad as a side was not fresh, the tomatoes not ripe and tasteless. The prices for the dishes are between 10-12€, which is quite expensive for Azores already and we were expecting a decent quality, but no. We even felt a bit sick...