Restaurante Mini-Mar — Restaurant in Horta

Stopped by the other day with friends for lunch and again yesterday for drinks and a snack. So this is two reviews for the price of one! It should be noted that Mini-Mar has a connected bar/café.

An impromptu lunch stop - the weather was breezy, but nice enough to sit outside in the sheltered and umbrella covered seating area. I ordered the Sardinhas Grelhado which came with boiled potatoes (good to soak up the juices!) and a salad. Six lovely sardines lined up on the plate, all a good size and plump and VERY fresh. The potato and salad came on a second plate. I washed this down with a bottle of Vinho Verde, shared with one of my friends. The sardines where wonderful - crispy skin and moist inside. The potatoes soft, salad crisp and wine Muito Frio! All very good with friendly service.

My second visit a few days later was just for a refreshment and snack at the bar/café, again outside and right on the seafront with wonderful views. Beers served well chilled and a plate of crispy fries was produced in minutes, brought to the table. Simple fries - not a gastronomic creation - but good and filled the gap. Friendly service.

This is a marked improvement on both occasions from earlier in the year, and so I'm giving five stars. I'm not sure if it is because of the end of the tourist season, or if there has been a change of staff - but there is a marked improvement. I appreciate this, since this little place is only five minutes from where I live and it is really reasonably priced. So, an improvement will see me eat there more regularly. Happy!

Oh and no, I only ate 4 sardines … the remaining two where wrapped up in foil with some potatoes for me to take home for...

Terrible. Frozen bread, came to the table hard as a rock. When we told the waiter he said it was hard because it was o overcooked. No, it was frozen man. Then, squid came also cold to the table, it was clearly old, and not even warmed properly. Finally, the worst tuna I ever ate. I’d much rather prefer canned tuna. On top of that, it was expensive. Terrible experience. Don’t get fooled by the spot itself, which is nice in front of the beach. Go there only to buy beer and...

Errado. Estrangeiros só vêm uma vez. Somos espanhóis, entendemos um pouco de português, mas eles não falam inglês. O problema é que dizem que só se pode pagar com cartões de crédito portugueses, é a primeira vez que me acontece a viajar pelo mundo, porquê? Muito estranho, é dinheiro preto para não pagar impostos. Política muito feia. Wrong. foreigners only come once. We are Spanish, we can understand some Portuguese, but they don't speak English. The problem is they say that you can only pay with Portuguese credit cards, it is the first time that it happens to me traveling around the world, why? Very strange, it is black money so as not to pay taxes. Very ugly policy. Mal. Los extranjeros solo venimos una vez. Somos españoles, podemos entender algo de portugués, pero no hablan inglés. El problema es que dicen que solo puedes pagar con tarjetas de crédito portuguesas, es la primera vez que me pasa viajando por el mundo, por qué? Muy extaño, es dinero negro para no pagar impuestos....