Louvre Michaelense — Restaurant in Ponta Delgada

I do not recommend this place. The customer service was dreadful. I am writing in English because it seems they do not speak Portuguese here.

After reading and seeing reviews about their chocolate cake, I decided to visit, despite some negative comments regarding the service. Unfortunately, I, too, became a victim of the lack of professionalism exhibited by the staff at this establishment.

São Miguel is a place where visitors come to connect with nature, spend the day hiking and exploring, and at the end of the day, it's reassuring to find a spot that offers comfort food and at least a professional level of service. Sadly, my experience was negative from the moment we arrived. The staff immediately began speaking to us in English, which was unnecessary as I informed them I was Portuguese. Instead of acknowledging that they couldn’t speak Portuguese, the employee continued in broken English, which, unfortunately, was not fluent either.

We arrived at 5:00 PM, which was still hours away from their dinner service, yet the staff immediately told us we couldn’t sit at the tables because the kitchen was closed. I explained that we were simply taking a quick break, wanted to have a drink, and try the chocolate cake, and would leave shortly. Despite this, I felt constant pressure to leave, as they were preparing for dinner. The staff seemed anxious that I would remain and occupy space, even though I had already committed to ordering, consuming, and leaving. Reflecting on the price I paid now, the whole experience feels even more absurd. The atmosphere was uncomfortable, and there was a distinct lack of kindness and respect towards customers.

Neither the drinks nor the cake were anything special, and I found the pricing to be quite high considering the quality. The environment feels entirely manufactured for tourists and fails to capture the essence of its location, especially when considering the rude behavior of the staff, which seemed to change depending on who walked in. They seem to be attempting to create a "cool" vibe, but they should start by improving their service quality and showing genuine respect for customers.

As for the prices, it’s expected given the location in the heart of Ponta Delgada. What truly disappointed me was the staff's behavior: pressuring customers to leave, and the fact that no one spoke Portuguese or at least communicated fluently in English.

Instead of responding rudely to negative reviews, the management should take this feedback as an opportunity to reflect and improve. A little self-awareness and an effort to address these recurring issues would go a long way in enhancing the customer experience.

I sincerely hope the management takes note of this feedback and reassesses the customer experience they...

Should've listened to the other 1 star reviews. Re service. Owner is rude. We arrived as the kitchen was closing. We tried to hail a waiter, and one came over 15 mins later. We asked for a piece of cake fries and a tea, and we're told the kitchen had already closed. They have an open concept kitchen and we could still see the fryers on and fries being made. We solicited 3 different waiters to all ask the kitchen if they would mind making fries, all refused to ask the kitchen, but one suggested the restaurant across the street may still make us fries. While my wife waited for cake I went across the street and got take away fries and returned to my wife starting her dessert. I opened my fries and began to eat. A woman who said she is the owner came over and rudely chastised me about bringing in other food. We calmly explained we would rather have paid her the 5 euro for fries at her establishment (instead of paying 3 euros for a massive portion of fries in the restaurant directly across) and tried asking multiple staff. She told us out of respect for her husband who is the chef she does not process orders when the kitchen is closed. We felt very discouraged and uncomfortable being loudly chastised by the owner in front of other patrons when we had tried to flag a waiter and order fries while they were still running, then asked politely for them to ask the chef, and being told no. Chef must be as pompass as his wife, for all the staff to be too afraid to even ask. We quickly requested our bill and left. I have never felt so uncomfortable in a restaurant... especially in a restaurant that is so overpriced and has very average food compared to the surrounding restaurants.

I understand it's not proper to bring outside food into a restaurant but the waiter literally told me to do so after refusing to ask her own kitchen. I would not have done so if they had...

Thoroughly enjoyed the experience here.

It’s a quaint little restaurant in the city proper. A couple tables outside and a variety of seating inside.

We didn’t have a reservation but they managed to squeeze us in. The service team ended up rearranging some other table resos so that we could stay longer (originally gave us an hour). Thank you!

Minus forgetting to order our mains, service was excellent. They were quick and very accommodating. Good recommendations for the menu and dishes were served warm.

My partner and I shared two dishes : the cheese plate and the meatballs. The variety of cheese was nice - there were 3 sorts and all local. 3 slices of bread were provided, I think they could have given one more. The spicey-ish sauce that came with was DELISH! Also should have been more though imo. Actually, they should sell that sauce, it was so good.

Meatball & Polenta dish was great , very filling! Came with 4 good sized meatballs. Could be a main tbh.

My partner ordered the pork belly . He said the flavour was great but much too much fat - like 25%.

The shrimp spaghetti was an easy winner. Multiple staff recommended (yes I asked a couple people). The flavour was popping. Lots of shrimps , pasta cooked perfectly. One of the most delicious sauces I’ve had. A++

Also had a latte, and a passion fruit lemonade. Both were good. The passion fruit lemonade was a lovely balance between tart and sweet.

Would...