Yarsagumba Açores — Restaurant in Ponta Delgada

It saddens me to have to give a very negative review of one of my normally favourite restaurants- however I post as WARNING to others. Apologies for its lengthy description.

My husband, son and myself ate there last night and couldn’t be more appalled by the level of customer service. When we arrived a couple (friends of ours) stated that they’d been waiting almost an hour for their food - they were the only customers present so we SHOULD have been prepared for the farce that followed, but NOPE they surpassed themselves.

We faced similarly ridiculous wait (approx 1.5hrs) and had to chase our meals when we noticed customers arriving a good 20 minutes after us enjoying their food. When we did EVENTUALLY get served my son’s starter arrived at the same time as my husband’s main (or should I say PART of it). My son’s Onion bhaji (with accompanying salad dressing) contained a little “extra” - a caterpillar. My husband’s curry came but we had to ask (twice) before receiving his rice and naan bread. When they managed to deliver these we chased the two missing naans my son and myself had ordered plus MY main of chicken biryani and requested DINNER PLATES as all we had were side plates.

Eventually, we got the naan - one garlic and one cheese instead of the two garlic and cheese ordered, TWO dinner plates and the biryani. As my husband’s meal was in danger of becoming cold he opted to just use the side plate he had as we THOUGHT we had at last got our order MOSTLY sorted out.

Alas, after dishing some of my biryani and tucking into it I discovered (approx 4-5 mouthfuls in) that it in fact contained PRAWNS!!

I called over the waiter to advise him of the error and observed him talking to the kitchen staff. He seemed to relay the problem to the cooks, however, after another 10-15 minutes, there was still NO sign of my food. By this time we had been joined at the table by friends and they were placing their food order with another waiter. I brought up the issue of MY meal with this second member of staff expecting that it might finally reach resolution. Instead he appeared to order our friends meal and then busied himself with stacking plates etc. I called back the original waiter and he shouted at the kitchen staff and slammed his pen down on the counter in apparent anger and frustration with them. Hoorah (we thought) it’ll be put right.

NO - I looked into the open kitchen 5 minutes later to see two staff members chatting at the sink and another wandering around eating chapati or naan bread. Nobody cooking ANYTHING at all!

By this time the two waiters I’d spoken to were standing at the register in discussion and I’m afraid the whole restaurant would have heard the fuss I made at that point. The waiter followed me back to the table and finally removed the dish, shouted at kitchen staff and was visibly upset as he slammed things around in apparent frustration.

It was only AFTER I had to point out just how BAD this situation could have been had I had an ALLERGY that I even got an apology for the whole ridiculous evening. Other customers had to chase their food also - we were not alone.

As always, the food was very tasty - but even with the generous 20% discount we get as attendees of quiznight it was a costly evening that COULD have ended in disaster for someone with a bad or even deadly allergy.

BE...

We visited this wonderful restaurant of Indian cuisine - we were completely delighted! From the very beginning, I was pleased with the warm and hospitable service: the staff is attentive, friendly and always ready to help with the choice of dishes. I especially liked the open kitchen - it’s nice to watch how food is prepared right in front of you, in an atmosphere full of cosiness and aroma of spices. The menu is varied: from classic curry to vegetarian dishes, each of which is prepared with soul and real Indian flavour. The serving of dishes is neat and aesthetic. Special thanks for the level of sharpness - everything can be adapted as desired. The atmosphere in the restaurant is conducive to a leisurely meal and pleasant communication. Cosy interior, calm music and the aroma of spices create a real feeling of travelling to India. We will definitely come back and recommend it to our friends. Thank you for a...

The service was good and the food was also ok. However what really made it a very disappointing experince was that there was a huge American group and they didn't close the restaurant for this group. They were so loud, playing games that it was impossible to talk to each other normal. At one point they played 20 different songs for over 20 min but they just played it for 20-30 seconds (each song). That was so annoying and very loud. when I asked the waiter to turn it down or play at least only one song completely he, he said they are just playing a game. We could understand the group wanted to have a fun night out but in our opinion the restaurant should have made sure they can handle from a noise level such a huge group and normal customers or close it for then. Therefore...