Restaurante Cantinho Do Cais — Restaurant in Ribeira Grande

AMAZING FOOD.

One of the best dishes I ever had in my life. (And just check my profile to see how much I eat out)

It doesnt look like such a place from outside but it is a local gem. They make amazing Molho De Peixe, which is fish stew with 3 local fishes and vegetables. IT IS AMAZING. They serve it from the pot and a pot is enough to feed 2-3 people. We also tried their limpets and it was the best limpets I had in Azores as well with a very tasty acidic lemony garlicy sauce. :D The chef also offered free deserts and I dont need to say it but it was yum as well. Whoever is working in that kichen is doing some magic.

You can not find such a tasty food with such high quality ingredients anywere else for this price. We loved it so much, went back the next day as well although we were staying quite far.

They have long midday breaks so check the opening hours before going. :D

JUST ONE BAD THING: The middle aged chef who served our food the first day was very friendly and when we went the next day, two young waitresses were just rude and not welcoming. We literally entered the restaurant 1 minute after the couple in front of us. And while they gave menus to that couple, they said they are on day break and kitchen is closed now. Like, that exact moment. I told them we drove an hour only for this and will just get a quick lunch and they resisted and ignored us. Then seeing the other couple ordering, after all our wait with no response, I told them if their food is going to be cooked right now they can cook our food with them as well and just think it as they ordered two portions instead of one. They unwillingly brought the cutlery with unhappy faces after I said it. I mean, I dont get it. At least be nice and helpful if we liked it that much and drove for an hour for that.

I was gonna give 5 starts if they did not...

Food was delicious! We tried the limbets, the buttery sauce was amazing. The fish soup is a must and the bacalhua was nice too. The portions are generous.

HOWEVER, I joined the other comments on the service.

One of the servers said he was gonna bring us some extra plates but he didn’t as he was prioritising the big party next to us, then never came back. He also forgot to give us the water we asked him for. When the waitress came around to clean the table next to us, we then asked her for plates and she looks really bothered by our simple request. When the waiter was going to the big party, I kept making eye contact with him as we were clearly done but he didn’t bother to come to check on us.

The older man, which seems to be the boss or owner was nice and caring. When he was around everything was fine (or almost) but as soon as he left with his car, we were just left outside waiting for 20-30min after finishing our mains. We wanted deserts and coffees but no one came to check on us so my partner just decided to go inside to pay. He said the two staff members were doing absolutely nothing in the kitchen, just waiting around. I’m sure they wouldn’t even have realised if we just left the table.

As we were leaving, the older man was coming back, he waved at us as a sign of thanks and he’s the only reason why I’m not putting a...

A very good home cooked meal. I got the fish stew. I also got an order to go😋. Service was very good and attentive! I ordered bread as an appetizer and it was perfect! Soft inside and a little crunchy on the outside. There is parking directly in front of the restaurant. About 5 or 6 spots. I didn't look to see if there was additional parking on the side. I made a reservation for 5 pm which is early for dinner. There was one other couple dining at the time. So there was availability at this time. Not sure if this happens everyday. My hotel recommended that I make a reservation. If you are looking for a place with traditional Portuguese food this is it. It's about a 7 minutes drive from Miradoura...