Restaurante Açor — Restaurant in Velas

Dining out, my friend, is a bit like setting sail. When everything works in harmony, it's a joy. But if something goes wrong—be it the service or the setting—the whole journey feels off course. That’s rather how our evening went at this place: promising at first glance, but full of small shipwrecks on closer look.

We were a group of ten—folks who’ve seen it all, from fine dining to sizzling street food. We came ready to enjoy ourselves, and to be fair, some dishes tried their best to impress.

The sea soup was the clear standout: hot, flavorful, and so generously portioned it could feed a small army. Here, the price matched the portion and quality. But the fish of the day was a letdown—a lonely steak instead of a whole fish, asking thirty euros for the privilege. A poor deal, if you ask me.

The grilled lapas arrived in a large serving, and the price wasn’t bad. But the texture? Like chewing on old boots. Garlic prawns were better—decent, nothing more, nothing less.

The wine selection was perfectly fine. But charging €2.50 for tap water? That’s not cheeky, it’s just rude.

Service was the real low point. At a nearby table, a family with small children was completely ignored until they kicked up a fuss. And us? They tried to overcharge in such a clumsy way it was almost funny—almost.

Inside, the room was hot and so loud we had to shout to hear each other. Not exactly a relaxing dinner.

In the end, my crew left disappointed and a bit grumpy.

So: come for the sea soup if you must, but don’t expect smooth sailing. I can’t recommend it—unless you enjoy a bit of drama with...

This would have been a 2* review but the dessert was very good. First we arrived to enquire for a table, and were told there was a 30 min wait. No problem, we asked to wait at the bar. There wasn't a waiting list, which was fine until another couple arrived just after us and managed to persuade their way into skipping the queue and being seated while we were waiting right there. Eventually (perhaps 20 mins) we managed to flag someone down for drinks (he seemed like the owner/manager) and then it turned out we could eat at the bar if we wanted. Great, good to have been told that before. Getting menus, getting drinks, placing an order was all very slow. Our food (salad, fries, and the seafood rice dish) took a very long time to arrive - the owner seemed to notice eventually and chased it. Turns out ours were the dishes we could see sat on the kitchen ledge for ages getting cold. For €10 the salad was disappointing - small, undressed, with wilted/over ripe lettuce and fruits. The seafood rice was more liquid than rice, lacking content and flavour. The fries (potato wedges) were undercooked so were crunchy inside rather than outside. We were brought the wrong drinks, then overcharged on the bill (to credit, this was corrected without fuss). The cheese pudding was great though, we'd recommend this place for dessert as there was an impressive cabinet of good...

Was not impressed at all. Great location with a beautiful spot in the heart of the city. Indoor and outdoor seating! We waited about 15 mins for menu, waited 36 mins for our drinks. Waiter argued with us about ordering a small beer and not a large. Never asked if he could get us the large beer as ordered, and said we got what we ordered, never came back to ask if we wanted another refill. Pizza was white on bottom, not well cooked at all. Never asked about allergies and placed peanuts and random fruit and veggies in the salad. There was hardly any salad in the salad with chicken. Waited way too long. Food not great. Will not return. Terrible service. Could not keep up with guests and tables. Not enough help at location. We also witnessed waiter leaving used glassware on table from previous guests, that is gross. They could have been used or touched by previous guests. Dishes should always be picked up in between seatings or don’t put glassware down until you know what the guest...