Estrela do Mar — Restaurant in Vila Franca do Campo

Literally the worst meal and experience we had while on the island. And we were with locals from Vila Franca! Waited for quite a while, which was fine but it was without any sort of interaction from the staff. When we finally sat, the English menu and the Portuguese menu weren’t the same so there was some confusion about what was actually available. They also didn’t have a drink menu and our waiter didn’t even know what planet he was on, so he was having a hard time answering simple questions about the beers available. He actually had no clue about anything on the menu and eventually just walked off to find someone to help, which he didn’t so we just sat there until the owner came over. We ordered, it was so painful, and the food, when it finally arrived, was dry and the portions did NOT match amongst the rest of our diners. For example, two of us got steak, one was HUGE and the other was so small. The steak was served with butter knives which was difficult when one steak was cooked to the texture of a sneaker sole. The fries were good and the beer was cold. That was it. We asked for our bill and they told us to wait outside while they brought it. Meanwhile people were actually supposed to pay inside. Everyone who works here is so confused about what is going on which insane because it’s THEIR restaurant. We wrapped up our meal by watching the son of the owner screaming at his staff. Do not waste your time here. Literally so many better dining options in Vila Franca with WAY better service. Even our local friends have said they will never come back because of how terrible the...

Non posso mettere meno di una stella altrimenti lo farei. Siamo arrivati chiedendo un posto per due persone, il locale era quasi vuoto, ci hanno fatto sedere in modo molto scocciato. Soprattutto il proprietario, si è dimostrato fin da subito molto scortese e maleducato. Abbiamo chiesto un consiglio per un bicchiere di vino locale, lo avevano solo in bottiglia. Non volendo bere una bottiglia intera abbiamo preso un altro vino, rimanendo un po' delusi. Poi ci ha consegnato un menù contenente una lunga lista di piatti ma al momento dell'ordinazione il proprietario ci ha sgarbatamente informato che nulla del menù era disponibile. Avevano solo tre pesci del giorno, scritti su un foglietto di carta in portoghese. Noi gentilmente abbiamo chiesto cosa fossero questi pesci ma insultandoci ci ha maleducatamente ci ha ricordato che eravamo alle azzorre e non in Italia. Abbiamo pagato il vino e siamo andati via. Non metto in dubbio la qualità del pesce o la cucina, sicuramente buona dalle recensioni precedenti ma dal primo istante ci siamo sentiti trattati male e insultati, questo non è accettabile. Alla fine siamo andati al Black Whale, un ristorante poco distante, spettacolare. Ci siamo trovati benissimo! Assolutamente consigliato, dalla qualità del cibo alla gentilezza del personale.

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Não posso colocar menos de uma estrela, caso contrário eu colocaria. Chegamos pedindo um lugar para duas pessoas, o local estava quase vazio, eles nos fizeram sentar muito aborrecidos. Especialmente o proprietário, mostrou-se imediatamente muito rude e rude. Pedimos conselhos para um copo de vinho local, eles só o tinham na garrafa. Não querendo beber uma garrafa inteira, tomamos outro vinho, ficando um pouco decepcionados. Em seguida, ele nos entregou um cardápio contendo uma longa lista de pratos, mas no momento do pedido o proprietário nos informou rudemente que nada do cardápio estava disponível. Eles tinham apenas três peixes do dia, escritos em um pedaço de papel em português. Perguntamos gentilmente o que eram esses peixes, mas nos insultando, ele nos lembrou rudemente que estávamos nos Açores e não na Itália. Pagamos pelo vinho e fomos embora. Não duvido da qualidade do peixe ou da culinária, certamente boa dos comentários anteriores, mas desde o primeiro momento nos sentimos mal tratados e insultados, isso não é aceitável. No final, fomos ao Black Whale, um restaurante espectacular não muito longe. Nós nos divertimos muito! Absolutamente recomendado, desde a qualidade da comida até a gentileza do pessoal.

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I can't give less than one star otherwise I would. We arrived asking for a seat for two people, the place was almost empty, they made us sit very annoyed. Above all, the owner immediately proved to be very rude and rude. We asked for a recommendation for a glass of local wine, they only had it in bottles. Not wanting to drink a whole bottle, we ordered another wine and were a little disappointed. He then handed us a menu containing a long list of dishes but when ordering the owner rudely informed us that nothing on the menu was available. They only had three fish of the day, written on a slip of paper in Portuguese. We kindly asked what these fish were but, insulting us, he rudely reminded us that we were in the Azores and not in Italy. We paid for the wine and left. I don't doubt the quality of the fish or the cuisine, certainly good from previous reviews but from the first moment we felt badly treated and insulted, this is not acceptable. In the end we went to the Black Whale, a spectacular restaurant not far away. We had a great time! Absolutely recommended, from the quality of the food to the kindness...

When we arrived, the restaurant was almost empty, we sat down and waited 10 minutes for the menu, then when it was time to order (after another 10 minutes) we were told that we did not have to consider what was written on the menu regarding fish but what was written in a note. So we ordered meat to be quicker (not a smart choice) and they did not ask us what we wanted to drink, we had to call the waiter back. We ended up waiting 1 hour for the dishes, my chicken was not even cooked and I had to send it back. They brought us side dishes when we had already finished eating. So we did not eat them. I think that if a restaurant is specialized in fish, it should not offer meat on the menu. If it does, it should choose quality meat and know how to cook it (so maybe people avoid being sick afterwards...). In the bill they included bread, cheese and sauce which we had not asked for, but they had brought us anyway. We thought it was a kind of welcome appetiser but It wasn't. Not good food and...