This place was a very pleasant surprise, because we originally tried going to Passports Restaurant in the Gloucester, but gave up after sitting at our table for a half hour waiting to give our drink order. Luckily we quickly found that Azorean Restaurant & Bar was close by and loved the experience.

Upon arrival, we were greeted at the door by friendly faces who immediately sat us down in the dining area without a reservation. The place was pretty busy for a Sunday night, and the environment consisted of happy families laughing, the clinking of friends toasting with cocktails, and the beautiful wall to wall Portuguese decor. The whole vibe felt like a big warm hug.

Despite being extremely busy, our waitress greeted us almost immediately and took our drink orders. To our surprise, our cocktails quickly arrived and the waitress was ready to take our orders. I commented about how she must have her hands full, because I watched her check in with each table on her way out, and on her way back. But she had a great optimistic point of view, and said something funny to make us all laugh. She definitely contributed to the wonderful experience we had here.

My cocktail was the Cool As A Cucumber, which I've had at other places, and it was just as good here. Cucumber vodka, St Germain, and lime make up the core of this refreshing drink. Along with that, I decided to try the Linguica With Pineapple. To my surprise, it was very similar to kielbasa with a mild spicy finish, but it was not greasy at all. It was grilled beautifully, and each bite with a little bit of pineapple was an exceedingly pleasant experience. I would order this again in a heartbeat.

For my main course I had the Chicken Medallions with Butternut Squash Ravioli. It was prepared beautifully, in a wine cream sauce that had walnuts and dried cranberries. Definitely on the sweet and savory side of dinners, I really enjoyed this, and was practically licking my plate when finished. My friend ordered the Azorean Steak Tips with Portuguese Fries. Both were beautifully cooked, and me being a French fry connoisseur, I have to say that the Portuguese fries were pretty great. We're not sure if they should have been eaten with ketchup or some other kind of dipping sauce, but they were actually very good and crispy on their own.

For dessert, we shared what I believe was a Chocolate Mousse Torte. It was absolutely delicious, and kudos to the waitress who warned us there were only three left halfway through our meal. I don't know if I've ever heard anyone describe a dessert so beautifully, so much so that the table next to us also ordered one in the middle of their meal. And trust me, it lived up to the hype!

Overall, this was a wonderful experience. The Portuguese flavors mixed with a warm friendly environment, more than made up for the disappointing experience we had at the previous place. In fact, I should probably thank the other restaurant for inadvertently redirecting us to Azorean Restaurant, because we really had a great time there.