Best restaurants in São Miguel island

Being a foodie, one of the first things I always do when I travel is to find the best spots to eat out. 

Therefore, after years of pleasurable research, I am happy to present you with the best restaurants in São Miguel Island. And, if you are curious to discover what to eat in the Azores, make sure to hit that link as I also wrote a detailed guide about that.

Enjoy it! :)

These are the best restaurants in São Miguel island:

Associação Agrícola

Campo de Santana, 96 | Ribeira Grande, Rabo de Peixe

Going to São Miguel and not eating the Agricultural Association Steak is, effectively, like going to Rome and not seeing the Pope. If you like a beautiful steak, this is the place for you. Massive in size, perfect in its cooking point, meat that falls apart in your mouth, just the right amount of salt and exceptional in its sauce options, this restaurant truly serves one of the best steaks on the island of São Miguel.

The desserts are also good, the price is fair and the service is very attentive, explaining and clarifying both the menu and each dish we ordered.

All and all, a place to visit time after time.

Restaurante Casa do Abel

Rua Largo do Barracão 1 | Água de Pau

Casa do Abel is a pure meat grill restaurant that stands out from the competition because it has the best side dishes ever: from truffled mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, rice with pineapple, sautéed broccoli with almonds… in short, just delicious options! But the star of the night is undoubtedly the meat: local, of different cuts (including ribeye and T-bone), cooked to the right point. Both the starters and desserts are also great and should not be missed.

The restaurant itself has a great atmosphere, with a decor between rustic and sophisticated, fast and efficient service, and a very reasonable house wine. Overall, an unmissable experience.

Monte Verde

EN1-1A, R. da Areia 39 | Ribeira Grande

Monte Verde is a humble looking restaurant but with a lot to offer, starting with the view: this restaurant has a fantastic view of the ocean, as it sits as on the second floor of what seemed to also be a small fish market.

It is a restaurant for true lovers of fresh fish, who are welcomed by a huge counter of freshly caught fish, which you can choose as you wish. If you want a recommendation, opt for the hake filets, which are probably the best on the island of São Miguel. There is also the fish platter for two, which comes with salad, three types of fish, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, tomato rice and complimentary bread with cheese. The fish is truly delicious and the side dishes have a really good flavor (not like American “afterthought” sides).

Another thing that makes Monte Verde stand out on this list of the best restaurants in São Miguel is the five-star service, with incredible staff always willing to help.

Borda d’Água

Largo Do Porto, 52 | Lagoa

Borda d’Água is another fish restaurant on this list of the best restaurants on the island of Sâo Miguel. It’s a rustic restaurant, right next to the fishermen’s pier, so the fish doesn’t travel more than 100 meters to reach your plate.

Everything on the list is good, but I personally LOVE the grilled prawns (they are HUGE), the grilled limpets and the mixed fish dish, which in my opinion is the best way to taste the best fish the restaurant offers.

The only thing I don’t like about Borda d’Água is that at the beginning they present a series of regional snacks that claim to be “complimentary of the house” but that, in reality, are charged for at the end. Not cool!

Maré Cheia

Porto Formoso

Maré Cheia is a modest fish restaurant right in front of one of my favorite beaches in the Azores, Praia dos Moinhos. In that sense, it’s great to have lunch at this restaurant and then take a nap on the sand right in front :)

At Maré Cheia I highly recommend you try the fish soup (it’s one of the best on the island!) as well as the tuna steaks, very fresh and perfectly cooked.

Alcides

Rua Hintze Ribeiro 67 | Ponta Delgada

There are plenty of great steakhouses in the island, but I decided to include Alcides on this list of the best restaurants in São Miguel island because, in addition to its fabulous steak, it is a great place for you to try other regional dishes like caldera conger eel and the “abrótea” filets (local fish). In this sense, it is the perfect restaurant to go to if you have people in your group who want to eat meat and others who prefer to eat fish or other regional dishes.

For dessert, be sure to order the bean pudding because it is wonderful!

Mané Cigano 

Rua Engº José Cordeiro Antiga da Calheta 3 | Ponta Delgada

Mané Cigano is one of those secrets that we want to keep to ourselves but you already know that I share everything with you, that’s why I decided to include it in this list of the best restaurants in São Miguel.

It’s an old-fashioned tavern, known throughout the island for serving the best fried chicharros ever (for those who don’t know: chicharros are basically small mackerel). However, it also has other wonderful dishes, such as beef stew and roasted octopus.

Furthermore, at Mané Cigano you will find a different local specialty at lunchtime every day. So, if you are adventurous and want to experience something truly local and unique, be sure to go to Mané Cigano.

Cantinho do Cais

Rua do Ramal 1502 | Ribeira Grande

I stumbled across this restaurant one day when I was starving after doing one of the best trails on the island of São Miguel and, given the humble look of the place, I must say that I didn’t expect much.

However, I was hugely surprised by a dish called “Molho”, which is an exclusive recipe of this small restaurant. It’s a kind of fish stew served on pieces of toasted bread, and with completely different flavors from the other stews I’ve had on the island.

“Molho” is a really, really spectacular and unique dish and for that reason alone it is worth including Cantinho do Cais in the list of the best restaurants in São Miguel Island.

O Américo de Barbosa

Rua das Pensões 13 | Mosteiros

Américo de Barbosa is located in the northwest end of São Miguel, from where you can see one of the most beautiful sunsets on the island. It’s a simple restaurant but known throughout the island for its specialty: roast octopus with sweet potatoes. For €16 you have a huge dish of octopus, super well done, tender, not hard at all and with a spectacular flavor. The prawns were also very good, with a slightly spicy lemon-flavoured sauce. To finish the meal, the bean pudding or pineapple cake (with syrup on top) are absolutely delicious.

Local tip: go early because Américo de Barbosa is one of the most popular restaurants on the island, and one of the few in the northwest!

Bar da Caloura

Rua da Caloura, 20 | Água de Pau

Bar Caloura is an unmissable spot for those who enjoy eating good fish. It’s not exactly a restaurant (it doesn’t even have a closed room), but more of an excellent terrace, right in front of the sea, which serves spectacular fish.

Every day the staff writes the list of fish available for grilling at Bar Caloura, served with grilled vegetables and boiled potatoes. Therefore, going to Bar Caloura is an excellent opportunity to get to know the excellent variety of fish in the Azores.

The starters are also delicious – I particularly like the spicy prawns with Caloura sauce and the fish soup – watery but full of flavour.

Bar Caloura is not only one of the best restaurants on the island of São Miguel but also one of the busiest, so I recommend that you drop by as soon as they open their doors.

Local tip: Go early in the morning and, before lunch, take a dip in the sea, right next to Bar Caloura.

Bar restaurante Aliança

Rua do Açoreano Oriental 23 |  Ponta Delgada

Aliança is one of the most famous restaurants in São Miguel because of its steaks: excellent quality meat, generous portions, and a perfectly cooked Azorean pepper and garlic sauce. There are 2 steaks, the Aliança steak and the sirloin steak – I personally like the Aliança steak much more.

Furthermore, it is a simple local restaurant where you can try typical Azorean food. The limpets are of acceptable quality and the portions of most dishes are generous. To finish, order an orange pudding that goes well.

Local tip: it is one of the busiest restaurants in the city of Ponta Delgada, so arrive early as it takes a long time, between 45 minutes to 1h, to dispatch your order. So if you don’t like waiting, it might not be the place for you.

A Tasca

Rua do Aljube 16 | Ponta Delgada

A Tasca (not to be confused with Tascá, a café also in Ponta Delgada) is one of the best restaurants in São Miguel island and one of the very few focusing exclusively on tapas. But not Spanish tapas; we are talking about a restaurant specialized in real Azorean petiscos, and I love it for its authenticity.

At a Tasca you will be able to eat dishes such as breaded octopus topped with onion compote (ex-libris of the night), shrimp stew, tuna sesame steak, pork feathers, sausage from the island of Pico. As for desserts, I recommend the yam pudding, which is wonderful.

The restaurant, in addition to always being full, is located on a small street in Ponta Delgada surrounded by bars and clubs, which is why it is very noisy.

Local tip: there’s no way around it: if you want to visit A Tasca, you need to show up as soon as it opens or you’ll have to wait in line, so show up there as early as possible – trust me, it is worth it!