The Azores is made up of nine islands, of which São Miguel is the largest – and its biggest city is Ponta Delgada. As digital nomads, it was where we decided to base ourselves for the six weeks we spent in the Azores, and of course we ate in plenty of Ponta Delgada’s restaurants while we were here. From seafood to steak, and from brunch to fine dining, Ponta Delgada has plenty of restaurant options to suit every palate and budget. That said, São Miguel is still small – it’s easy to get to most places on the island within an hour by car – so I’ve compiled a separate article about restaurants on the rest of São Miguel island.
Travel to and around the Azores
Even if you plan to travel further off the beaten path and head to one of the smaller islands, the chances are you’ll need to fly in via Ponta Delgada as the main airport hub – with direct flights via United, British Airways, Ryanair, Lufthansa and TAP Air Portugal. After spending a few days on São Miguel, you can take Azores Airlines to one of the smaller islands. I must admit, we did not even attempt to take public transport around São Miguel (although there are buses). We rented a car for the entire period, which helped immensely with getting out of the city and into nature (which is probably why you’re here).
Food in SãoMiguel, Azores
Although the Azores are officially part of Portugal, food in São Miguel differs hugely from that on the mainland. As you might expect from an archipelago, fish and seafood feature heavily – look out for the bright orange cântaro (offshore rockfish), which is delicious grilled, and the platters of garlicky limpets. Many restaurants also offer wonderfully warming bowls of caldeirada de peixe (fish stew) with potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and herbs.
Caldeirada de peixe
Meanwhile, carnivores will be pleased by the major focus on steak (you’ll see cows grazing all over the island), which is cooked in a very specifically Azorean way – see restaurant Alcides below. Cozido (a hearty meat-and-veg stew) is also a must-try when in Furnas.
Beyond meat and fish, the local cheeses are delicious: our favourites were the tangy, matured cheese from São Jorge island and the mild, fresh cheese from São Miguel served with a salty, spicy pepper sauce. The island also grows masses of sour-sweet pineapples, while baked sweet treats include the famous queijadas da vila – densely rich, sweet tarts – from Vila Franca do Campo (although cafés and bakeries all over the island sell them, too).
Steak in the Azores generally seems to be served in a particular way: alongside pimenta salgada (salty red pepper), lots of garlic and a white wine jus. In Ponta Delgada, the place to try it is purported to be Alcides – a traditional restaurant that’s part of a hotel next door. We enjoyed the steak itself (although it came very rare, despite asking for it medium-rare) but the salty peppers are an acquired taste. I’d recommend shaving off slivers to eat with a steak (almost as a seasoning) rather than making the mistake of taking a large bite of the salty pepper by itself! The other classic São Miguel dish that we tried – morcela (blood sausage) with fresh pineapple – was simple but offered a good contrast of flavours. We paired it with a red wine from Pico island that was as light and sour-fresh as the pineapple.
Azorean-style steak at Alcides
Restaurante Mariserra
East of Ponta Delgada’s old town, if you walk along the coast for about two kilometres you’ll come to São Roque – a coastal neighbourhood that’s home to an equally coastal restaurant: Mariserra. Specialising (unsurprisingly) in seafood, Mariserra is the place to go for local grilled fish, seafood rice, bacalhau and more. Everything we ate was fresh and delicious, especially paired with a view over the Atlantic and a bottle of excellent Arinto dos Açores (an indigenous white grape) from Pico island.
Seafood rice at Mariserra
Xurrex
North of the Old Town, we only stumbled across Xurrex because it was a hundred metres or so from our apartment. It’s a takeaway grelhado (open-fire grill) place, so not a restaurant at which to linger, but I’d recommend stopping by to pick up a meaty lunch or dinner: succulent chunks of pork leg and/or half a piri-piri chicken – both grilled to smoky, moist perfection. Try also the saucy black beans and the recheio – a sort of savoury bread pudding. Xurrex isn’t one for the vegetarians, but if you eat meat you won’t be disappointed!
Modern Azorean restaurants in Ponta Delgada
Petiscaria “O Calheta”
Many of the restaurants we came across on São Miguel felt quite traditional – and there’s nothing wrong with that (especially at the start of your trip). But by week 3, we were excited to discover Petiscaria O Calheta: a brand new restaurant (it had only been open a month) making modern, creative dishes that still felt resolutely Azorean, but with innovative influences from elsewhere in Europe. There’s a regular menu and a specials board, so we tried a couple of dishes from each, plus a “punch” cocktail made with aguardente and the local citrus fruit, and a bottle of white wine produced on the island of São Miguel itself.
The specials board at O Calheta
The fact that the chef is a fan of smoking (by which I mean food, not cigarettes) was evident throughout. Smoked fish croquettes were elevated with fermented pickled carrots and a creamy aioli, while excellent sourdough bread came with smoked, whipped butter. Next, moray eel was also smoked and served with charred green beans, shavings of a local radish (I think?) and a garlicky, bready sauce that begged to be mopped up with more of the sourdough. The octopus with crispy squares of polenta and semi-dried tomatoes also went excellently with the Fernão Pires and Verdelho white blend. We enjoyed our dinner so much, we planned to go back to O Calheta for our last night on the island (in the event, it was closed for team training!).
Tasquinha Vieira
Also flying the flag for a more modern style of Azorean cooking is Tasquinha Vieira, in a tight space in Ponta Delgada’s old town (with an interesting wine list to boot). We started with their açorda: a sort of bread soup with plenty of garlic and coriander that’s popular not only in the Azores but also on the mainland. I believe it originated in Alentejo and usually involves a poached egg on top, but in this case it came with an egg yolk that we mixed through the soup, plus pieces of swordfish. Pure carby comfort food.
Açorda at Tasquinha Vieira
Next, we ate mussels in a coconut curry sauce that was delicious mopped up with the excellent sourdough, followed by a small brick of pulled pork swimming in a puree of inhames (yams) with a millefeuille of cabbage. Both good dishes, but they could’ve used a touch of acidity: some fresh lime juice on the mussels, or light pickling of the cabbage. We drank a bottle of strawberry-fresh Clarete from Insula (a winery on Pico island) and topped off a lovely dinner with a rich chocolate mousse with pistachio nuts.
International restaurants in Ponta Delgada
Rotas da Ilha Verde
It can be quite hard to find vegetarian food in Portugal, so it was refreshing to come across Rotas da Ilha Verde in the centre of Ponta Delgada (even if, like me, you’re an omnivore). It’s a cosy space, with lovely service and good wine, that feels both rustic and homely. We particularly enjoyed the zucchini cannelloni stuffed with soy mince and topped with cheese, which was full of flavour and in no way missing meat. The spiced apple crumble dessert with vegan ricotta and lime zest was also an indulgent treat. The lunch deal looks like a bargain, too!
Suplexió
Meanwhile, meat lovers will be pleased to know that Suplexió does a good line in gourmet burgers – just down the road from Rotas above. There are various beef versions (of which I ordered “El Chapo” with cheese, jalapenos, fried onions and BBQ sauce) but also chicken and veggie if you prefer. The patties are soft and generous, the buns do a good job of not falling apart, and the toppings are flavourful. My only complaint would be that the fries were rather limp.
El Chapo burger at Suplexió
Jardim Natural Food & Coffee
In the António Borges botanical gardens, you’ll find an indoor-outdoor brunch café that would be at home in Amsterdam or any other recognisably hipster city. Jardim specialises in giant, pillowy pancakes (that taste more like cake) and fancy coffees. We tried one of the sweet pancake options – topped with bananas, chocolate and peanut butter – as well as the “salty cakes” with bacon, egg and avocado (although the lashings of maple syrup made this also taste pretty sweet). Both were delicious and huge – we didn’t manage to finish our second cake – and warranted a brisk stroll around the botanical gardens afterwards. Specialty coffees include Chemex and V60 (essentially versions of a pour-over) plus Aeropress and Cafetiere, and you get to pick your own beans. We’d go back for the Costa Rican Chemex, but note that you’ll be paying northern European prices!
Piled-high pancakes and coffee at Jardim
Wine bars in Ponta Delgada
Azorean wine is unique – not least because of the islands’ crazy climate. You can read all about Azorean terroir and why it makes such fascinating wine over on my Substack, but in the meantime here’s a roundup of the wine bars in Ponta Delgada. To taste Azorean wines specifically, your best bet by far is the first bar on my list!
Wine & Art by 1001 Garrafas
An elegant wine bar that’s only been open for a couple of years (at the time of writing), Wine & Art is a top spot to try Azorean (and other Portuguese) wines by the glass. They offer six Azorean whites (mostly from Pico island), a rosé and a handful of reds (including a couple from São Miguel island itself), which is certainly one of the larger selections of local wines I came across without visiting the wineries themselves. You’ll need to be prepared to pay more than you would for wines from mainland Portugal, but the quality is worth it. We worked our way through most of the Azorean wines on the list during our stay (we went back several times): from the white Arinto dos Açores that’s tangy with sour oranges and saline with ocean spray, to the Syrah-Merlot red blend that’s full of earthy volcanic soil and black pepper. There’s lots to discover!
Local Azorean wines outside Wine & Art by 1001 Garrafas
Ta Gente
Just around the corner from Wine & Art, Ta Gente is a good spot to duck into if you want to create your own wine and petiscos (tapas) tour of Ponta Delgada. The wine list isn’t as interesting as Wine & Art, and you’re mainly limited to bottles rather than glasses, but they have a big selection of gin & tonics instead, and the food menu offers interesting takes on Portuguese dishes. We tried the “broken eggs” with cured ham, sweet potatoes and asparagus, which were delicious and which you “break” yourself at the table. The alheira (a sort of rillettes-textured sausage) with local cheese, honey and flaked pollen was also tasty (and different from the usual preparation of alheira). While the batata brava just resembled good old English chips, it came with a spicy aioli that meant we wolfed down the lot in no time. Ta Gente has a gin cave atmosphere, with lots of velvety seating and quirky lamps – it would make a good date spot.
“Broken eggs” and Portuguese wine at Ta Gente
Reserva
Hidden away in a romantic space full of intriguing bottles and wooden crates, wine bar Reserva is an indulgent spot to gorge yourself on Portuguese cheeses, charcuterie and various sausages while splitting a bottle with your significant other. Owner Bruno does have a few Azorean wines, but they are very high-end, off-menu bottles (over €100 a pop) so we stuck to mainland Portugal on this occasion – opting for an elegant, nine-year-old, red blend from Alentejo.
Platter of meats and cheeses at wine bar Reserva
Résvés Street Bar
Ok, this last one is for cocktails, not wine! Résvés calls itself a “street bar” but it feels like anything but: the cave-like bar at the back of the room gives speakeasy vibes, and the mixologists clearly know their stuff. Although they’ll shake you up a classic cocktail of your choosing, Résvés’ signature drinks are what you’re here for. The evening we visited, there were five exotic concoctions inspired by colours: the Viridis was a sophisticated mixture of pear, lemon, kaffir lime and matcha, with booze in the form of vodka and Lillet Blanc. While the Fulgeo combined gin, St Germain, lemongrass cordial and olive lemonade – a grown-up, spring-inspired drink. Prices are steep by Portuguese standards (€9-12 per cocktail) but Résvés is a special way to start or end a night out.
