I can’t say enough positive things about the Azores. Really. Having visited São Miguel, one of the nine islands in the Azores, I can attest that this autonomous region of Portugal is as fascinating as you’ve heard. It’s a full on, head-over-heels kind of love I’ve got going on for this place, and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

Planning a week in São Miguel? As you’re plotting how to get to Sete Cidades or Furnas and booking tours galore, don’t forget to mark off time for São Miguel’s restaurants and bars. Need a little help? Let us help you figure out where to eat and drink in São Miguel, Azores!

To get started, here’s a nifty map of where you’ll be eating and drinking in São Miguel.

↓ Hint: Click on the square with an arrow to see the key and layers. Most options are in Ponta Delgada, so zoom in there for more options.

Where to Eat and Drink in São Miguel: Ponta Delgada Edition

Whale Watching Bar

Address: Azor Hotel (7th Floor), Dr. João Bosco Mota Amaral 4, 9500-771 Ponta Delgada, Azores

If you only make it to one bar on the island, Whale Watching Bar should be it. There’s a reason we returned twice to this excellent bar in the Azor Hotel: the cocktails were creative, visually attractive, and flavorful.

Case in point: the Perfume cocktail (seen below) was my favorite drink in São Miguel. Made with gin, lemon, roses, Azorean blackberry liquor, Angostura bitters, and egg white, it’s perfect for gin fizz lovers. Plus, at only 12 euro, it was the most expensive cocktail on the menu–quite a steal!

I’m not going to lie: we ordered the Samurai cocktail precisely because it was served in a bag. For only 8 euro, we were transported back to the days of Capri Sun packs in our elementary school lunches, but with a boozy twist. (Actually, only Mr. Five O’Clock enjoyed this one. As with all pineapple drinks, it would inevitably come back out of me since I’m allergic. At least I don’t know what I’m missing…)

Edit: The Azor Hotel notified me that they have changed the serving of the Samurai cocktail in order to reduce the plastic used in the hotel. You can still order the drink in a glass. Yay for saving the environment!

So Many Awesome Cocktails, It’s Hard to Choose Just One

We *may* have worked our way down the cocktail list — for research purposes, of course. (It also didn’t hurt that we made friends with some gregarious off-duty Delta flight attendants who let us taste their drinks.)

In our highly scientific boozy research, we agreed that other drinks you may want to indulge in are the Marina Collins (Citadelle gin, lime, lemongrass, Angostura bitters, soda) and Do Fogo Da Terra (spiced rum, Azorean pineapple, cinnamon, black pepper, and lemon).

The bartenders on duty graciously obliged my special request for an Edo Tóquio Margarita, which I happened to see on this bartender’s Instagram page. Ivan, if you created these drinks, you are truly awesome and killing it on presentation!

Whale Watching Bar features spectacular ocean views, solid food (hint: get the pizza to sop up those cocktails), and friendly staff — everything you could want in the perfect rooftop bar experience. We can’t recommend it highly enough!

Bonus: How To Find Whale Watching Bar

You know I love a good challenge when it comes to finding a cocktail bar (see: Park Hyatt Tokyo), and Whale Watching Bar was no exception.

OK, OK. It isn’t *that* hard: you take an elevator from the Azor Hotel lobby up to the 7th floor. With me? So far, so good.

What you do need to watch out for is the entrance: the door to the bar looks like you’re going to walk into an industrial stairwell, mysterious electrical closet, or portal to the Fifth Dimension. Hardly the kind of door you’d expect, given what’s on the other side.

Once you exit the elevator, turn right and go all the way to the end of the hallway and look for this door across from one of the guest rooms. Found it? Great — now head into Cocktail Wonderland!

Tasquinha Vieira

Address: Rua António Joaquim Nunes da Silva 21, 9500-056 Ponta Delgada, Azores

It’s rare that I’ll want to dine at the same place twice when I travel, but Tasquinha Vieira is worth it: this restaurant served up our favorite meals during our time in São Miguel.

Chef Joel Vieira — who was born on the island of Flores in the Azores — uses fresh and locally sourced ingredients for the restaurant’s gourmet menu, and the food was top-notch both times we dined here. We particularly enjoyed their tuna tartare with watermelon and lime for an appetizer course, as well as their meat and fish entrees.

But what drew us in initially was that Tasquinha Vieira makes their own in-house gin, which makes for some stellar gin and tonics to accompany your meal. How cool is that?!

Word to the wise: if you go, expect a wait. Try to arrive when the restaurant opens to reduce the chances of waiting to be seated. On our first visit during prime dining hours, it was a 30-minute wait, so we passed the time swapping travel tips with our fellow waiters-in-line. In fact, this is how we learned about a hiking tour guide we ultimately booked on our last day!

Yes, the restaurant may look tiny from the outside, but there’s actually more space than you think. That being said, it’s still something like 7 or 8 tables total. The interior areas feature a view of the kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work. If the weather is warm, we recommend dining out on the back patio — you can watch the bartender mixing up drinks at the bar!

A Tasca

Address: R. do Aljube 16, 9500-018 Ponta Delgada, Azores

We loved that A Tasca was affordable: our meal for two cost only 58.50 euro. We had to do a double take before paying our bill, considering that we ordered:

• Two delicious appetizers (bruschetta de vitela and shrimp);
• Two filling entrees: one fresh tuna, one octopus;
• A bottle of wine (a whole bottle of excellent Portuguese wine for 12 euro!);
• An extra glass of wine (2.5 euro), because we couldn’t get enough Portuguese wine; and
• Two desserts: cheese cake framboesa and baba de camelo.

A Tasca is, justifiably, one of the most popular places to eat and drink in São Miguel. Because their tables are in demand, we walked over from our hotel on a Monday night to make a reservation for Thursday night. Definitely make a reservation if you want to eat here!

Boca De Cena

Address: R. de São João 4, 9500-105 Ponta Delgada, Azores

Finding Boca de Cena was one of those happy guidebook accidents. While perusing our Azores guidebook for dinner ideas, I read that Boca de Cena had a “characterful chef” and was immediately intrigued.

Apparently the chef is a true multitasker: he’s also the restaurant’s owner, waiter, and greeter. Taking on that many roles can be risky, but Ricardo’s entertaining manner, recommendations, and food left our stomachs happy and fully satiated. Standout dishes included the filet mignon and tuna steak; entrees cost between 16.5 to 23 euro. Because it’s a one-man show, allow for a leisurely meal. You won’t be disappointed!

Taberna Açor

Address: R. dos Mercadores 41, 9500-150 Ponta Delgada, Azores

Taberna Açor is a low-key joint with tapas-style dishes — good for a casual, entertaining night out. I say entertaining because 1) you can try your hand at some amusing crossword puzzles on the menu; 2) you might get seated next to a couple who is arguing passionately about the merits of Buffy The Vampire Slayer versus Charmed; and 3) your partner might burn his tongue on the sizzling grilled limpets even though he was told no less than three times they were scalding hot.

(In all seriousness, do order the grilled limpets here. Limpets — which are aquatic snails — are an Azorean speciality.)

Café Royal

Address: R. da Alfândega, 9500-017 Ponta Delgada, Azores

Chances are your arrival into Ponta Delgada will be at some ungodly hour after an overnight flight, which usually translates to such feelings as “Why am I not asleep right now?” and “I could really use something to eat before I turn into The Hangry Wife of Doom.” Enter Café Royal: this was one of the very few places near our hotel that was open at 7 AM on a Sunday.

There’s some solid options here, from sausages, cheeses, and bread to coffee and other beverages. Café Royal is a total lifesaver when you need an early breakfast before your morning island tours, too!

Honorable Mention

With only a week on the island, we couldn’t visit all of the places to eat and drink in São Miguel. Locals and other tourist friends we made recommended Rotas da Ilha Verde (great for vegetarians), Reserva Bar, A Comerical, and Mane Cigano’s.

Where to Eat and Drink in São Miguel: Further Afield

Of course, if you’re visiting São Miguel, you won’t be spending all of your time in Ponta Delgada. Here’s a few food and drink-related places you’ll want to check out outside of the Azorean capital.

Mulher de Capote

Address: Rua do Berquó 12, 9600-542 Ribeira Grande, Azores, Portugal

Make sure to stop by stop by Mulher de Capote to taste some delicious Azorean liqueurs. They’ve been producing liqueurs for over 75 years, and their factory is located in the city of Ribeira Grande. We loved their arroz doce liqueur — its flavors of cinnamon really kicked things up a notch!

Drink Azorean Tea

It’s worth incorporating time into your Azores itinerary to check out *at least* one of São Miguel’s two tea plantations — after all, they’re the ONLY tea plantations in all of Europe! Both Gorreana and Cha Porto Formoso are worth a visit, though we preferred the latter for its drop-dead gorgeous views and silky, luxurious teas.

Cozido Stew

If Anthony Bourdain did it, I’ll do it at least think about doing it — and that’s how I found myself face to face with cozido stew (also known as cozido nas caldeiras). Containers filled with different meats, sausages, and vegetables are lowered into steaming volcanic vents to about one meter deep. The food cooks for roughly seven hours before appearing at your table.

We visited Restaurante Vale das Furnas on our tour of Furnas; however, Terra Nostra Garden in Furnas is supposed to be fantastic.

Bar Caloura

Several locals told us that Bar Caloura is one of the best places to drink in São Miguel. Sadly, we didn’t make it there during our visit, but there’s always next time!

If you liked this post, check out:

• • Azores Itinerary: How To Spend A Week in São Miguel, Azores
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  • Where to Drink in Hawaii Right Now

Essential Info:
Where should you stay in Ponta Delgada? Check out all options here.
Where did I personally stay in Ponta Delgada? I stayed here and recommend it!
Want a guidebook for the Azores? I used this one and found it useful! A new edition is being released soon.
What else have I written about Europe? Read my posts on Europe here.
What camera did I use for this post? I used our Olympus EM5 Mark II camera with this lens and (and my cell phone).
Have questions for me? Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest!

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