a foodie’s guide to the Azores’ biggest island
Last week, I published my foodie’s guide to restaurants in Ponta Delgada – the biggest city in the Azores, on the south coast of São Miguel island. But of course, there’s much, much more to the island than its capital city. In fact,
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 almost certainly why you’re here).
Sao Miguel restaurants: a taste of the Azores
In my previous article, I wrote about the various Azorean food specialities you can expect on São Miguel – so I won’t repeat all that here. Suffice to say that steak and seafood feature heavily, as does local produce like pineapples and yams. You’ll find all this and more at these São Miguel restaurants… Aproveite!
Restaurante Tony’s, Furnas
A meal in Furnas is one for the bucket list. Before you head into this well-maintained little town, go for a walk around Furnas Lake – at one end of which you’ll find the caldeiras. These are a series of bubbling, hot springs (caused by geothermal activity) in which the local restaurants cook their famous stew: Cozido das Furnas. If you time it right, you’ll see the cooks (or perhaps just the drivers) lowering or retrieving their giant silver pots into the steaming holes, where the stew cooks for around 7-8 hours. As I said, this is bucket list stuff!
Several restaurants offer Cozido das Furnas, and in many cases you need to reserve it 24 hours in advance. We hadn’t, but we got lucky that Restaurante Tony’s still had some left by the time we arrived. And it was just as wonderful as I’d anticipated: a steaming platter of meat and veggies emerged, brimming with slow-cooked pork, beef, chicken, chorizo, blood sausage, cabbage, potatoes, yams and carrots. Wash it down with a glass of Portuguese red wine, and you’re in cozido heaven.
Cantinho do Cais, Porto Formoso
We went to Cantinho do Cais after a hike on São Miguel’s north coast, and Porto Formoso was a perfect pitstop on our way back to Ponta Delgada. I can’t tell you much about the ambience because we sat outside (we had the dog with us) but the terrace is covered and faces south, so if there’s sunshine it’s a good spot for al fresco dining. I’d recommend the fish stew, which was subtly but expertly flavoured with white wine, cream and a local herb I couldn’t put my finger on. The fish, veggies and potatoes were unfailingly fresh and locally caught/cropped. Good with a glass of crisp Douro white wine.
Restaurante Associação Agrícola de São Miguel, Ribeira Grande
On the outskirts of Ribeira Grande, you’ll find a sprawling, industrial-looking block with assorted farm machinery strewn outside. This unprepossessing building is home to one of São Miguel’s most famous restaurants: Associação Agrícola de São Miguel. As you might gather from the title, it’s an association of local farmers, and it’s also the place to come for steak on Sunday.
Their Bife à “Associação” comes in the traditional manner of the island: served with roasted garlic, brined red pepper (use this as a seasoning for the meat – do not eat it all at once!), white wine jus and a fried egg. But there are other local preparations of steak available too – think passionfruit sauce or a creamy gravy made from the island’s cheese. Whichever you choose, you’ll get around 300 grams of either tenderloin, sirloin or something translated as “round steak” that was a mystery to me. French fries come as standard, but salad or veggies are extra (with hindsight, we should have ordered some, as it was a LOT of meat on an otherwise empty stomach). It’s not the most creative food, but the quality is high.
Quinta dos Sabores, Ribeira Grande
Located on a farm that grows much of its own produce, Quinta dos Sabores is a lovely special occasion restaurant that’s as visually gorgeous as it is tasty. Guests are treated to a six-course farm-to-table menu from the chef, with one of two possible wine pairings if you so desire. By Portuguese standards, the dishes are relatively heavy on vegetables, which makes a welcome change and isn’t too surprising when you consider the restaurant’s location.
The evening we visited, we were greeted with a huge array of tiny snacks with a sparkling wine from Bairrada (it’s hard to hold back, but hold back you must to reserve sufficient room for the rest!). We then moved onto delightful (and generously filled) beef tacos with sweet & sour pickled ribbons of root veg, plus a local fish with tomato and seafood broth laced with lots more veggies – both of which were paired with Azorean white wines. The meaty main comprised beef with peppers and kale (with a red wine from the family’s Alentejo winery). And finally an unctuous chocolate tart with banana and peanut butter ice cream, paired with an aged white port. We took a taxi back to Ponta Delgada after dinner, but it’s also possible to stay the night at Quinta dos Sabores – it would be lovely to see the farm in daylight the next morning.
Água de Fogo food truck, Lagoa
After hiking around the Lagoa de Fogo/Janela do Inferno area, stop to enjoy the view and a frankly spectacular smash burger from the food truck at Água de Fogo. There are pretty much two ways you can go with it: American-style with bacon, cheddar and pickles, or “local-style” with Azorean pineapple and São Jorge cheese in bolo lêvedo bread. Whichever you choose, get a double: I went single and regretted it the instant I tasted it. It was so good, I wanted more!
Vulcana, Ribeira Grande
A brewery located in an industrial zone just outside of Ribeira Grande, Vulcana is much more impressive on the inside than you’d expect from the outside. With its sleek lighting, indoor trees and scaffolding-chic seating arrangements, Vulcana would look at home in Portland, Oregon. As it is, the brew masters are making Azorean craft IPAs, pilsners, ales and stouts right there in front of you (in a set of shiny steel tanks named after The Beatles). The red ale was my favourite, but fans of artisanal beers will be happy with whatever they choose. Vulcana often hosts live music events as well.
