Cais da Sardinha em Ponta Delgada

First Contact With the Hostess I thought this isn’t Good. Why? Because she immediately said, “Oh I don’t think i have anything”. When i looked there was at least 2 tables, in plain view, one with a reserve sign which by the way never occupied Anyway, let’s move on to what’s important. And why I rated this restaurant 5 stars. There was a tall black man, young from the island He made my experience a 5 star. I tell you why, this is important. Service, Food & environment. i always eat fish & I had eaten out 6 times since my arrival & not impressed. Especially with the service long waits & food not particularly good. This service provider recommended a fish from the island. It was a delicate white fish just needed lemon. It was fresh, tender and bit chewy not as delicate as Branzine or red snapper but delicious. I had asked another waiter, my waiter was busy for a glass of chardonnay. He too, said I’m sorry we only have white wine by the bottle. i was surprised, here I am having a very expensive fish with roasted baked sweet potato & no wine? My service provider came over i told him i wanted a glass of white wine. But said, “only by the bottle”. He said, I have an island wine I think you’ll like. Now Im intrigued because he had recommended the delicious fish. The wine was delicious soft, just fruity enough light. I now both trusted and liked this server, he knew what he was doing and pro. When i was finished with my dinner, he insisted on a desert I would love. i never have desert but he was a professional. It was amazing. Food was great, service great, environment beautiful. i tipped him 30%, the meal simple, elegant & expensive but this young man made the difference. Thank you to this young man❣️

Great location and food totally marred by the most rude, unapproachable staff and dire service, so bad that some diners left before they even got a drink. Had it not been a wet evening we'd have left too. They say they don't take bookings, but then at the door is clearly a booking diary with bookings for the evening. We got the impression that they don't want to serve tourists by how unwelcoming they were. When the diners who left due to a total lack of service were asked why they were leaving and said, the waiter was very rude to them. When we ordered, at the start of the evening service, bearing in mind the restaurant name, it was bizarre to be told that we couldn't order the sardines! (Nor, indeed another staple, tuna - but they were very keen to 'push' the much pricier whole fish). The menu was misleading, too, implying you got the choice of 2 side dishes with your main - you don't - you either don't get them and cant get them to chase them up, or the ones that do arrive, you get charged for in addition to the main dish charges. We also asked for bread as a starter - they didn't bring it, then brough the mains. When we asked for it, they reluctantly brought it, no apology, just a glare and dumped it down.