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Recommended Reviews - Calçada do Cais
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We stumbled upon this restaurant after finding out that the place we'd been trying for was closed. It's super cute and has lovely patio seating- we opted to sit outside. Our waiter was very friendly, in fact he's the reason for 3 stars instead of 2 because the food just wasn't amazing, even though it wasn't cheap. It took awhile for our food to come out (it wasn't busy when we ordered but the place filled up during our meal). By the time it arrived, we were famished and our toddler was rapidly approaching melt down mode, which is why we ate everything instead of trying to send it back. The steak could only be described as rough- it was difficult to cut and chew. The tuna was decent, and the fries were only okay. Because this place filled up so much our experience may have been a matter of what we ordered or bad luck rather than indicative of the quality of the restaurant. That said, I'd probably make a different choice next time rather than risk it for the price.
We discovered this restaurant during a food tour of Ponta Delgada and immediately fell in love! We stayed after the tour was over, and even returned later that week for dinner and cocktails, both of which were superb! The octopus here is FANTASTIC, as is the shrimp risotto. We both love the Gin do Mar, and the other cocktails we tried as well. Inside and outside atmospheres are both enjoyable, the waitstaff was super friendly, and the owner is so personable and welcoming. If we ever make in back to São Miguel, we will definitely be returning to Calçada do Cais!
We came here for dinner on a Sunday. We googled the hours of the restaurant and the man said that it opened at 7:00PM even though google said 6:30PM but we still made a reservation for 7. When we came back at 7 there were people already seated so I don't know if they opened at 6:30PM and he lied to us or people were there early. We started off with the fried goat cheese with honey and almonds. It was so good and almost like a dessert. I would highly recommend. I was scrapping off the honey. For my meal I got the octopus risotto as recommended by our waiter. I wanted fish but explained it was Sunday and therefore the fish would be bad. He also recommended some pasta dish. The octopus was good but not as tender as other octopus I've gotten before. The risotto was okay. There were a lot of shells in it and I thought it could have been creamier. I regret not getting a pasta dish as others around me did and they looked amazing. The restaurant itself was super cute. It was packed as most places are closed on Sundays. I think this was causing a service issue because as time went on we had a harder time getting out waiters attention. I'd come back here but it wasn't the best meal I had during my stay on the island.
I came here for lunch on my first day in Ponta Delgada. Calcada do Cais was somewhat difficult to find since it was located on side streets, but I was eventually able to find it. The interior is modern and fairly small (6-7 small tables inside). I'm not sure if it was a language barrier or it's just something that's not done here, but I asked for tap water and was given a Calcada do Cais branded glass bottle of water. It may have just been tap water in a glass bottle, which was not free. Ordered 3 dishes: the grilled shrimp, the catch of the day, and a steak and fries. The fried shrimp were pretty large and very tasty. The catch of the day was good, though there was a lot of salt added unnecessarily. It turned out very salty. It comes with a sweet potato. The steak was huge! Unfortunately the waiter didn't ask how I liked it cooked, so it came out medium rare, and was rare closer to the bone. It comes with fries and a green sauce for the steak, but I didn't think there was much flavor added by the sauce. Overall, the steak wasn't a favorite. The price came out to about 36€.
We came here about 10 minutes before they were about to close. So we ordered our meal within a few minutes of sitting down. I ordered the mojito to start out with. It was not that great and a little bitter. I think the bartender over mashed the lime. I then ordered the ribeye and this was a pretty good size steak. It was tender and juicy with good flavor. I think if we had more time to sit and take in the area, it would have been better. I would definitely come back here if I'm ever in Ponta Delgada
Walked in interested in the steak drawn on chalkboard AS SOON AS YOU WALK IN. NO. apparently that was only available months ago. Yet they STILL leave up. Service was not welcoming. Was very rushed and abrupt. Also... They run out of fries on a Friday night?!? Atmosphere is very bright. Octopus was small but good. Would not return in all other factors, way too many other places with equally better food and WAY better service
We ate at Restaurante Nacional (just down the road) the previous night and I wasn't sure if that restaurant just wasn't that great or if that was normal for the area. I'm glad to find out that Ponta Delgada has some decent options! We went to Calcada Do Cais for lunch and I was impressed with the quality of food. The bread was decent and we opted for the tuna pate. Locally sourced and done with hook and line. Not an overpowering flavor but still distinctly tuna - if that makes sense. Starting off - everything here is cooked with ample amounts of butter. No complaints as I like butter. The fried shrimp with garlic came with 6 medium size whole shrimp that had been sauteed in a nice bath of butter and garlic. It's almost impossible to mess a dish up with that much butter and garlic. It was very good. Would get again. The fish of the day was "pork fish" (local name) which had small filets of fish that were breaded like pork chops and then fried. Good flavor, not overcooked, and the breading was still light. The cod was one large cut that was super flavorful and tender. All the lunch dishes were served with cooked carrots and sweet potatoes. Really good, still moist, and again soaked in butter. I had a blast here. Would definitely go again.
Amazing food! Highly recommended! We had to make a reservation last minute but were accommodated as soon as we walked in. There is nothing better than walking into a restaurant and your table is waiting for you. We ordered 7 mains and 4 appetizers. The food was a bit slow (maybe because our party is large), but they were apologetic and made up for it (eg, offered free shots at the end ;)) best dishes were the squid appetizer, honey crispy goat cheese appetizer, mushroom pie appeitizer, cream cheese cod main and tenderloin main (delicious as recommended by the waitress)
4 years ago
Actually, the food here overall was very good. Why then an okay rating? Well the day decided to eat here service was extremely slow. Dinner from beginning to end took about two and a half hours?!? I arrived about 8:30pm and left at about 10pm. All of the food was good at this very popular spot in town. But the one standout was the breaded and deep-fried octopus. read more
I found this place after trying unsuccessfully to go to another place around the corner. The staff, the presentation and everything was good, but the food was just okay. I ordered the sirloin steak with regional sauce and it came with just fries so I ordered a side of sautéed veggies so my body would get some vitamins. The steak had really no flavor in it. Also the fries were limp and not crispy at all and lacked flavor. My side of sautéed veggies was basically boiled veggies with absolutely no flavor. It seems like no restaurants in Portugal serve veggies any other way than boiled which is really strange. read more
8 years ago
We stumbled on this place after striking out some other places. Not too busy but not too quiet. A nice place for a good meal and excellent service in the heart of Ponta Delgada. We wanted to try the tomahawk steak but they were out. We tried the tuna "ceviche" starter which was ok. It felt like a fancy tuna salad on toast with a lot of cream. And the tuna was cooked. It was very well seasoned. For mains, I have to say I had one of the best pastas ever!! Squid ink linguine with prawns in tomato sauce. Sounds good right? The tomato sauce is sooo under stated! It's complex with some smokiness I think from chorizo type sausage they must somehow get in there. The portion is huge!! And I can't believe I ate it all. I am still drooling over it. My partner got the fish of the day which was grilled tuna. Huge portion! And that was tasty too. If I'm ever back on the island I am coming back for this pasta! (Or will you maybe deliver to Canada??) read more
4 years ago
We stumbled upon this restaurant after finding out that the place we'd been trying for was closed. It's super cute and has lovely patio seating- we opted to sit outside. Our waiter was very friendly, in fact he's the reason for 3 stars instead of 2 because the food just wasn't amazing, even though it wasn't cheap. It took awhile for our food to come out (it wasn't busy when we ordered but the place filled up during our meal). By the time it arrived, we were famished and our toddler was rapidly approaching melt down mode, which is why we ate everything instead of trying to send it back. The steak could only be described as rough- it was difficult to cut and chew. The tuna was decent, and the fries were only okay. Because this place filled up so much our experience may have been a matter of what we ordered or bad luck rather than indicative of the quality of the restaurant. That said, I'd probably make a different choice next time rather than risk it for the price. read more
3 years ago
We discovered this restaurant during a food tour of Ponta Delgada and immediately fell in love! We stayed after the tour was over, and even returned later that week for dinner and cocktails, both of which were superb! The octopus here is FANTASTIC, as is the shrimp risotto. We both love the Gin do Mar, and the other cocktails we tried as well. Inside and outside atmospheres are both enjoyable, the waitstaff was super friendly, and the owner is so personable and welcoming. If we ever make in back to São Miguel, we will definitely be returning to Calçada do Cais! read more
We came here for dinner on a Sunday. We googled the hours of the restaurant and the man said that it opened at 7:00PM even though google said 6:30PM but we still made a reservation for 7. When we came back at 7 there were people already seated so I don't know if they opened at 6:30PM and he lied to us or people were there early. We started off with the fried goat cheese with honey and almonds. It was so good and almost like a dessert. I would highly recommend. I was scrapping off the honey. For my meal I got the octopus risotto as recommended by our waiter. I wanted fish but explained it was Sunday and therefore the fish would be bad. He also recommended some pasta dish. The octopus was good but not as tender as other octopus I've gotten before. The risotto was okay. There were a lot of shells in it and I thought it could have been creamier. I regret not getting a pasta dish as others around me did and they looked amazing. The restaurant itself was super cute. It was packed as most places are closed on Sundays. I think this was causing a service issue because as time went on we had a harder time getting out waiters attention. I'd come back here but it wasn't the best meal I had during my stay on the island. read more
I came here for lunch on my first day in Ponta Delgada. Calcada do Cais was somewhat difficult to find since it was located on side streets, but I was eventually able to find it. The interior is modern and fairly small (6-7 small tables inside). I'm not sure if it was a language barrier or it's just something that's not done here, but I asked for tap water and was given a Calcada do Cais branded glass bottle of water. It may have just been tap water in a glass bottle, which was not free. Ordered 3 dishes: the grilled shrimp, the catch of the day, and a steak and fries. The fried shrimp were pretty large and very tasty. The catch of the day was good, though there was a lot of salt added unnecessarily. It turned out very salty. It comes with a sweet potato. The steak was huge! Unfortunately the waiter didn't ask how I liked it cooked, so it came out medium rare, and was rare closer to the bone. It comes with fries and a green sauce for the steak, but I didn't think there was much flavor added by the sauce. Overall, the steak wasn't a favorite. The price came out to about 36€. read more
We came here about 10 minutes before they were about to close. So we ordered our meal within a few minutes of sitting down. I ordered the mojito to start out with. It was not that great and a little bitter. I think the bartender over mashed the lime. I then ordered the ribeye and this was a pretty good size steak. It was tender and juicy with good flavor. I think if we had more time to sit and take in the area, it would have been better. I would definitely come back here if I'm ever in Ponta Delgada read more
7 years ago
Walked in interested in the steak drawn on chalkboard AS SOON AS YOU WALK IN. NO. apparently that was only available months ago. Yet they STILL leave up. Service was not welcoming. Was very rushed and abrupt. Also... They run out of fries on a Friday night?!? Atmosphere is very bright. Octopus was small but good. Would not return in all other factors, way too many other places with equally better food and WAY better service read more
7 years ago
Fair price, good food, and just 11 mins walk for our hotel. Also, the service was on point . read more
7 years ago
We ate at Restaurante Nacional (just down the road) the previous night and I wasn't sure if that restaurant just wasn't that great or if that was normal for the area. I'm glad to find out that Ponta Delgada has some decent options! We went to Calcada Do Cais for lunch and I was impressed with the quality of food. The bread was decent and we opted for the tuna pate. Locally sourced and done with hook and line. Not an overpowering flavor but still distinctly tuna - if that makes sense. Starting off - everything here is cooked with ample amounts of butter. No complaints as I like butter. The fried shrimp with garlic came with 6 medium size whole shrimp that had been sauteed in a nice bath of butter and garlic. It's almost impossible to mess a dish up with that much butter and garlic. It was very good. Would get again. The fish of the day was "pork fish" (local name) which had small filets of fish that were breaded like pork chops and then fried. Good flavor, not overcooked, and the breading was still light. The cod was one large cut that was super flavorful and tender. All the lunch dishes were served with cooked carrots and sweet potatoes. Really good, still moist, and again soaked in butter. I had a blast here. Would definitely go again. read more
8 years ago
Amazing food! Highly recommended! We had to make a reservation last minute but were accommodated as soon as we walked in. There is nothing better than walking into a restaurant and your table is waiting for you. We ordered 7 mains and 4 appetizers. The food was a bit slow (maybe because our party is large), but they were apologetic and made up for it (eg, offered free shots at the end ;)) best dishes were the squid appetizer, honey crispy goat cheese appetizer, mushroom pie appeitizer, cream cheese cod main and tenderloin main (delicious as recommended by the waitress) read more
11 years ago
Good for lunch and dinner! Same menu, free items but all we tried was good and reasonably priced! We went once for lunch and once for dinner. The places is tucked away in a side street and has also tables outside. The staff is friendly and helpful with their advice. Travelling with a vegetarian in the Azores is not ready but here they had a vegetarian risotto and customisable pasta, which is more than most of the places. I got once the sirloin "regional" which comes with a sauce with wine and garlic which is really good and fries (not the frozen stuff, real potatoes, although bit dry fit my taste). The second time I took the fish of the day which was delicious and came with sweet potatoes, carrots and zucchini. The chocolate mousse was also good! Defyingly a good spot in town! read more
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More info about Calçada do Cais
R. dos Mercadores, 27
9500-092 Ponta Delgada
Portugal
Directions
296 281 052
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7 years ago
