Lagoa Azul - Sete Cidades

We were taken to this restaurant on a tour and our guide kept exclaiming that it was grandma 's cooking. Unfortunately when we arrived, it was a buffet. The beef stew was relatively solid but the fish, especially the tuna, was extremely overcooked to the point I was unsure if it was fish. Something I did very much enjoy though was the pyramid cake for dessert!

Had a wonderful buffet for lunch on Good Friday. Lots of locals. Excellent value. My partner enjoyed the many seafood offerings. I had the beef and rabbit. Entire carafe of wine and other beverages was included. Dessert (which we were too full for) is extra. €12 total per person. Sitting outside in the sun on a beautiful day with good food. What more could you ask for?

We really, really enjoyed this place after our canoe excursion on the nearby lake (the clean, blue princess one that this restaurant was named after, not the dirty, green shepherd lake, as I made sure to note to my husband . The really kind young woman who ran the canoe operation told us about this restaurant and that it was popular. It really was. The restaurant (one of approximately three in the small town was packed full of tourists English speaking and Portuguese speaking ones as well as a few families who could plausibly have been local or at least local to the island, since at least one extremely well behaved canine dining companion joined them for lunch. For a pittance (12 Euros for adults, 6 Euros for children 4 10 years old , one had a huge range of choices for mostly stewed or baked fish and meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a few starches. On the day we went (a Thursday , options included bacalhau de Gomes de Sa (a traditional prep with sliced hard boiled egg , shark steak, a baked red skinned fish common on the island, a brown, slightly soupy rice dish, white rice, fries, stewed potatoes, stewed pork (layered with fat and possibly the thigh portion or belly , a really excellent beef and potato stew, delicious sauteed vegetables (a dish that unfortunately ran out very quickly and wasn't replaced , delicious stewed chicken gizzards, fresh salad (lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes and shredded carrots , soup (a potato/leek soup, probably from a Knox soup mix . There was fresh, white cheese available from a counter (commonly served on the island as an appetizer , bread on the table, coffee, beer and juice included in the price. All of the food was traditional and well made, though if I were to nitpick, some dishes were noticeably flavored with bouillon cubes, a taste I personally find unpleasant. (It's a commonly used ingredient on the island and in Portugal more generally. Wait staff were very nice and patient with crowds and children, though they did not affirmatively offer us drinks. We muddled through the process ourselves. There were a number of large groups, which took over the restaurant while we were there. Lines for the buffet could be quite long and at times the staff seemed a bit overwhelmed. Bathrooms (one for each gender were clean, but also a bit insufficient for the crowds. Overall, though, Lagoa Azul was a wonderful find in one of the most beautiful parts of Sao Miguel. In the summer, it would probably be wise to reserve.

It's a buffet. I hate buffets. Most of the seats were reserved for tourist bus groups. It is a small place. I wouldn't recommend walking in for lunch if you are not with a group. I don't think they are interested,

Mucha gente a la hora que llegué pero la atención excelente