Really surprised and delighted at how amazing this place was! Being from Toronto where we have a pretty good culinary selection, usually when I vaca to smaller towns the food generally does not live up. Not here! Recommended to us by a local, we showed up here without a reso (against warnings that we would definitely need one) around 830pm on a Monday night. The warnings were right - this place was packed! We were able to get a seat by 10pm (zzzzzz) for our party of four. We contemplated just leaving as we had a very long day, but thankfully we stuck around and had one of the best (if not the best) meals on the island! Restaurant is small and cozy with super friendly service, huge menu with an equally impressive selection of wines and beers. Our tapas order: fried sardines, deviled eggs, tuna carpaccio, grilled spicy shrimps, mixed sausage plate with taro. Main plate order: octopus and clams ALL items were delicious. The absolute winners were the octopus, clams and shrimp. I have never had such tender octopus - melted in your mouth - the sea version of wagyu. The clams were sweet and tender and came in a garlicy, buttery wine broth (order bread so you can dip in the juices!) and the shrimps were big and plump and juicy and served with a melted butter + fresh garlic + coriander + chili sauce. It was incredible. Dessert was a sticky caramelized pineapple cake that I dream about - must try. I forget how much we paid but it was shockingly cheap (maybe about 25euro pp and this included beer and we were super full) and so memorable that we came back on our last day for lunch! A must try while in Sao Miguel!! (but MUST make a reso!) Would I return? - Absolutely Parking? - Street parking all around Value for $? - Amazing Space? - Medium size place, tables close together Ventilation? - Good Service? - Great read more

Thoroughly enjoy every bite and sip. Great tapas options and extensive wine list. Very affordable with large servings. Highly recommend making a reservation days in advance. read more

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This restaurant came highly regarded on Trip Advisor, and we had overheard a few other hotel guests mention the place. it is hard to find, but again, just ask a local and they can point you in the the right direction. we ate here 2 nights. it's very popular, and even in the off season, it was busy. we showed up at 7:30 pm to a near full house and within minutes, the place would have a waiting list. the food is good....sometimes. and the service is good....sometimes. atmosphere is cozy, but the freaking front door never shut all the way. so a frigid cold breeze was always blowing in. i thought it was just us, but all the local diners didn't remove their coats and repeatedly got up to try to close the door. huge negative for atmosphere. first night of service...perfect english and we were able to communicate with our server. the grilled octopus was delicious...perfect in fact. we had an octopus salad as well which was also divine. the bread they bring out, again, is not free (customary in all the places we ate). desert was a ridiculously good slice of pineapple cake. i mean, RIDICULOUS! we left feeling so satiated and happy. second night. colder still. different server and we had a horrendous time communicating. we ordered mushroom appetizer and collard soup. specifically stated (as the previous night) "No meat, right?" and of course he nods his head yes, yes, and says "no meat". i also ordered a quail egg. mushrooms arrive....pork everywhere. we send it back. soup arrives...big chunks of chorizo floating in it. we send it back. quail arrives...except it's half a quail, not the egg. we send it back. chef comes out...What's the problem? we explain. make sure we explain no meat in our entrees. the entrees come out. wife has the octopus again. significantly smaller portion than the previous night. my cod was like chewing the sole of my shoe. we were being too difficult i guess. it wasn't meant to be. we left as soon as we could..no romantic lingering with more wine tonight. overall, if you like to gamble, try this place...hit or miss. read more

This restaurant was recommended by our tour guide and tour mates. There are some really interesting flavors in the traditional food. The waiter was very patient and explained a large part of the menu to us. My boyfriend got to try 2 different wines before ordering a glass of one of the red wines. The soup and appetizer we ordered came out quick. The soup was lukewarm though and I prefer my soups hot. The appetizer we ordered was a pastry like dish which my boyfriend loved. It's really good. Our next dish came out some time after that. By then the restaurant started to get busy. Our last dish which were clams took nearly 40 minutes. When it came, the flavors were there, but the clams were below par. The shells make it seem like the clams are normal sized, but when you eat it, there's barely any meat there so that was disappointing. Overall the menu items were good, and the service was good, but make sure you go before 7 because once they start getting busy, they don't seem to have a good system to handle the rush. They also asked us if we had a reservation when we first went in. Perhaps that's the best way to go to make sure you have a table. read more

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This guy's they thing they are in New York or something... Always asking for reservations... Unacceptable for a small town full with tourists... read more

Want to have the best meal you've had in the Azores and at a great price? This is your place. The servers are friendly. Rui is the best host. The ambiance is inviting. The wine and beer selection is terrific. The sesame seared tuna was delightful. And it was $12 Euros. We are going back every day we are in Ponta Delgada. Can't wait to try everything on the menu. Love it!! read more

Really cool place packed with locals. Serves local wine selection which is fantastic. Cauliflower soup is amazing. Chicken fricassee is to die for. Argolas de cebola (Onion Rings)are super yummy. The Service was excellent. This is a must visit restaurant. Bon appétit! read more

A Tasca - Really cool place packed with locals. - Mediterranean Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

A great location just a few blocks from the main road. Lunchtime wasn't too busy - waited 15min. The meal was worth the wait. Tried multiple delicious dishes and paid a decent price for it. Highly recommend! read more

I was tired and hungry after arriving in the Azores, however the latter half of that equation changed after A Tasca. We ordered several starters expecting tapas sized bites for the meager price but were blown away with the generous portion sizes and quality. Suddenly when our main course was to be delivered to the table, we hoped they'd forgotten our order because we were so stuffed. We'll, we put on our big boy pants and finished that main off as well. It was so good and the variety of Portuguese food so copious, we went back a second night just to try another cornucopia. Stop by earlier in the day to make a reservation, or roll the dice and hope for an open table. We did both with success. I slept very well after that meal to complete the equation. read more

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Come here right when they open and beg for a seat. Then order the chefs special and whatever the waiter/waitress recommends and a libation. We had the best octopus we've ever had here. The food is probably truly worth 4 stars but the authentic Portuguese ambiance made this a 5 star experience. read more

Good local food, friendly service, book up pretty fast around dinner time so I'd recommend make a reservation early, or eat earlier. We got there around 5pm. Party of 4, 2 got steaks, 1 had the roasted duck with rice and 1 had the fish of the day. All around a good night... read more

A Tasca - Roasted duck with rice - Mediterranean Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

First apparently it is difficult to get a reservation. Then, when you show up, they give you an attitude for being a couple minutes late. They then give us a table that is too small for our large party including one chair short (14 people at an 8 person table). Then they take the order for the table before us. They then come over with an attitude when taking our order. The food was mediocre. And they completely missed one of the meals for a person in my party. The only shining light was the prices. read more

You need to make a reservation a few days in advance, it's very busy. They don't answer the phone so we had to go there to make one. We went for the fish stew but they didn't have it that day so we tried fish from the catch of the day collection. It was not very good. It was also just grilled completely plain, no seasoning. We also tried some Shellfish appetizers and the portions were much smaller than other places in the area. I do think that we might have just ordered the wrong thing as many people sitting around us were raving about their food, however we liked other restaurants we tried much better. read more

We are traveling with a toddler and our server was a sweetie who charmed us and him! We loved this place, the traditional seafood stew with puff pastry, the traditional sandwich with cheese, gravy and ham and the octopus appetizer. So yum a contemporary touch on tradition and we left feeling great! Yes so many tourist reviews but we felt like locals and thought about going twice. read more

The year was 1998 when last I set foot on Portuguese soil. Thus I can hardly be considered an expert in Portuguese food. If there are vast differences between the fare of the mainland and that of the Azores, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But what I can tell you is that after a week on Sao Miguel, Tasca was the best eating experience I had. The staff were cool about two of us showing up without reservations, even though the restaurant was barely occupied when we walked through the door. That changed quickly, and I could see why. Their food was good, all of it. The menu points out which dishes are traditional Portuguese and Azorean, and otherwise. We stuck with Azorean all the way. One of the first things I noticed is that while great, this is not refined food. By that I mean everything comes not drastically altered from its original form. Shrimp are still in the shells, limpets too, and even fish will still have bones. We are spoiled in America, I think, always getting de-shelled and de-veined shrimp, boneless cuts of meat and such. Here, you have to work for your meal a little. Annoying to some, I still think the meal gets enhanced a little. The highlight of the one meal here was the fish stew. They brought a large pot before us laid over with flaky basked, pastry shell, which you pound through to get to the cod, clams, shrimp and potatoes. Order extra bread to seep up the broth. Brilliant. Beers were super cheap, small ones going for a Euro each. Prepare to walk out of here stuffed. I recommend sharing the multiple tapas. The one entrée, the cod stew, would have been plenty for two, with the bread included. read more

Best meal I had in all of Ponta Delgada. I got the sesame crusted tuna and it did not disappoint. The waitress recommended the pineapple cake and it was perfect too. Staff was very friendly. read more

A Tasca - Sesame seed crusted tuna!! - Mediterranean Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

During our entire trip to Sao Miguel, every night was filled full of amazing foods, but A Tasca was definitely our favorite of the trip (we ate there two nights out of 6). The service was great, the food was amazing, and the prices were very reasonable. Of the tapas, the standouts were the two octopus dishes (one grilled, one fried in a yummy caramelized onion reduction) and the cheese and sausage board. Both of the deserts that we had there were phenomenal, but the pineapple cake was just amazing. We really cannot recommend A Tasca highly enough. Go there. read more

Ordered the tuna steak with sesame seeds + cod salad with onion + grilled limpets (lapas)+ pineapple cake -- must try on the lapas and pineapple cake read more

Had an interesting time at A Tasca. We were looking for an early dinner so we have it a shot. Arrived at 5 and got a table. Took a while to read the vast and reasonably priced menu. Our waitress started taking our order and when my husband asked what kind of bottled beer they had she said wait a minute and left. She came back with my soup. We told her we still wanted a beer and we hadn't finished ordering. We gave her the rest of the order and she brings a draft not bottled beer but it was fine. Meals came fast. Fresh tuna was delicious and kale soup was creamy and hearty. We finish the meal and don't see the waitress anywhere but then my husband spots her cooking in the kitchen. The whole thing was pretty comical. We called a waiter over and got dessert. Sweet and tasty rice pudding and a caramel pudding. He apologized and gave us the bill. A very good meal with what I considered entertainment. read more

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Was great first time. Thats serice and food. but awful the second try. They were getting ready for new years eve and told me i had two hours. That was fine with me. I sat there waiting for service and food. Other tables had come and gone and i was still waiting. When i finally got food it was loaded with cilantro. Menu mentioned nothing. Dinner ruined and three hours later could get out of there soon enough. They knew everything was late and wait lengthy but did nothing to rectify the problem. read more

All I could say was wow. The place was recommended to us by our tour guide and it did not disappoint. My wife had a Portuguese traditional sandwhich which was steak, ham, cheese, linguica, topped with a fried egg. It was amazing. I had the tuna steak which was good, but no where near my wife's dish. The service was good and the staff friendly. read more

A Tasca - Mediterranean Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

Typical Portuguese restaurant, fresh food served in a typical friendly environment. The staff makes you feel welcomed and you would never leave hungry! read more

Disappointing. Not enough servers, food came out at different times, and there was nothing the clam shells. We were so excited to try this place and we were let down. read more

We went for lunch and didn't wait long for a table. Service was slow and prices are so, so reasonable, especially for drinks. My favorite was the apple and cheese puff pastry snack. read more

I had dinner here last night and I was very underwhelmed. I ordered the top sirloin steak to be cooked medium rare and it came out well done with very little flavor. The service wasn't great either, when I let the manager know about my well done steak, he just said he'd tell the cooks to do better next time and that was it. One of my most disappointing meals in the Azores. read more

Had dinner here last night. Limpeds are local specialty, however I found it sounds more glamours than it is. Too much shell not much meat. I still prefer mussels. Local beef steak is good. Grilled octopus was cooked to perfect. We ordered a grilled fish of the day, not bad. I loved the tuna carpaccio the most. Interesting menu that is printed on a newspaper. The servers speak very good English. read more

The starter was the breaded octopus with onion chutney. This octopus was so tough that it was hard to cut it with my knife...I would go as far as to say that if I was blindfolded and if someone asked me to guess what meat it was, I wouldn't have known...it tasted like mystery meat or very dried out chicken. I was so disappointed and I have been to many restaurants in Portugal and Sao Miguel where I had octopus that tasted so good and this highly rated restaurant had the worst octopus I have ever tasted. That is why I give this restaurant two stars. For the main course, I had sesame crusted tuna, medium rare, and the side dish was coleslaw and boiled yams. The tuna was delicious but it was not medium rare, it was just medium...I expected to see beautiful red in the middle of my tuna steak. The best part of the meal was the dessert, which was the pineapple cake. It was soooo good and went well with my red wine. Overall, I thought the food was alright, though I really don't understand the hype for this restaurant. I can see the prices are really low or reasonable...but the quality of the food should never be overtaken by the low prices. I was really disappointed by the octopus!!! read more

This place deleted my last negative review so I am here again to emphasize how horrible this place is. The owner/manager is extremely rude and hostile. You have to make a reservation a week in advance, and make sure you record the conversation because they will deny that you made the reservation when you show up a week later. The food is bland and nothing special at all. I feel bad for the employees here who have to suffer under awful management. Spend your money elsewhere!! read more

Hands down the best restaurant on the island of São Miguel! This is no over statement, every other quality restaurant is pushing the same ol Polvo and Lulas on you wherever you go, Tasca takes traditional recipes and makes them awesome. Sesame seed Tuna with sweet potato and taro, breaded octopus with chutney-- fogetaboutit! I could live off this stuff. And the service?- these guys are the best of the best. But - important but- you gotta reserve. If I had a dime for every lost tourist who walks in and gets turned away- do yourself a favor, reserve the day before, and when desert comes, three words: pudim de Mel. read more

Had the best lunch. We loved the chicken wings and the menu was so creative. House wine was great too! And priced very reasonable!

Tasca has a good atmosphere but like most of the island service will be slow. Food was quite good and the beer options were also good, with several craft selections. Definitely make reservations for this restaurant as it looks to fill up quickly with many already making them. read more

Hands down, one of the best meals I have ever had. From the fresh Sangria to the cheese, honey & walnuts in puffed pastry(starter), followed by Seafood stew in puffed pastry....obviously, the calorie count was a non issue...finished with the most moist, gooey pineapple cake you could imagine. Keep in mind, I was undoubtedly the only American in a restaurant filled with Portuguese locals at 3:00 in the afternoon! The bar was high as I had sought the place out based on other Yelp reviews...it definitely did not disappoint! 5 Stars all the way! read more

I abosolutely love this place. Easy to get a table for lunch. Great wine selection, great environment. Services is slow (on par with rest of azores ;) ). Such fresh fish and an extensive and delicious menu! read more

My favorite restaurant on my vacation. I had sesame crusted tuna with asian style cabbage with a green salad with fruit and cheese. The food was incredible and extremely reasonable. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. We made reservations 5 days in advance as it is very popular. Highly recommend read more

First let me say, How great the owner is. I tried a friends meal and forgot to realize it had shellfish. Well, the owner helped me get anti histamine to stop the reaction. Life saver! Prior to the reaction my tuna steak encased with sesame seeds and our tapas were amazing! The wine selection was great! The ambiance of the restaurant was perfect. read more

While visiting Ponta Delagada we came across Tasca and we're glad we did - ended up having lunch there twice in 4 days and it was epic! The grilled fish I had was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the clams in white wine & garlic were cooked to perfection (we used a lot of the bread they brought us to sop up the broth). All the small plates we tried were good, from the vegetarian options to chorizo flambé. If you're going for dinner, reservations are needed, however for a late lunch/early dinner we were able to walk in with no delay. read more

We walked in off the street and the host checked his reservations and accommodated us at a great table for two. We ordered the garbanzo curry, cheese and fig pastry, a very nice salad cleverly presented with passion fruit and walnuts, blue fin tuna, pineapple, and pineapple cake. We drank a local Azores red wine which worked well with the meal. Delicious, friendly service, fluid and helpful read more

Delicious meals, good service. And good price for value.

This was probably the worst place I have ever been to in terms of restaurants in Azores. I arrived 1715 and ordered 1725. Then I started to watch people who arrived after me to enjoy their dinner until now waiting for over 1h. I mean they surely looked a bit busy but I still can't find a reason why everybody else can enjoy their dinner except me. I am an Asian man and I hope it wasn't because of racism. The waiter apologized at the end and the steak I had was good taste. 这可能是我在亚速尔群岛上最糟糕的一餐了，等待的一个多小时中其他比我来的更晚的顾客也都几乎要吃完了。想不通，希望这不是因为歧视。waiter之后道歉，牛排的味道很好。 read more

A Tasca - steak - Mediterranean Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

We were directed here for good eats by a local resident. Only 1 other customer there when we arrived. One waitress took our drink order then disappeared. We tried for 45 minutes but could NEVER GET the other waitress to come over! All the while the place filled up with locals and their orders taken and meals served! We signaled several times for the waitress who kept holding up 1 finger (we assumed she was saying, 'just a minute') but our time never came. We are 2 60+ yo ladies, reasonably dressed, pleasant people, who were excited to try some highly recommended local food. Didn't ever happen. Ended up paying for our drinks and leaving to eat down the street at Restaurante 'O Churrasco, with very welcoming employees (and the owner) plus good food. Very disappointed in A Tasca, to say the least. read more