This place looks super cool, but I would recommend trying another place in the general area. I'm not sure if it was because the holiday (New Years) had just passed, but the meal started with a list of what was NOT available which was more than a quarter of the menu -- which also included no white wine by the glass and no beer. The white sangria pitcher was almost too bitter to drink. The croquettes were a tasty starter -- but the cheese wrapped in filo dough was a non-starter. The beet risotto was pleasant but not necessarily memorable. The Hot Cold dessert was a big disappointment. It has beautiful presentation, but we could not finish even the small dessert. Our service was less than ideal. The restaurant was not full, yet you could see their intense stress levels. With the high quality of dinners we'd had for similar and even lower price in the area, we really expected a lot more. read more

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This was my favorite meal on our week-long trip to Sao Miguel. The food was impeccable. My husband had the seared tuna, and it was cooked perfectly rare. A quick dip in soy sauce, and it was exploding with flavor. It's the best seared tuna we've ever had. I got the octopus legs, which was the BEST octopus I've ever had. And this is coming from someone who immediately orders octopus as soon as she sees it on the menu. I had octopus four times in a week in the Azores, and this was the best. I don't know what they do to the octopus to make it so tender, but it melts in your mouth like butter, and the ends of the tentacles are crispy perfection. Even the side dishes are good here! My octopus came with perfectly cooked and savory potatoes and Brussels sprouts, as well as a small fresh salad. My husband's tuna came with a broccoli steak and the same perfect potatoes. I know I use perfect a lot in this review, but that's all I could say about this food. It was executed that well. My only complaint would be that there is a slight smell of something like bleach throughout the restaurant. You get used to it, but it was off-putting at first. Note that you will definitely need to make a reservation in order to get a table. If I recall, I was able to make one through Facebook a week in advance pretty easily. You can't miss a dinner here while I'm Ponta Delgada. read more

I was so disappointed after choosing this restaurant based on reading these reviews. The server was extremely lacking in knowledge. We ordered two martinis and got gin and tonic. There were 6 gins listed but every time we picked one, she came back and said they didn't have it. After three times we said just bring whatever you have! They were also out of the wine we chose. The dining room was attractive but the table was too small. It was overly warm in there. They did adjust a fan toward me. That was nice. They tried very hard to please but just didn't know how I think. I am not a picky person but I expect better from a €100 dinner. I asked her to choose the most tender steak they had since tender meat is quite famous in the Azores. I don't know what I got. Looked like flank steak. I could barely cut it and could not chew it at all. There was no steak knife. I left it. A gentleman noticed and offered chocolate mousse as apology for steak. That was nice but then he came back and said the manager wouldn't let him comp it so we paid for it. And they knew it was my husband's birthday. One would have thought the mousse might be complimentary in any case. I will say the Octopus salad was outstanding. I loved the presentation as well. The goat cheese in phyllo was excellent. Loved the honey drizzled over it. Had never had Parrotfish and it was delicious. I would have preferred it filleted for me. I don't like dealing with it at the table. The beetroot risotto was unique and delicious as well. The bread was good but overpriced at €3 in my opinion. It was just bread. Nothing special. I would recommend this place to others with the caveat to only order fish. My husband could not have been more pleased with his meal. But he hates broccoli and server said it was the only vegetable. He asked for sliced tomatoes instead and she brought him an entire second salad. Perhaps the mistakes were all caused by inability to communicate but she said she lived in USA for 10 months. read more

We made a reservation by calling Big 21 about an hour before on a Monday night. We were seated upstairs upon our arrival. To start, we had the Portuguese olives which were olives in olive oil with rosemary and other seasoning. I am not usually a fan of olives, but I loved these. For my entree, I had the seafood linguine nero, and my husband had the seafood Azorean tuna. I enjoyed both dishes, but preferred the linguine slightly more than the tuna. I loved the black pasta with the shrimp and mussels. The servers here were very friendly and attentive, and the decor was simple and modern. I would definitely recommend making Big 21 a part of your visit to the Azores! read more

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Like everyone else is saying, so good! Love the atmosphere, a modern layout decorated with unique memorabilia like old radios and designed wood boards. Fish was excellent, we had the rockfish (special of the day), the octopus, the seafood linguine, the steak and also olives and bread to share. Paired with the sangria, it was such a great meal. The seafood is the highlight truly. For dessert we had the pineapple soaked in red wine with mango sorbet (excellent!), hot and cold (ice cream poured with hot chocolate), and chocolate mousse (just ok). With an end on passionfruit and pineapple liquor, it was a great meal. Highly recommended, the staff was very friendly and accommodating. They recommend booking in advance; we came later in the evening on Saturday when it was a bit more quiet, but I imagine it's very crowded during peak hours. read more

I loved this restaurant!! There were only about 5 tables full when we got here so I was skeptical of my choice. But that quickly went away when we met our waiter. He was extremely attentive and offered amazing recommendations. The octopus salad was extremely fresh and full of flavor, but my favorite was the tuna! It was cooked to perfection. My boyfriend had a steak which he enjoyed, but was a bit tougher than he was used to. However, all in all we enjoyed it here and would recommended it to people visiting the island. read more

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Everything was perfect. The mushroom salad, ribeye, and pork belly was delicious. The local wine was amazing too. read more

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Found this restaurant via Yelp. It got good recommendations. Making a reservation was easy: I got a quick response on a facebook message. The restaurant is near the marina, but not in the touristic, busy area. We stayed in the Lince hotel and it was about 0.7kms from there. The ambiance was nice, the waiters really friendly and we really enjoyed the steaks with potatoes.I would definetely recommend this restaurant above the touristic restaurants in the marina. Big21 offers better quality food and is way more quiet than the restaurants at the marina. read more

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So yummy !! Recommended by Casa de Rosa owner=]. We had octopus (came out in tuna fish container and better than the restaurant Tasca)! Cheese with pumpkin marmalade was really good also ! Main course we had the salmon (tuna is not in season at the moment) and the cod ! Both I would eat again - risotto was very unique with beets !! Waiter was kind and the atmosphere was relaxed ! Def give it a try ! read more

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I was excited to try Big21 as it looked a little more modern than some other highly recommended spots. I was not dissapointed! We started off with the octopus salad and chorizo pate - both were phenomenal. I would have put the chorizo on EVERYTHING (an egg sandwich, for starters), and the octopus salad was VERY fresh. We had a small hiccup with the wine - we ordered a bottle of white sauv blanc and were accidentally brought a red from the same region. The server was very sweet about the mistake and fixed it immediately. For mains, we split charred octopus and seafood linguini. Both were delicious, but I preferred the octopus (I'm an octopus fiend). We opted for dessert, a homemade chocolate mousse with lime and coconut shavings - fun twist on what could be an otherwise heavy dessert. I'd be back and try some of their other seafood options, for sure. read more

Absolutely incredible food. Would make a trip for just this restaurant! We came in on a Wednesday, and the service staff kept hinting at slow service due to a large party. For how much they said this, we did not find the service slow, even as Americans! We had the quail egg, the tomato salad, and the bread for appetizers. The butter they had was incredibly delicious, and the tomato salad portioned the cut of the tomatoes incredibly well with the cheese. We got a pesto and the fish of the day. The fish was minimally prepared, which was excellent. The natural taste, as well as the pairing with the beet rice was really clever. This was better than any place we had in Lisbon! read more

Excellent little restaurant. Visited on a Thursday evening with my partner, and we needed a booking. We were lucky and managed to call earlier that day and get an early table for dinner. I had the rib eye steak (local beef) and my partner had the tuna. Both cooked to perfection. We also had some really nice, really reasonably priced wine. Our best meal in Portugal yet. read more

Big 21 - Seafood Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

This was our first dining experience in the Azores, and after eating dinner here I must say it was a tough act to follow! Place was a quick walk from the hotel. We were greeted warmly and promptly seated. We ordered a local bottle of white wine, the olives and the cheese platter. All of which were tasty and the portions were generous. Main course was the tuna, and I could not have been happier. Incredibly fresh and wonderfully cooked paired with simple yet balanced ingredients. It was a great treat and we can't wait to go back! read more

Big 21 - Seafood Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

Really loved this restaurant. We both had beef, perfectly cooked. Portions were huge. But the best of all as our server, Katerina. Such a special restaurant. Food so fresh and delicious. read more

Solid meal. Nice menu. Had the whole fish and brother had the pork belly which was excellent. More modern menu, nice ambiance.

Great little restaurant with very friendly service - the waiter happily translated the Portuguese menu for us. The menu is quite short, which I think is often a good thing when it comes to restaurants, with about 4-5 choices of starters and main courses, and 2 desserts. Food was very well presented (although I think they should cut down on the sesame seeds, which seemed to garnish every dish!) and tasted good. I had the goats cheese in filo pastry for a starter, which was beautifully garnished with honey and hazelnuts, along with a sesame seed topped salad. The steak I had for main courses was flavourful and cooked perfectly medium rare, however I found the potato wedges that came with it slightly dry. I loved the dessert, and thought it was very clever. Entitled "not pear", it was fresh pineapple poached in port served with a spiced crumble and a tangy, refreshing raspberry sorbet. A lovely end to the meal, sweet but not too sweet with a great combination of flavours. This restaurant had only been open for a few weeks when we visited. I'm sure with a bit of refinement, it will soon reach a 5 star rating! I would definitely recommend making a reservation - when we went mid-week it was fairly busy, but when we tried to go back on our final night (a Friday) it was unfortunately fully booked so we had to eat elsewhere. read more

We were able to get in here without a reservation just after 630 (opening time). We enjoyed the cheese platter with toast, seafood pasta, and burger. The white wine suggested to us was also nice. The cheese platter came with a delicious pumpkin jam - will definitely try to make this when back home! It was a very nice, modern restaurant. Ambiance was welcoming and the service was great. You could show up in your fanciest attire or be comfortable in casual clothes. Would go back! read more

My last meal in San Miguel and the best by far. I had the tuna steak, beet root salad which more than exceeded my expectations, and broccoli with capers. For dessert I had a vanilla ice cream with slivered almonds and then they poured hot milk chocolate, not syrup, over it when it was served. Yummy yummy. My taste buds exploded throughout the whole meal. The staff was friendly and very attentive. Very important, MAKE RESERVATIONS or you may be turned away. read more

Big 21 - Dessert. Vanilla ice cream, slivered almonds and warm chocolate sauce - Seafood Near Me - Ponta Delgada, 20

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This restaurant was amazing. All the appetizers, main courses and desserts were perfect. The service was also very good. The waiter provided good recommendations and was very friendly and personable. Overall, best restaurant we've dined at since being in Portugal and the Azores. read more

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Found this place thanks to Yelp! and it did not disappoint, stopped in today at 6:30pm and we were seated right away and Thank God, because when we left there was a wait. Everything from the wine to the cheese board to the main course, which you have to have the Tuna, was simply amazing. Would highly recommend!! Obrigado read more

Simply the best we had tuna fish and we have never had such a delicious tuna. The local white wine was also top class. We had their ananas dessert and it tasted wonderful. The only bad thing to say - the music was so loud that it was almost like a discotheque read more

Absolutely fantastic. I had perhaps the best tuna I've ever had in my life here, as well as a pretty dang good steak. The service was a bit slow, but hey, you are on island time, and it was made up for when the owner came by to give us some digestifs at the end of our meal - the honeycomb whiskey was delicious! read more

Really enjoyed this restaurant! Food was really good as was the the service. I had the burger (delicious!) and my husband had the fish. It wasn't the best fish he'd ever had and he wished he had gotten the burger instead. Now you know! Enjoyed the jazz music playing the n the background too read more

My daughter and I loved this place. It was our first night in town and we had jet lag so were looking for something early and vegetarian. They graciously accommodated us and everything was fastastic! The service was outstanding. My daughter ordered the vegan pesto with pasta and I got the beetroot risotto. Both were delicious! My daughter, normally a somewhat picky eater, couldn't keep her fork off my plate. We left happy and pleasantly full. I highly recommend Big 21! Plus the decor is charming, all-white and a charming combination of old and new. read more

Absolutely amazing! The food was fabulous, the presentation was unique and clever! The wine recommend worked perfectly with both meat and fish! The staff was friendly and helpful. This is my favorite restaurant in Ponta Delgado! Highly recommend!!! You will not be disappointed! read more

Went to this restaurant with a party of five for my birthday dinner. Everyone's food was excellent and I loved my beet risotto - something I was a little hesitant to order. The staff made us feel welcome, recommended some excellent wines and really made our evening. read more

On the recommendation of our tour guide, we tried this newish restaurant. It took determination since neither the hotel nor cab driver knew of it. Our favorite restaurant in Ponta Delgada is A Tasca, and, although the experience is quite different, the food is as good. We started with two salads: octopus and tomato. Both were delicious with a light vinaigrette and bright, fresh flavors. The octopus was incredibly tender. Our entrees were roasted/grilled octopus served with potatoes, salad, and Brussels sprouts and the daily fish with beet risotto. Octopus was simply prepared, yet tender and flavorful as was the grilled fish. Risotto was unusual, but creamy and delicious. Hot/cold dessert of vanilla ice cream with an amazing warm milk chocolate topping was the perfect ending. Service was friendly and professional, and the atmosphere is contemporary yet inviting. Prices are very reasonable by US standards. read more