Where to eat on Terceira

Following on from our top tips on Where to eat in Angra, we’ve cast our net even wider – across the whole island for our guide on where to eat on Terceira…

01 –Let’s begin on the outskirts of the capital Angra. In the unlikely event  you’ve exhausted all of the excellent possibilities within the city centre, it’s a short five-minute taxi ride north to the Taberna Roberto. It’s very much a locals’ place: warm and welcoming, where you can turn up tired and dusty from an all-day hike, and treat yourself to Roberto’s amazing slow-cooked ribs and a bottle of mainland wine:

#02 –If you’re staying on the western outskirts of Angra, (at Quinta das Merces or the Terceira Mar Hotel),  the QB Food Court is a fifteen-minute walk away. During the day, the ground floor snack bar is ideal for a light lunch, pizza, salads and soups. In the evenings, the first-floor restaurant has a nicely-mixed menu of Azorean classics and more European-style cuisine. They’ve been introducing more veggie options recently, and it’s worth a visit just to sample their desserts, cakes and chocolates:

#03 –Heading clock-wise on a foodie-tour of the island: the west coast village of Serreta is home to the Restaurante Tipico Ti-Choa. Blink and you’ll miss this unassuming, one storey building. It’s a cosy, family-run restaurant serving big portions of home-cooked Terceiran food. For our resident guide Tiago, Ti-Choa is the best place to sample the island’s most-famous dish Alcatra, served with sweet potatoes and a fresh local Massa Sovada bread:

#04 – From Serreta, the road brings you up onto Terceira’s more-rugged north coast. As you approach the village of Altares, lookout for the Restaurante Caneta on your right. It’s another great restaurant for Alcatra and locally-sourced beef, as well as grilled limpets and clams from the island of Sao Jorge. And they’re big portions once again: visiting any of the more traditional-style restaurants is a non-starter if you’re on a diet – better to just give in and go with the Azorean-flow. You can usually pop into Caneta without a reservation during the week for lunch in the courtyard – but you’ll need to reserve in advance on Saturdays and Sundays (for lunch and/or dinner):

#05 – Biscoitos is well-known and well-loved for it’s natural swimming pools, and the Bar do Abismo is the obvious choice for a lunchbreak on dryland. Inland from the pools is one of the Terceira’s hidden food-gems: Senhora Delia Martin’s bakery. Delia and her family opened the bakery (or Padaria to give it’s correct Portuguese title) around five years ago, converting an old wine storehouse into a wood-fired bakery. It can be a bit tricky to find, (its the first left after the Banif Acores and Post Office), but it’s a perfectly placed take-away if you’re heading down to the seapools or just touring around the island:

#06 – …and if you’re staying close to Biscoitos at the Caparica Azores Ecolodge, Casa de Pasto o Pedro and the diminutive Restaurante O Raul are your closest options – more of those big portions of unpretentious Azorean cuisine:

#07 – Coming around to the east coast, you’ll arrive into Terceira’s second city: Praia da Vitoria. Praia’s home to the island’s main fishing fleet and the Restaurante o Pescador: one of the Azores’ oldest restaurants. If you’re staying in Praia at either the Varandas do Atlantico or the Atlantida Hotel or if you’re a big fan of fresh seasonal seafood, o Pescador should definitely be on your list:

#08 – Also in Praia is Sabores do Chef. You could call them the young pretenders to o Pescador’s long-held crown – they have a similar menu, perhaps slightly more on the gourmet-side in terms of presentation which fits nicely with the restaurant’s modern decor. Their grilled Swordfish and the Octopus stew are both particularly good – although they tend to be a bit more pricey than o Pescador:

#09 – One of my favourite restaurants in Praia is La Barca. It’s walkable if you’re staying in the town, and it’s a good option for lunch if you’ve a few hours free between connecting flights. I’m more of a meat eater and their steaks are excellent – and the floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of the seaview across the harbour:

#10 – …and finally, a recent discovery is the Restaurante Búzius in Porto Martins. The Buzius isn’t new – in my ignorance, I’ve often cycled this way without turning off the main road to explore this quiet little enclave. (Biscoitos-aside), Porto Martins’ seawater swimming pools are some of the best on the island, particularly for families with little ones.  You could easily lose a lazy day to the sunshine and the sea, and the Restaurante Buzius is the cherry on the cake (if you’ll pardon the pun):

Our where to eat guides are based on first-hand experience and our love of great Portuguese cuisine:

Where to eat in Ponta Delgada

Our Ponta Delgada Food Tour

Where to eat on Sao Miguel – Sete Cidades and the west

Where to eat on Sao Miguel – the north coast

Where to eat on Sao Miguel – Furnas and the east

Where to eat on Sao Miguel – the south coast

Where to eat in Angra

Where to eat on Terceira

Where to eat on Faial

Where to eat on Sao Jorge

Where to eat on Flores, Corvo and Santa Maria

Where to eat in Lisbon

Where to eat in Funchal

Our Funchal Food Tour

Where to eat on Madeira

Archipelago Choice Azores specialists

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