Restaurante Sabores do Chef

(Portuguese translation below This was our first time back to this restaurant after they had relocated and we decided to give them a try. There was no one in the restaurant when we arrived so busy can not be used as an excuse. I ordered the fried octopus and my spouse ordered the grilled tuna steaks. An hour later, the food arrived, the salad they serve is lettuce, shredded carrots and grape tomatoes, dry, no dressing of any type and no offer of vinegar and olive oil which is typical dressing for salads. The octopus was well served but was extremely chewy, not an expected result, I have eaten fried octopus in multiple locations, and you can cut it with a fork. Then it gets worse, my spouse's tuna steaks were cooked on the outside but raw in the middle. called the waitress, and asked if this is normal? and the waitress replied yes, raw in the middle is normal. She sent it back and asked for it to be cooked well done. We do not mind eating raw tuna when we have sushi, but when it is supposed to be cooked, we expect it to be cooked. When her plate came back about 15 minutes later, the tuna was cooked, but the vegetables and sweet potatoes were mixed together in a mush, it looked terrible, and we wish we would have taken a photo. Anyway, seeing this mush, she lost her appetite, and tried the tuna steak anyway. It was cooked thoroughly, so they got that part right. She offered the tuna to me and I ate it, it was cooked and did taste ok, just the presentation on the plate was pathetic. So, we go to pay the bill and we let them know how disappointed we were with her meal, and the first excuse from the waitress is the meal is served that way, and if we didn't like it, then we should have sent it back and ordered something else. (Note on that, we do not do that in restaurants here on the island because we are afraid of what they will do to our second meal after we complain about the first. So the owner chef comes out of the kitchen to check something else, and we let him know how disappointing the presentation was, his first response is that they cook their tuna like they cook beef, you are supposed to tell them how you want it cooked, we let them know we were not given that option, when we order beef, we are asked how we want it cooked. As for the vegetables and sweet potatoes being mixed together, once again, he defended himself and said that is the way the meal is served. After discussing how bad it was presented, he decided to retreat to the kitchen, I guess he does not like to talk with unhappy customers. We ended up paying over 40 euros for this meal and we will definitely not return. Esta foi a primeira vez que voltamos a este restaurante depois que eles se mudaram e decidimos experimentá-los. Não havia ninguém no restaurante quando chegamos tão ocupado que não pode ser usado como desculpa. Eu pedi o polvo frito e minha esposa pediu os bifes de atum grelhado. Uma hora depois, a comida chegou, a salada servida é alface, cenoura ralada e tomate uva, seca, sem molho de qualquer tipo e sem oferta de vinagre e azeite, que é um molho típico para saladas. O polvo foi bem servido, mas foi extremamente mastigável, o que não é um resultado esperado. Comi polvo frito em vários locais e você pode cortá-lo com um garfo. Depois, piora, os bifes de atum da minha esposa foram cozidos do lado de fora, mas crus no meio. ligou para a garçonete e perguntou se isso é normal? e a garçonete respondeu que sim, cru no meio é normal. Ela o enviou de volta e pediu que fosse bem cozido. Não nos importamos em comer atum cru quando temos sushi, mas quando é para ser cozido, esperamos que seja cozido. Quando seu prato voltou, cerca de 15 minutos depois, o atum estava cozido, mas os legumes e a batata-doce estavam misturados em um pote, parecia terrível, e gostaríamos de ter tirado uma foto. Enfim, vendo esse mingau, ela perdeu o apetite e experimentou o bife de atum de qualquer maneira. Estava bem cozido, então eles acertaram essa parte. Ela ofereceu o atum para mim e eu o comi, estava cozido e tinha um gosto ok, apenas a apresentação no prato era patética. Então, nós pagamos a conta e informamos como ficamos desapontados com a refeição dela. A primeira desculpa da garçonete é que a refeição é servida dessa maneira e, se não gostamos, deveríamos ter enviado de volta e pedi outra coisa. (Observe que não fazemos isso nos restaurantes da ilha porque temos medo do que eles farão com a nossa segunda refeição depois de reclamarmos da primeira. Portanto, o proprietário chef sai da cozinha para verificar algo além disso, e nós deixamos que ele soubesse como a apresentação foi decepcionante. A primeira resposta dele é que eles cozinham o atum como eles cozinham carne, você deveria dizer a eles como você quer que seja cozido, nós informamos que não tivemos essa opção, quando pedimos carne, nos perguntam como queremos que seja cozida. Quanto à mistura de legumes e batata doce, mais uma vez, ele se defendeu e disse que é assim que a refeição é servida. Depois de discutir o quão ruim foi apresentado, ele decidiu se retirar para a cozinha, acho que ele não gosta de conversar com clientes insatisfeitos. Acabamos pagando mais de 40 euros por esta refeição e nós definitivamente não voltaremos.

Food was very good. We tried the Alcatra (Portuguese Pot Roast) which was very tender flavorful and cream cod (it’s like a casserole) which was very good also. The staff was very friendly.

The service was so poor . And it wasn’t overly busy . Waited over 30mins to be served , then had to remind the waitress , where was my drink and bread . This is when she told me after I had ordered the food , that my dish would take too long to cook . To order something else , and even then had to wait another 45mins for this dish to arrive

Chef Paulo is amazing! He turns out wonderful food that could only come from the heart. I had the octopus alcatra and there are not enough words to describe how delicious it was. The octopus was cooked spot on- not over or under cooked. This is a beautiful restaurant at the ferry dock. The outside of the building is very industrial, but once inside you will be pleasantly surprised. There is also a delightful view of the water. I traveled as part of a group of 10 and Chef Paulo also came to our house and made breakfast for our group every day. Each day there was another specialty of the Azores featured. Worth getting up for 8:30 breakfast every day!

This restaurant is a bit hard to spot, and you enter through a very unassuming door at the concrete ferry terminal building. Once inside though, you are in a beautiful setting with branches and silk flowers on the ceiling and wonderful views of the harbor and ocean. Chef Paulo clearly puts his heart into every dish on the menu. Of course, the fish is very fresh, but the preparation and presentation are all creative and first class. In addition to eating a great lunch and dinner at Sabores do Chef, our large group enjoyed a personalized breakfast each day of our stay at a nearby rented guesthouse. Each day, Paulo featured a different local specialty that gave us something new to anticipate each morning when we woke. I highly recommend you seek out Chef Paulo and Sabores do Chef for your visit to Terceira!