The “Atlântico Azorean Restaurant” in Vila Franca do Campo, located on Avenida Vasco da Silveira, no. 10, offers a wide choice of meat, fish, and pasta.
It also offers a breathtaking view of the Ilhéu da Vila, a nature reserve classified as a protected area.
Restaurante Atlântico Azorean is run by 44-year-old Milton Teixeira, who told us that it “has been open for 17 years.”
Since then, “business has been good, thank God. The high season has been very tiring, because in the area, Vila Franca do Campo has had a lot of demand”.
“Tourists come from all nationalities, from the East, central Europe, the continent, America and Canada, in other words, a bit from everywhere,” he said.
Matured meat and fresh fish
Restaurante Atlântico Azorean has matured meat, and Terceira is the island that supplies the restaurant. As well as meat, there’s fresh fish every day, but the restaurant once had a sushi service, which was very successful. “We no longer have this traditional dish of Japanese cuisine, but we’re planning to have it again, because our customers also seek it out and appreciate it.”
Matured meat is meat that has undergone a controlled aging process, which makes it softer and tastier.
Milton Teixeira has been involved in the restaurant industry for 25 years, 17 of which have been with Restaurante Atlântico Azorean and the rest connected to catering, commerce, and services.
This body of practical knowledge helped him “to plan what kind of concept to implement at Restaurante Atlântico Azoren”, admitting that “at the beginning, we opened with local customers in mind, since tourism wasn’t as big as it is today. Summer was always good, but then there was a drop in the influx of tourists in the other months, a reality that is very different today.”

Seasonality shows signs of diminishing.
This also means that “seasonality in tourism is showing signs of diminishing, which is, and always has been, offset by local customers, essential for the success of any business. These are the customers we have to retain and guarantee, with the quality of our services, so that they can come back again and again.”
The Atlântico Azorean Restaurant has two rooms, one indoors and one outdoors, with a total capacity for 80 people.
“We are few and good”
In terms of staff, he is keen to stress: “we are few and good. We work with five employees, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., from Tuesday to Saturday, and on Sunday we’re only open at lunchtime”. Monday is a rest day.
In terms of prospects for the future, Milton Teixeira wants Restaurante Atlântico Azorean to continue “to have the pleasure of paying attention to every detail, from cooking to table service, constantly providing a pleasant atmosphere. Every year I always like to innovate in terms of decoration and add another dish to the menu. What we have is already good and has been appreciated by customers, but we always want to have something new to enrich our menu even more.”


Shopping in the regional network of local markets
As well as being the owner, Milton Teixeira also has the task of going shopping in the morning, so that Restaurante Atlântico Azorean continues to respect the tradition of offering all its customers the distinct flavors of the Azores. “Every morning, I do my shopping at the regional network of local markets, whether it’s fish, meat or vegetables.”
Milton Teixeira was born in Bermuda and was nine years old when his parents decided to come to the Azores. He has never thought of returning to the British overseas territory, but only plans to spend a vacation there in the future.
He has a business in Vila Franca do Campo, but lives in the municipality of Lagoa, which means he commutes back and forth every day. “Nowadays the journey doesn’t take long, about eight minutes. Before, without the SCUT, journeys usually took longer.”
Positive comments
You should know that on Tripadvisor there are comments about Restaurante Atlântico Azorean that are worth a look.
For example, Júlio Montes wrote: “Amazing place, fantastic food and great service. We had a great time, please don’t miss this place”.
Philipp Kindermann, revealed that he was looking for “a good restaurant for dinner” and found “a perfect one. This restaurant is really in the top league on the island. Even in Germany you don’t always get such good quality at this price.”
“Excellent dishes and a great atmosphere. Perfect service, I recommend it,” said Patrice Bogy.
Tripadvisor.com is a travel website that provides information and opinions on tourism-related content.


Marco Sousa is a journalist for Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveiros-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.

A few other images of this restaurant in São Miguel Island-Azores.