Canto do Cais opened its doors 24 years ago, on August 31, 2000, at first as a bar and later with some irresistible snacks.

In Vila das Capelas, we went to Café Restaurante Canto do Cais, on Rua de São Pedro, no. 3.
This family business is owned by Eleutério Cabral, who is absent and is managed by his son, Lénio Cabral, 31.
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais opened its doors 24 years ago, on August 31, 2000, at first as a bar and then with some snacks, which became irresistible. Then came the soups with bones, which our interviewee says were “the soups with orthopedic service, which were initially served on Sunday mornings, prepared in advance for Saturday evenings, but customers noticed the smell and started asking for soups, and there were no more soups for the next day,” so they decided to serve soups on Saturday evenings from that point on.

Fruit to accompany the dishes

At a certain point, his mother and father worked in the kitchen, and customers often asked for fruit, so his father, Eleutério Cabral, decided to introduce fruit to the menu. So, all the dishes are accompanied by pieces of fruit, salad, and potatoes, regardless of whether they’re fish or meat.
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais typically serves regional food and other must-try delicacies, such as the day’s special. For example, on Tuesday, the highlight was Rice with cod, but on Monday, it was Pork Lasagna, and on Saturday, it was Dogfish Stew.
But there are fried Chicharros (an Azorean staple-fried mackerel), Feijoada (bean dish), Caçoula (meat dish), fried Abrotea (fried fish), Carne guisada (beef stew), and Bacalhau de natas (cod fish with cream sauce), among other delicious dishes.
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais can accommodate up to 60 people, and they have a good, steady business because “it’s best to book in advance,” especially for dinner. “You can still get a seat at lunch, but you should always book ahead,” said Lénio Cabral.
The desserts are homemade. As a tradition, you can write your name on one of the walls of Café Restaurante Canto do Cais. This began about three years ago, but the walls, including the bathroom walls, are practically all filled.

Unique decor

What’s more, there are no tables, but there are benches and decorations to match, such as old radios, a fishing net, a typewriter, a sewing machine, and even harpoons used to hunt whales, where each scratch symbolized a whale that had been harpooned.
It should be remembered that the whaling industry in São Miguel was most prominent in Capelas, and it is presumed that whaling in São Miguel began in the mid-1980s.
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais has around 10 employees a day because it works two shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. “We could even have more, but in the restaurant business, it’s very difficult to find staff because not everyone likes it, because this is almost like an open-door prison, we know that, because there are no public holidays here, let alone weekends.”

What’s good is what’s ours.

Café Restaurante Canto do Cais’s kitchen is open from 12 noon until 3pm and from 6.30pm until 10pm, Monday through Saturday. The bar is open on Sundays, but the kitchen is closed.
Two of the most popular dishes are mixed beef and fish. One portion is enough for two people.
Both dishes always come with fruit, salad, and potatoes.
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais sources its food from the regional market. The fish comes from João Estrela, in Rabo de Peixe, and the meat from Salsiçor.
And because what’s ours is good, Eleutério Cabral grows a wide variety of vegetables almost year-round in a greenhouse, resulting in healthier and more abundant harvests.

Lots of tourists

“In the summer, around 99% of our customers are tourists,” says Lénio Cabral. “A few years ago we received a lot of Nordic people, but this year I’ve noticed a lot of Spanish and French people.”
When his father Eleutério Cabral isn’t there, Lénio Cabral takes on the role of head waiter, but when the “captain is there”, as he says, “the boat is run by him”, he adds.
Regarding future prospects, “the aim is to maintain what has already been achieved, always improving in terms of quality and speed to serve our customers well.”
Café Restaurante Canto do Cais is like that Constantino ad, the “fame that comes from afar”, known for its walls full of customer signatures over the years. This tradition is common in iconic places, where visitors leave their marks to celebrate their unique experiences.
Examples: “Hidden Corner,” “Good Restaurant,” “Relaxed Atmosphere,” or “Pleasant Surprise.”

Marco Sousa is a journalist for the newspaper 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.