The Sunset Cafe

My wife and I had a groupon so we thought we’d check this place out since we love Portuguese food. Not sure what to expect after seeing some of the mixed reviews but the food and service were excellent. We got the garlic soup, the petiscos, and the bacalhau de sunset and couldn’t finish it all. The bacalhau in particular was the best I’ve had since visiting the Azores.

My girlfriend and I tried out this place. We got there at about 1pm on a Sunday. There were only three tables of customers. We both go to a lot of restaurants and are very picky about food. Yes the service is as bad as everyone talks about! Plan on plenty of time. The décor was much better than I expected after reading the reviews. But what we really came for was the food. We shared the garlic soup and the little necks in a wine and garlic sauce for appetizers. They both were terrific. The clams were cooked perfectly. For entrees we had the daily special of seafood over linguine. The sauce was spicier than we were led to believe by the waiter but the flavor was excellent. We also had the stuffed lobster. I was hesitant to get this because baked lobster is usually overcooked and dry. The lobster was perfect. It was moist and flavorful. The crab stuffing did not overwhelm the lobster and together the lobster and stuffing were the best I have ever had. Even my very picky girlfriend had to admit that the food was great. I can’t wait to go back! When the check came I was pleasantly surprised. Even with all the glorious food we had, the check was just over $ 50.00.

Came here after not being able to find a table at assembly row. The food was very good, service was warm and attentive, and the best part was the amazing live music, a guitar and a vocal. haven’t had this kind of truly relaxing and fine dining experience for a while

I have been to this restaurant more than a dozen times since 2011 and I am still enjoying my every visit.
They have 3 to 4 daily special despite a rich menu they provide. I always order a garlic soup and a seafood entrée, either fish, shrimps or octopus. The portion is right and I always finish my food.
The old decoration does not bother me at all. To me, it is more important to see the table cloth, wine glasses and utensils being clean. Everything in the restaurant is very clean.
There are several negative reviews below in which the reviewer mentioned that she/​he used groupon. Those people are cheapskate and do not have good taste in food. I suggest you skip those reviews.

Hi everyone out there in the food community, I’m here at the sunset café eating with my boyfriend, I haven’t been here in awhile, I almost forgot how good the food and the drinks were, I’m writing this post on Unilocal to make sure everyone tries the sangria at the sunset it was AWESOME. It also impressed me that before you even order they serve you smokin hot fresh bread with a platter filled with hot peppers, olives, real butter, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dipping. WOW just had the lamb chops, they were so so good, also my boyfriend had the stuffed haddock and it was also really good.
I’ve been to many great 5 star restaurants and some of them don’t even do that, we just had the Portuguese bread pudding and 2 cappuccinos that I had them add some baileys to for desert and it was delicious, this place serves you a great meal and drinks with a great smile and attitude for and awesome great price, I’ve been to great restaurants like Strega prime, Strega waterfront, L’Andana, Tuscan kitchen and others, this place does not have the atmosphere like those other places, but sometimes you have to try a regular cool local hangout spot and this is one of those places, I hope you like my review, thanks for reading it.

My wife and I love this place if you looking for a meal (seafood– pizza — or Portuguese food) this ‘s the place you want to be prices are super cheap (glass of Portuguese wine is $ 3. Beer star from $ 2.75 you can have two course meal under $ 30

This place was not great. The atmosphere is terrible. It feels like the dining area of a best western.
The service was fine. No complaints there.
The food was sub par. The olive oil they brought out with the bread was not very good. It tasted like it was from olive garden.
They brought out oysters with ketchup instead of cocktail sauce which was strange.
After those experiences I couldn’t really enjoy the food. The sea food entrees we got were OK but definitely nothing special.
I would not come back.

We came here for lunch last Friday around noon. When we first arrived, we were confused on whether this place was open as there was not a soul in sight. After calling out and waiting a while, we heard some talking in the kitchen area so we headed deeper into the restaurant. Once we got the attention of a waitstaff, we were politely seated and given menus.
The wait for the food was average. We noticed that they had unusual items such as goat, rabbit, and Cornish hen so we ordered the rabbit. It actually came out quite well and reminded me of tender chicken. Our salads were relatively decent too though the croutons on my salad were not crunchy.

Yes, the dining room is outdated. Yes, the bar is a bit of a dive. But who cares?! Some of the items on the food menu are amazing and most are a great value!
First, start with the fish cakes! These aren’t regular fish cakes, they’re salted Portuguese cod. Normally I can’t stand the stuff, but the fish cakes with a squirt of lemon are tasty.
For an entrée. The BBQ chicken and sunset steak are awesome! I usually grab one of these two items for takeout 2−3x a week. That’s stair something!
I highly recommend giving this place a try for great food, at a great price.

I went back a second time,
the décor is definitely not the best and the food is good, not great i had a few other Portuguese meals and in comparison this is good, but not was good, although they give a lot of food here/

Terrible. Came in on a 50% off coupon. The food is really bad. Old vegetables for salad. Seriously trust me. Don’t come. I love Portuguese food too. Maybe the bar is good. I don’t know. But the «restaurant» is total crap. Literally no one there. Not surprising.

I went back here a month or two ago with my new man– Ive been talking and raving about the place so he finally agreed to go there for dinner on a Saturday night at 730pm.
It was pretty empty= not mobbed as I had seen it in times past– one larger table with 3 kids and then us. Odd for a busy weekend night I though= but we stayed– (I expected a big group to come in at any moment)
It took forever– longer than the ‘International style; I was told to expect (they wont bring the next course or check until you ask?)
Food was just OK= maybe its a new chef since I had been there last.
Waited over a half hour for our check= the waiter wasnt around to ask for it.
I have since spoken with the manager who told me she wasnt working that day (maybe thats why the staff was slacking) and apologized for what we dealt with–
Even so Im not sure Ill go back again. Bummer.

excellent old school atmosphere and service. great portuguese home cooking. will return without a doubt.

The food is really great and of very good value and the service has been outstanding!
I love the Saturday Night Jazz and Bossa Nova and I am very excited about their new Friday Night Guitar Series from 9pm-​12am as their LIVE music has proved to be a stellar entertainment option in East Cambridge.
I am going to be making Sunset Restaurant & Bar part of my weekend outing rotation, for sure!

Great place. The live music is wonderful. My only complaint is the lack of vegetarian food. The host was kind to make a vegetarian plate, but it only had carbs on it. No protein at all. Just rice, pasta (without any sauce) and some potatoes with barely any grilled vegetables. Also, while the restaurant was not too busy, the servers didn’t really come back to refill waters or see if we needed anything. However, all my friends who ordered meat LOVED their food. I really liked the resraurant and the phenomenal live music. Do give it a try if you are a meat eater. You won’t be disappointed

I have lived in the area for about 10 years and finally ventured in last Saturday evening. It’s nicer on the inside than I thought, although they really do need new chairs and tables. The faded awning outside also really needs to go as it does nothing to make you want to go there.
Our experience started out rocky and stayed rocky for the 2.5 hours the two of us were there. As there was nice live music, the place seemed to be more crowded than what I usually notice walking by. The dinning room was about ²⁄₃ full and was manned only by two waitstaff. There was neither hostess nor bus boys — the result was two stressed servers who simply could not keep up given the number of tables and the fact most guests seemed to order alcohol, apps, entrees and desserts.
It was a fortunate thing that the waitress brought us bread because it took 50 minutes for our appetizer to arrive. At the 1.25 hour mark, the waitress came back to tell us that my entrée was not available and I would have to pick something else. At close to the 2 hour mark we were brought another table’s food.
Our waitress was nice enough throughout and apologized constantly. Our food actually was good once it was correctly served.
What was incredibly insulting to me and to all the other patrons was the complete failure of the manager to do a damn thing during the 2.5 hours I watched him come in and out of the dining room. He looked directly at tables that needed busing, empty water glasses and visibly upset patrons — such as the table next to ours which eventually walked out. He did absolutely nothing. What good restaurant manager ever does that?
The fellow would stand in the area nearest the server station and look repeatedly at his phone and glance at the room. At some point I was tempted to go over and get the water pitcher he was standing next to to start pouring water for 4 to 6 tables with no water.
I really wanted to like this place as the music was good and the food decent. The complete disaster of service and the apathy of the manager, however, really ruined the experience.

First of all, if you are reading reviews about the atmosphere in this place that are older than a few months old, you can disregard. They have obviously updated the interior since some of the pictures that are here have been taken. The atmosphere still leaves a little to be desired, but we found it to be pleasant, comfortable, and without the funny smells that other reviewers have mentioned.
The food was fantastic. My dinner partner is 100% Portuguese and has a discerning taste for this food. He was blown away by how much this food compares to some of his family’s home cooking, and some local restaurants that he finds to have the best Portuguese food.
We started with the Shrimp Mozambique and the Flaming Chorizo. The shrimp was incredibly flavorful – great spice. The chorizo was appropriately charred and tasted great. For entrees, we got the Sunset Steak, which was met with the approval of my Portuguese dinner partner. I got the Pork Alentejana, which came in a big portion size and was traditionally flavorful. The clams seemed fresh, and it had plenty of pork pieces.
The service was also excellent. I highly recommend the sangria. We look forward to going back!

This place has a very Elk’s Lodge/​VFW kind of feel. When I walked in, I judged. With elderly people sitting around with beer towers, I felt like I had walked into the twilight zone.
We ended up here because my friend wanted to do karaōke. And even though I judged at first, this place ended up being a good time.
Courtside was at capacity, so we found Sunset. The place was not crowded at all and was a mix of people, mostly an older crowd. Everyone was very friendly. The karaōke DJ let us perform a few songs, even though we came later in the evening.

I have got to say… the first couple times that I passed this place on my way to Inman, I did not know what to make of it. Is it a Restaurant? Is it a Dive Bar? Why are there tennis balls at the bottom of the chairs like it were my Nana’s walker? What IS this place?
Well, as they say curiosity and cats… uhm…well I can’t really remember. But anyways, one cold night we decided to finally give this place a try. We were hoping for a some quick, cheap, delicious Portuguese food/​apps, a couple beers, and a good time. What we beheld on that day was nothing short of pure magic.
I open the door and find a heavy set young gentleman singing, quite off key, Michael Jackon’s «Thriller». Oh yes my friends, they Karaōke. They Karaōke long time. Next, we were sat at some high-​top tables and welcomed with a warm plate of bread and delicious pickled vegetables. After a couple beers, some amazing appetizers, and meeting Sunny and Pixie (as for them if you haven’t already met them), I found a new home. While I have never had enough people to order a tower of beer, I believe it can be easily handled by a mixed group of 3 – 4 (or maybe 2 large guys).
**Be aware though, that this is a neighborhood bar with neighborhood regulars (and often, neighborhood personalities!)…so please don’t let it come as a shock (or even discourage you) when you finally come to the realization that you are not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. No one in this bar bites, regardless of how loud they may bark (talking to you, SUNNY!)

Let’s keep this simple:
Beer tower (128oz) of disgustingly whatever Bud Light is $ 20
Comes with a free Sysco pizza!
Locals struck up a conversation about life, love and face-​smashing in kickball. Great service and friendly clientele.
10 people ate and drank for under $ 20. Total. Asinine, ridiculous and just plain relevant to the post-​kickball antics.