Pastas, eggplant, grilled seafood, risotto and daily specials are served.
In the evening, join the locals for a stroll in the Forodhani Gardens, a waterfront park, and order grilled seafood from the open market.
Grilling seafood or vegetables can be a delicate and sometimes anxiety-inducing undertaking, but Raichlen's astute instructions make them eminently approachable.
The family also runs two restaurant, where chef Dagmar grills seafood on a huge outside grill while diners (island guests and visitors from passing yachts) admire the sea views.
The most expensive entree, gyo-kai or "grilled seafood," at $32 ,hardly described the artistic tower of scallops, salmon, langostines and lobster, with slightly pungent lemon sauce countering the smoky sweetness.
I was there last May, eating pan con tomate for breakfast and grilled seafood kebabs for lunch, drinking mojitos to the sound of Argentine-Tarifan band Freko Malakka at the Café del Mar.
Manop Sutipayakul, the chief and owner, formerly of Déjà Vu in Montclair, uses his third-generation knowledge of food and the restaurant business to make sumptuous dishes including crisp fried red snapper in a sultry sauce, marinated seared tuna, grilled seafood platter, grilled squid salad, sautéed wild boar, rabbit with curry and sticky ice with mango and coconut milk sauce.
But our phrase "bar food" can't cover the dizzying spread of house-made tofu and pickles, grilled seafood, deep-fried bites like octopus balls and chicken wings, home-style meat stews, fried rice, noodle bowls and local seasonal produce that characterize even modest izakayas in Japan.
The diverse international menu ranges from pizza and salads to sushi, grilled seafood or burgers.
Octopus baked in butter and wine, grilled seafood casseroles and sardine stews are specialities (00 351 223 321 130; Rua da São Nicolau; mains from £9).
