Inner Bay Cafe

Had a good night out here on a recent Saturday. We were greeted very quickly and asked for a seating preference. We were seated in a booth in the first floor restaurant area.
This is an odd thing to complain about but the booth was nearly impossible to get into because of the large obstruction by the leg. We had to put one leg over and shimmy along the seat until we cleared the obstruction with the other leg. The test of physical prowess made me nervous about having to get up to use the rest room.
The appetizers were the stand-​out of the evening. The selection was varied and the presentation was really cool. When asked our waitress was able to give a quick recommendation wine recommendation after asking us just a few questions.

Heard good things about Inner Bay so we decided to try it. Started off with Kale Soup and I have to say it was one of the best I’ve had. Almost wanted a second bowl to make it a meal. For my meal I had the Carne Espete. Very very good, meat well flavored and good perfect. Sides were fries and rice. My only complaint was the sides were a little on the small side. Service was very good.

Food is always excellent here. Glad we got the same waitress (I think she’s the owners wife). She makes choosing your dish easy with the way she describes the specials and how delicious they sound. I always go with one of the specials.
By far, they make one of the best arroz doce (rice pudding) that I’ve had at any of the New Bedford restaurants. Theirs is very creamy and never dry. Drinks are always great.
If you’re looking for a spot for date night or just a great food choice this would be the place. I know some places could be hit or miss sometimes but I’ve never had a bad experience.

We stumbled on this place and OMG! Food is phenomenal, prices are right and the service was excellent! I don’t usually take the time to rate but this place is awesome!

You can’t be a Portuguese restaurant in New Bedford and get away with bad food, but I wouldn’t choose Inner Bay as my new go-​to place.
I went with my parents and some aunts and uncles on a Sunday afternoon for lunch around 1245, there were a few other groups in the restaurant, but it wasn’t busy or slow. I always have an internal battle with myself when at a Portuguese restaurant over whether to get the Mozambique or the Alentejana, and since it’d been longer since I had the latter, I went with that.
All entrees came with choice of side salad or kale soup, and I chose the salad, though probably should have gotten the soup. The side salad seemed kinda small, unless it was just in comparison to the large plate it was served on, run of the mill salad, but did what it was supposed to do. I didn’t try the soup, but it was a big helping, and I’m sure tasty.
Our meals came out quickly, I presume since it wasn’t that crowed, and I’m not sure if it was a lunch portion or not, but my meal was very big and only $ 11 if I remember correctly. For those of you not familiar with Carne Alentejana, it is described at tender marinated pork meat simmered with fresh littlenecks over deep fried potatoes. Now the taste was wonderful, there was lots of sauce which I used a roll to dip into, but only 4 Littlenecks in the entire dish, and the pork was very unevenly cooked. Some pieces were tender and cooked just right, while most were overcooked and chewy. I’m not sure if it was due to the different size meat, or because of a cooking mishap, but I just wasn’t terribly impressed, especially because I’ve had it cooked so wonderfully elsewhere.
For dessert, we ordered the flan which was served a top a layer of chocolate cake. Now, the cake was moist and delicious, and the flan was good, but not terribly flavorful. Our waitress noted that all the desserts were homemade, but again I’ve had better flan elsewhere too.
I wasn’t disappointed with my meal at Inner Bay Café, but when there are so many other wonderful Portuguese restaurants in the area, I won’t be headed back here in any rush.

Went here for lunch today. Décor is nice high ceilings, stained glass and exposed brick. Awkward entry into kind of a foyer/​bar seating/​stairs to a function space no sign saying where to go for dining room, around the corner and through drapes? Sat at a booth, only 2 other tables when we get there a couple of older guys and a group of loud overly drunk women, at 3. We wait 10 mins for our waitress who was chatting with the guys and ask what the specials are, they’re on a neon dry erase board on a corner of the bar. She rapidly snaps out the specials and we order, chicken Mozambique for me and a special, steak kabob with shrimp for my sister.
This is where I get mad. I order Kale Soup with my order then my sis orders the special the waitress asks her which soup she wants, bisque or kale, she says bisque assuming it is part of her «special». 25 mins later out comes the food. As she goes to put mine on the table she goes oh this is shrimp not chicken and walks away with my plate. My sis is served 1, yes 1 skewer of 4 cubes of beef and 4 shrimp, a scoop of what looked like Uncle Bens rice, some limp fries and undercooked veggie (frozen Asian blend). I now wait 20 more mins, our waitress is nonexistent at this point, and finally (my sis is done) get my Chicken Mozambique. Its the same plating as hers except instead of her kabob I have a bowl of what appears to be chicken stir fry meat (thin almost shaved dry chicken) floating in the Mozambique sauce. The sauce was great I dunked the fries in it so I had something to eat because once again she was GONE. After 15 mins she comes and asks if I want to «take it home» I tell her no and why and what does she say «that’s why you don’t get chicken Mozambique».umm what?
She comes back drops the bill on the table and says No charge for the chicken and walks away. Now here is where I decide o will NEVER eat there again. My sisters «special» $ 22 seriously, 1 skewer of 4 shrimp and 4 cubes of meat. Now if it were dinner and 2 kabobs maybe I could see that but when you’re lunch steak tips are $ 9 that seems excessive. Also, the prices aren’t on the board so good luck. We figured $ 11-​$ 12 tops but $ 22? And her soup was $ 3 additional. So she ate a kabob and some bad fries I had undercooked broccoli carrot pea pod mix and fries, really bland kale soup really good bisque (both cups) and 2 sodas $ 35+ tip. Do yourself a favor if you go here question the price on ANYTHING you order oh and don’t sit in a booth the bottom of the tables are like old fashioned sewing machines, big bulky metal and the tops are marble, unattached, slabs with a tablecloth then glass then a bottle of wine all that like to slide if you are trying to fit long legs in. Opt for a table.

This restaurant has great potential. It is attractive, warm and cozy especially on a cold winter evening. Brick and warm colors, booths and a nice bar are real assets. Too bad the food wasn’t better. The basket of bread included dried slices of old baguette and cold, soft rolls. The calamari was crisp but the sauce came
Straight out of a bottle of catsup. We were not shown a wine list. The house red and white were just acceptable. The menu is limited but with lots of good sea food choices and Portuguese dishes. The salad was a mix of iceberg and old greens. Service was pleasant. We did not stay for dessert having decided it would not be worth trying. Too bad, with a great chef this would be a great restaurant! Helen DeG

Been here many times, they made you feel like family. lunch price is too good to be true. the fish and chips is great!

First time eating at Inner Bay. I really enjoyed the meal. The grilled whole fish was very tasty and it was a large portion. The five of us thought the food was great and at a reasonable price. A better deal than other similar restaurants in Fall River. We will be back.

Service 4*
Atmosphere 5*. An old factory building with a lot of character.
Portion size: Large.
Bread 2*. Tasteless soft rolls and dried out cold toast. However, with the portion size you really don’t need to be eating bread.
Calamari App, 4*
Scallop wrapped in bacon app: 3*, Good bacon, scallops were so-​so.
Salad: 3.5 *
Wine was reasonably priced.
Menu is limited. I really wanted a pork dish but there was only one which didn’t appeal to me.
For my main dish I had «Mixed Grill» which is chicken, beef, pork and veggies.
The flavors were good and the veggies were all cooked well, but all of the meat was dry and overcooked. If the meat was properly cooked, my overall rating for the restaurant would have been 4*.
My wife gave the shrimp dish 3*. Good texture but nothing special on the taste.

Authentic food of the Azores, heavy on very fresh seafood of all kinds, redfish, octopus plus all the new England standards. Good seafood bisque, enormous wine selection and very reasonable. Staff and owners make you feel like family and truly love their business.

Members of my family from different towns came here for one of our occasional lunch get-​togethers, and we are glad we made that decision. First, the interior is really nice, an old building well-​renovated such as you find a lot in New Bedford. There are two dining levels and we were seated on the lower, which is where the handsome bar is located. No real outside view, but a pleasant atmosphere. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive without being intrusive.
We ordered three appetizers: fried calamari, steamed littlenecks, and «chourico bombeiro” – a fat spicy sausage which arrived still browning over a flame in its serving dish. All were absolutely delicious (though a few of us passed on the chourico, good news for the rest of us!). A basket of rolls and crispy bread was also provided.
The entrees we ordered all featured seafood and everyone enjoyed their choices and generous servings. I had the fish & chips, at a bargain price, and the fish was cooked perfectly with a nice light batter. The skinny fries were something of a disappointment, may have been the frozen type, but were crisp. Some of us had a recommended Portuguese red wine that was quite nice. There was no beer available on draft, but the bottled beers were served with cold glasses.
I was too full to order dessert, but those who did raved about the rice pudding and the bread pudding. Two of us ordered espresso, which came in a heated cup and was excellent (and we have had espresso in Portugal and Brazil so are not easily impressed).
Our party all agreed that we will put the Inner Bay on our short list of restaurants for future reunions. If some draft beers and homemade fries had been available, I’d give five stars. But this is a place we will definitely visit again.
Final note: The café’s website is handsome but not as informative as it should be, for example not posting the open days and hours or the lunch menu.

We used a Limelight Deal coupon for lunch and it was terrific. The $ 10 for $ 20 deal paid for our food. The lunch menu is very reasonably priced. We had Fish and Chips and Codfish Silmo, $ 6 and $ 8 respectively and side salads for $ 3. The portions were generous and the food was tasty and well-​prepared. The server was very friendly and the restaurant is nicely decorated. Wine menu was good with lots of choices. We will certainly be back to enjoy this restaurant again.