(Last updated: December 5, 2025)
Look, I don’t know how good Sea View Coffee was back in the 80’s when it was apparently STELLAR, because I’d use the same word to describe it today.
Largely unknown to anyone but locals, it should have a much bigger following than it does, especially for visitors to Macau looking for something a little different. Set in a large stilted room over the water, it’s very much like restaurants on Lamma Island in Hong Kong, except this one is far easier to get to.
Usually doing a decent business nightly, there will undoubtedly be someone up front singing karaoke in English or Chinese, while other patrons make no bones about being boisterous and joining in. If you’re in the mood for that kind of loose, laid back dining environment (hopefully aided by a cold beverage or two), then put Sea View Coffee on the very top of the to-do list, because there’s no other place in Macau quite like it.
I’ve had three selections there that are absolutely top notch: German Pork Knuckle ($98), Suckling Pig ($55), and Pigeon ($98).
Each dish deserves an easy 5 stars with the only problem the small amount of suckling pig served. I don’t know why they don’t make it twice the size (and price) but I’m definitely ordering two plates the next time I go back!
The pigeon is just every bit as good as the more ballyhooed version down the road at Nga Tim, while the German pig knuckle is so deliciously moist that it should be illegal.
I didn’t like the Shrimp ($110) as much, mostly down to individual preference, hoping it was seasoned with a little bit more of… something, anything.
If you don’t mind it prepped in this plain fashion, then game on, while the Feijoada ($95) is probably best avoided by everyone.
For starters, it’s done a lot better elsewhere, including down the road at Espaco Lisboa, and more importantly, it’s simply not as good as the German Pork Knuckle already mentioned above.
As for the Vegetables ($68), order them if you’re so inclined, because they do what they say and say what they do. Side bowls of rice cost $11, which you’ll probably need with most dishes on offer at Sea View Coffee.
Sea View Coffee has the potential to be party central in Coloane, but not enough people know about it. They could definitely benefit from a better marketing team, more exposure on social media, more people reading this review, anything that can lift them out of the cruel dark cloak of anonymity. The food can be excellent and the venue quite special at night, perched up on the water eyeing lit up Hengqin in the distance. Best visited in groups, tell your friends about it and pass it around, hopefully visiting it the next time you’re in Macau. Together, we can lift Sea View Coffee out of the doldrums and into the promised land.
***Update***
Subsequent visits to Sea View Coffee indicate there’s far more on the menu that can go wrong than right. Don’t ever consider ordering any of the following: Braised Sea Bass ($110), Roasted Spring Chicken ($165), Grilled Sardines ($18/piece), Chicken Curry ($85), or Shredded Pork Stir Fried Noodles ($60).
The Braised Sea Bass looked dull, grey and lifeless. Unfortunately, it tasted exactly the same: watery, overcooked and almost entirely unseasoned. 1 star
The Spring Chicken looked as though somebody had thrown it down a flight of stairs and served whatever pieces survived. Dry, greasy, unevenly chopped and almost completely flavourless. 1 star
At $18 each, the sardines are certainly cheap. They’re also burnt outside, dry inside and not worth ordering at any price. 1.5 stars
The Chicken Curry was a bowl of thick, joyless sauce surrounding the same sad chicken served above. One bad dish hiding inside another. 1.5 stars
If you enjoy ultra-thin, dry Hong Kong noodles, perhaps these will work for you. To me, it felt like chewing through electrical wires. No wok hei, barely any flavour and far too much work. 2 stars
Pivoting to the positives, the next three dishes landed in the 3 to 4 star range.
Hot, salty and perfectly decent as a cheap starter. 3.5 stars
Reasonable beef for $55, although it won’t be troubling the pork knuckle anytime soon. The photograph shows two servings. 3.5 stars
More Macau-Thai than genuinely Thai, but the seafood was cold, tangy and refreshing. One of the safer dishes on the menu. 3.5 stars
Then came the comeback: two dishes that reminded me exactly why my first visit was so good. Both score an easy 4.5/5 stars.
The Braised Eel was rich, savoury and full of flavour. After everything that came before it, we finally had food worth eating again.
A generous serving of properly seasoned fish and easily one of the better-value dishes on the menu. I couldn’t finish it, took the rest home and somehow enjoyed it even more cold the following day.
