Where to eat in Funchal

Restaurants, cafés and street food in Funchal, Portugal that locals actually go to — plus the local names for the chains you already know.

• Desarma — Author's cuisine, Lido & São Martinho (4). Order the Tasting menu on Madeiran heritage. One Michelin star, on a rooftop, with a vegan menu that is not an afterthought.
• Kampo — Meat, Sé & Centro (3). Order the Matured meat, shared. Same chef, opposite discipline — in-house meat maturation fridges and an open counter.
• Gavião Novo — Madeiran seafood, Zona Velha (2). Order the Grilled fish from the Madeiran coast. A working fish house on the tourist lane that never turned into a tourist trap.
• Doca do Cavacas — Madeiran seafood, Lido & São Martinho (2). Order the Misto grelhado. Built into the rocks at the water's edge, and closed Mondays like a proper local place.
• O Calhau — Café & tapas, Sé & Centro (2). Order the Crostini with a Madeira wine tasting. A terrace literally beside the cathedral, open all day, so it absorbs the market crowd.
• Tipografia — Portuguese, Sé & Centro (2). Order the Portuguese and Mediterranean plates. A historic-centre room where the chef cooks island produce for 180 covers without dropping standards.
• Il Gallo d'Oro — Contemporary French, Lido & São Martinho (4). Order the Tasting menu from the hotel garden. The island's only two-Michelin-star kitchen, under the same chef since 2004.
• Ákua — Contemporary seafood, Sé & Centro (3). Order the Sea-and-land seafood plates. Chef Júlio Pereira's small room, and still the reference for modern Madeiran seafood.
• Terreiro Concept — Madeiran gastrobar, Avenida do Infante (3). Order the Local-producer Madeiran plates. Runs its own kitchen garden, which feeds both the plates and the cocktails.
• Restaurante Santa Maria — Madeiran tapas, Zona Velha (2). Order the Octopus in red wine sauce. The Rua de Santa Maria standard-bearer for regional plates in sharing format.
• Casa das Espetadas — Traditional Madeiran, Lido & São Martinho (2). Order the Espetada on a bay laurel skewer. A wood oven and a Santana-house terrace — espetada and poncha done properly, not as a floor show.
• Terra Food Concept — Vegan, Sé & Centro (2). Order the Seasonal multicultural menu. The rare Funchal kitchen that treats vegan cooking as the main event rather than a footnote.

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