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Madeira has a lot to offer, from exotic fruits to interesting wine, from typical restaurants to the most refined. Fine Dining Lovers takes you on a gourmet tour of the island to suit all tastes and budgets.
The summer season is almost over on Madeira, yet the island is still very popular with visitors. In the middle of September, the temperature is still warm, around 25°C, so you can still take full advantage of the activities on offer on this volcanic piece of land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. At Fine Dining Lovers, we are naturally interested in Madeira's culinary treasures, and there are surprisingly many of them for an island of just 800 square kilometres.
A paradise of fruit and wine
This Garden of Eden with its subtropical climate is truly a fruit paradise. The last volcanic eruption, around 6,000 years ago, left behind hugely fertile land on the mountainside, where apples, pears and figs grow alongside more tropical varieties such as bananas, passion fruit, mangoes, papayas, pitangas, pomegranates and guavas. If you stop off to admire the view from Portela in the east of Madeira, you can do some shopping with Tania and her family, who grow a multitude of tropical fruits and make their own eucalyptus and laurel honey, two tree species that are found in this territory the name of which, ‘Madeira’, simply means ‘wood’ in Portuguese.
This ‘tutti frutti’ island also grows grapes, which are of course used to make the archipelago's most famous drink: Madeira wine. While the island lives to the rhythm of festivities all year round, such as the Flower Festival in spring and Christmas in winter (Catholicism plays a major role on Madeira), September is the ideal time to celebrate the Madeira Wine Festival, a few weeks during which you can take part in numerous tastings and discover more about this very special wine, which has nothing to do with the wines produced in France or Italy.
Madeira wine (or ‘still wine’ as it is known here) is served exclusively as an aperitif or digestif, given its high alcohol content (between 18 and 22% ABV). To discover all the secrets behind the making of Madeira wine, head to Blandy's Wine Lodge, where you can visit attics filled with casks (Madeira wine is best stored in the warm and thus is not aged in cellars) and also learn about the history of the company, which was founded by Englishman John Blandy in 1811. The company is still run by the seventh generation of the Blandy family, who have helped to make this caramel-coloured wine a true emblem of Madeira Island. During the Madeira Wine Festival, held from late August to mid-September each year, a small village is also set up near the harbour, with large wooden tables where several of the island's producers present their products, which tourists enjoy sipping in the sunshine.
If you prefer a more classic wine, we highly recommend getting lost in the village of Boaventura, in the north of the island. This much wilder side of Madeira, with its steep cliffs, is almost like a Virgin Island, with so much nature. It is here, in the midst of this greenery, that Terrabona is hidden, a small vineyard overlooking the sea imagined by Maria João and Marco (pictured), and which has even welcomed a few privileged guests for the night since June 2023. This haven of peace, which has just four rooms for rent, organises two wine tastings a day from its own production, accompanied by superb local products such as Santo Queijo, the only cow's milk cheese produced on Madeira. This is the only way to discover these wines, which are only available to Terrabona customers and a select few restaurants.
Another (very) good place is Quinta do Barbusano (above). This 25-hectare vineyard produces around 100,000 bottles of white, rosé and red wines a year, which can be found in top restaurants and wine cellars across Europe. One of the island's finest culinary experiences is undoubtedly to be found here, but the address is highly confidential. To make the most of it, book at least 24 hours in advance by phone or on the Quinta do Barbusano website. You'll be given a tasting of the six wines before choosing the one you prefer to accompany your 'espetadas', beef kebabs stuck on laurel branches and cooked over a wood fire... a treat that the owner prepares himself on request. The meat is accompanied by potatoes, salad and the famous bolo do caco, a bread made from wheat flour and sweet potato, typical of the island. It takes its name from the basalt stone (caco) on which it is traditionally baked, and is eaten while still hot and crusty, covered in garlic butter. An experience not to be missed!
Sugar cane for rum and cakes
Sugar cane is also a strong emblem of Madeira. Three producers make rum on the island, including Engenhos do Norte in Porto da Cruz, mainly for local consumption. Madeirans are great rum connoisseurs, and it is thanks to rum that they have devised their local cocktail, the poncha, in which the alcohol is sweetened with fresh orange juice and a dash of lemon juice.
Cane sugar is also used to make the famous molasses, an essential base for the island's typical biscuits, as well as Madeira cake, which is enhanced with dried fruit and other flavours reminiscent of Christmas time. To discover these specialities, you can visit Fabrica Santo Antonio (pictured), founded in 1893 and located in the heart of Funchal, the island's capital.
Traditional restaurants in Madeira
For a typical, even rustic, experience, head for Adega do Pomar or Chalet Vicente, two traditional addresses offering other popular Madeiran dishes, including swordfish, the most common local dish, served with a Madeira wine sauce or, for the more daring, banana and passion fruit. These two restaurants are veritable institutions, but be warned: the portions are very generous. Madeirans will tell you that a good restaurant is measured by the amount of food on the plate, so don't bite off more than you can chew!
For incredible views of the sea and Madeira's cliffs, drive a little further to the village of Santana to discover the superb Quinta do Furao (above). This hotel complex now includes three hectares of vineyards, its own bakery, pizzeria, pub and restaurant with a breathtaking terrace view. Throughout the week, Quinta do Furao also offers a range of culinary activities, including cooking demonstrations of typical Madeira dishes and wine tastings. Once a month, you can even go and pick a few bunches of grapes yourself in the vineyards before using the ancestral method and treading the grapes in the vats.
Madeira's refined and trendy restaurants
In the evening, several restaurants offer more elaborate menus, such as the Nini Design Centre restaurant. Nini Andrade Silva is Madeira's most famous designer. She has designed several hotels in London and even New York, and recently set up her own exhibition centre on her native island. You can sit down on the very top floor to discover a classic and elegant cuisine, but above all enjoy the breathtaking view over the sea, the port and the whole of Funchal.
Another great place to visit is Do Forte (above), a restaurant nestled in a former military fortress overlooking the sea. The service here is elegant, as are the dishes, which revisit tradition in a more refined way, such as swordfish with passion fruit. If you're looking for a break from meat and fish, the restaurant also offers several vegetarian and even vegan options.
For a more modern meal, head to Akua (pictured), one of Julio Pereira's three restaurants. Originally from the continent, the Portuguese chef settled in Madeira many years ago and brought new life to local gastronomy. Pereira makes it a point of honour to only work with island products, which he cooks in an original way such as a cone garnished with tuna tartare and wakame seaweed, cod tacos or, for dessert, white chocolate combined with black olive and passion fruit. If you book in advance, ask for a seat at the counter to admire the chefs at work in the kitchen, you will not regret it.
Let’s end this article with some little purely tourist tips. If Madeira is the perfect place to relax in the sun, the island is also an ideal playground for fans of hiking, canyoning and adventure in general. To tour the island or enjoy the sunrise from an altitude of 1,800 meters, it is possible to hire a Jeep company like Green Devil, or to go walking for hours with guide Pedro who will be happy to tell you all the secrets of the fauna and flora of Madeira, but also the history of his native island.
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