Where to eat at and around Barceló Funchal Oldtown

Within ten minutes on foot

• Ákua

  2 min walk

  Contemporary seafood, chef Júlio Pereira · €€€

  Chef Júlio Pereira's seafood restaurant on Rua dos Murças, beside the hotel, and in the MICHELIN Guide. The starters are for sharing: tuna in a cone, €13.50, cod tacos, €14.50, and smoked espada with banana, passion fruit and beurre blanc, €15. Then braised tuna with razor clam rice, €29, the market fish with shellfish pasta, €29, or a creamy carabineiro and shellfish rice for two, €73; the Ákua tasting menu for two is €120. Sit at the counter to watch the kitchen, or on the terrace. Open every day from 12:30. Book through its site.

  Reserve aheadRua dos Murças 6, Funchal

• Loja do Chá

  3 min walk

  Tea house and brunch café · €

  A tea house and tea shop on Praça Colombo, the little yellow square behind the Sé, open since 2003. It sells teas and infusions from around the world and its own organic Tea 1419 blends, made with Madeiran banana, São Jorge strawberries and Santana turmeric. In the tea room or at a table outside, order a pot with scones, home-made cakes, Madeira honey cake or a brunch of toasts and salads. It is the place for a slower breakfast or a pause between the Sé and the market. Opens at 9:00 every day. Walk in, or book a brunch through its site.

  Walk inRua do Sabão 33-35, Funchal

• 1811 Bistro & Wine Bar

  4 min walk

  Wine bar and bistro at Blandy's Wine Lodge · €€€

  The bistro inside Blandy's Wine Lodge, where the Blandy family has aged Madeira by the canteiro method for seven generations. Wine comes by the glass or the bottle, Madeiran or from the mainland, with tapas or Portuguese and French dishes: an express menu at lunch and à la carte at dinner, with tables in the lodge's patio by candlelight from 18:30. Before dinner, the lodge's tutored tasting of four 10-year-old Madeiras, Sercial to Malmsey, is €25.50 with chocolate, booked ahead. Lunch Monday to Friday 12:00 to 15:00; dinner Monday to Saturday 18:00 to 22:00; closed on Sunday.

  Reserve aheadBlandy's Wine Lodge, Rua de São Francisco 12, Funchal

• Armazém do Sal

  4 min walk

  Portuguese restaurant in an old salt warehouse · €€€

  A restaurant in a former salt warehouse further along Rua da Alfândega, best for a long dinner. The cooking is contemporary Portuguese: Seixal trout gravlax, octopus with barley risotto, espada with gnocchi and basil butter, lamb shank with polenta, and queijo fresco from Santo da Serra on the side; there is a tasting menu and a vegetarian list. Lunch Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 15:00, dinner every evening from 18:00 to 23:00. Book for dinner, by its site or by phone.

  Reserve aheadRua da Alfândega 135, Funchal

• Rei da Poncha

  4 min walk

  Poncha bar with pregos and bolo do caco · €

  A small, cheap and busy bar at the foot of the Rampa do Cidrão for Madeira's own drink, poncha: sugarcane rum shaken with honey and lemon, or with passion fruit or tangerine, with lupin beans to nibble. Eat a prego steak sandwich or bolo do caco, the island's griddled flatbread, with cheese, for a cheap lunch or a first drink of the evening. Open Monday to Saturday from about 10:00 until midnight or later; closed on Sunday. No bookings.

  Walk inRampa do Cidrão 147, Funchal

• Taberna Ruel

  10 min walk

  Madeiran grill and seafood in the Zona Velha · €€

  A taberna on Rua de Santa Maria, the old town's street of painted doors, with tables on the street, a dining room and an inner garden, and a wood-fired grill outside. This is the place for the island's classics: bolo do caco with garlic butter, grilled limpets, espada with banana, and espetada, beef cooked on a laurel spit. You choose your shellfish live, and the fish of the day is priced by the kilo. Open every day from 11:00 to 23:00. Book an outside table through its site in the evening.

  Reserve aheadRua de Santa Maria 119, Funchal

Breakfast