Asian cooking with Madeiran produce, over the sea · €€€€
The second restaurant at Les Suites at The Cliff Bay, next door, where Chef Rui Pinto cooks Asian food with Japanese, Chinese and Korean influences and the island's fish and produce, in the same house on the headland as Avista, over the sea. Order the moriawase sashimi or the omakase nigiri, then the fish from the market or the grilled octopus; there is a tasting menu too. It is dinner only, from Thursday to Monday, 18:00 to 22:00, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so book ahead.
Reserve aheadEstrada Monumental 145, Funchal
Mediterranean and Asian dishes to share, with a sea view · €€€
The restaurant and lounges of Les Suites at The Cliff Bay, on a headland next to Reid's with its gardens over the sea and Funchal Bay, supervised by Benoît Sinthon. The menu is made for sharing: island cheese with carrot and hazelnut, a deep-sea croquette, prawns al diablo, then black scabbard fish with a tomato crust and cornbread, or fish from the market cooked in the Josper. It serves lunch from 12:00 to 16:30 and dinner from 18:00, with afternoon tea from 15:00 and drinks until 23:00; book for a sunset table.
Reserve aheadEstrada Monumental 145, Funchal
Madeiran espetada over a wood fire · €€
Something only Madeira does: espetada, beef threaded on a laurel skewer and grilled over wood, with bolo do caco, the island's flatbread, baked by the fire in front of you. Order the beef espetada with garlic butter, about €23 with a starter, sides and dessert included; there are chicken, pork, tuna and vegetarian skewers too, and poncha to drink. It belongs to the VidaMar resort, with Madeiran folklore and fado on some evenings. Open from Friday to Tuesday, 15:00 to 23:00; closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Reserve aheadEstrada Monumental, São Martinho, Funchal
Fire cooking, brunch and petiscos · €€€
The open-kitchen grill of the Savoy Palace, entered from Praça do Turista, where everything is cooked over live fire in a Josper oven, meats and fish are dry-aged in-house and the cheeses are matured on site. Sit at the counter to watch the grill, and share a dry-aged steak or the fish of the day. It runs all day: brunch from 11:00 to 18:00, lunch from 12:30 to 15:30 with a set executive menu on weekdays, and dinner from 19:00 to 22:30. Book on its own site or by phone.
Reserve aheadAvenida do Infante 25, Funchal (Praça do Turista entrance)
Madeiran cooking, MICHELIN Bib Gourmand · €€
A classic dining room and a terrace with a view, in a lane among the big hotels, where Chef João Dinis has cooked homely Madeiran food since 1996, and a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand. Start with bolo do caco in garlic butter and grilled limpets, then the black scabbard fish with caramelised banana and passion fruit sauce, the island's classic, or the espetada on a laurel skewer. Rice dishes for two take about 30 minutes. Open Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 22:30, closed on Sunday; book through its website.
Reserve aheadBeco do Ataíde 1, São Martinho, Funchal
Portuguese grill, steak on a hot stone · €€
A neighbourhood restaurant in the Lido area, open since March 1996 and one of the first in Funchal to serve bife na pedra, raw steak brought to the table on a hot stone to finish yourself, which is still the dish to order; the Mexican fajitas are the other house favourite. The cooking runs from traditional Portuguese to international, and the bill is modest for the hotel zone. It opens in the evening; book a table by phone on +351 291 762 318.
Reserve aheadRua da Casa Branca 102, Funchal
Breakfast is served on the Pool Terrace, beside the heated pool, from 7:30 to 10:30, with a buffet and an à la carte menu, fresh detox juices and sparkling wine. It is included in every rate the hotel sells, and the terrace is open to non-residents too. For a late breakfast out, Pau de Lume at the Savoy Palace serves brunch from 11:00, seven minutes away on foot.
Il Gallo d'Oro at The Cliff Bay, six minutes away, is Madeira's two-star MICHELIN table, but it is closed for renovation with no reopening date published, so do not plan a trip around it without checking first.
