Where to eat at and around Sentido Galomar
The resort has its own tables. The Atlantis, set into the cliff at the lido and reached by the lift, serves breakfast to Galomar guests and Madeiran cooking à la carte at lunch, from 1pm to 4pm, and dinner, from 6pm to 9.30pm, with a table booked ahead. Half-board dinner is the buffet at the Ondamar in Sentido Galosol next door, from 6pm to 9pm. O Galo, the resort's Italian, has 70 seats and a terrace, opens to the public and serves dinner from 6pm to 9pm, with lunch at weekends from 1pm. Capoeira, the lounge bar one floor above the Atlantis, pours cocktails over the sea from 3pm to 11pm, with toasties and Madeira fruit ice creams until 9pm and live music on some nights. Beyond the resort, Caniço de Baixo's restaurants and bars are 3 to 9 minutes on foot; the seafood houses at the east end of the promenade and on Reis Magos beach are a short taxi ride, or a longer walk.
On our shortlists
- Best beach hotels in MadeiraAdults only, with a lift down to a lido in a marine reserve
- Best spa hotels in MadeiraAdults only, with Finnish and bio saunas looking out to sea
- Best value hotels in MadeiraAdults only on a cliff, with sea-view saunas included
- Best quiet hotels in MadeiraAdults only from 16, on a cliff above a marine reserve
Close by, on foot or by car
- 3 min walk
Madeiran cooking on a sea-view terrace · €€€
The restaurant of a small art guesthouse just along the cliff, with a terrace looking over the Atlantic to the Desertas islands, and the nearest place for Madeiran cooking outside the resort. Start with bolo do caco with garlic butter at €5 or grilled limpets at market price, then black scabbard fillet with banana and passion fruit sauce at €24.50, or a beef espetada at €24.50; the fish of the day is priced on request. Open every day from noon, with dinner from 6pm to 10pm. Book a terrace table for sunset.
Reserve aheadRua Baden Powell 61/62, Caniço de Baixo
FUGA Brunch & Bistro Bar
5 min walkBrunch café and bistro bar · €€
A small café on the main street of the village for a late breakfast or brunch after the hotel's has closed at 10am, with sourdough bread and homemade food, and in the evening a bistro bar built around petiscos, small plates for sharing. It suits a lazy morning or a light supper rather than a big dinner. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 10.30pm, and Sunday, 9am to 3pm; closed Monday. No booking needed.
Walk inEstrada José Avelino Pinto, Edifício Tamariz, loja 88A, Caniço de Baixo
- 7 min walk
Pizzeria and pasta · €€
A family pizzeria with a terrace and a large dining room, open every day, and the easy, inexpensive dinner in the village. Pizzas come with a thin, normal or deep base, from a margherita at €10.90, with a prawn pizza topped with pineapple or, Madeiran style, banana at €18.90, and you can have two halves in one. There is also pasta, a seafood soup at €6.50 and garlic bread made from pizza dough at €3.80. Open Monday to Sunday, noon to 11pm.
Walk inEstrada da Ponta da Oliveira 116, Caniço de Baixo
Restaurante Habeas Coppus
7 min walkVillage restaurant with live music · €€
A small, lively restaurant on the village's main restaurant street, known for steak cooked at the table on a hot stone, garlic bread, octopus rice and fresh poncha, with guitar and live music on some evenings. It is the place for a relaxed, sociable dinner rather than a quiet one. Open Monday to Saturday from 10am, until 11pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 10pm on Tuesday and Thursday; closed Sunday.
Walk inEdifício Ventur, Rua Dom Francisco Santana, Caniço de Baixo
- 9 min walk
Local bar for poncha, coffee and bolo do caco · €
A small family bar a short way uphill, and the place to try poncha, Madeira's drink of sugar cane rum, honey and lemon: €4 for the traditional one, €4.50 for tangerine or passion fruit. It also does the morning properly, with a bica at €1.10, a galão at €1.80, bolo do caco with garlic butter at €3.50, toasted sandwiches from €3.20 and queijadas, the island's cheese tarts, at €2. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 8am to 11pm, and Sunday from 9am; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Walk inRua Bartolomeu Perestrelo 22, Caniço de Baixo
A Traineira
2 min by carSeafood restaurant · €€
A marisqueira at the far end of the Caniço de Baixo promenade, for fish and shellfish done the island way. Start with grilled limpets, garlic prawns or octopus vinaigrette, then the black scabbard fish or the fresh fish of the day from the grill; rice dishes and stews are on the menu too. Open every day, noon to 11pm. It is 13 minutes on foot by road, or a two-minute taxi ride.
Reserve aheadRua Dom Francisco Santana, Edifício Varandas Mar, lojas 1 e 2, Caniço de Baixo
- 3 min by car
Madeiran taberna · €€
A modern taberna above the village with a view of the sea, for the island's own drinks and plates: passion fruit, mint or fisherman's poncha, a prego steak roll, picanha and a cheese board, and seafood rice. It is relaxed and unhurried, and a good place to start an evening. Open Tuesday to Sunday, noon to midnight; closed Monday. Book by phone. It is 16 minutes uphill on foot, so most guests take a taxi.
Reserve aheadCaminho Cais da Oliveira, Caniço
Nova Onda
4 min by carSeafood restaurant on the beach · €€
A family-run fish restaurant on the promenade at Praia dos Reis Magos, with an outdoor terrace over the pebble beach and the sea. Order the fish of the day with bolo do caco and homemade chips, or the seafood stew, and stay for a cocktail as the light goes. Open 11am to 9.30pm; closed Tuesday. No booking needed. It is 18 minutes along the coast on foot, or four minutes by car.
Walk inCaminho Velho dos Reis Magos, Caniço
Breakfast
Breakfast is served at the Atlantis, at the lido level and reached by the lift, from 7.30am to 10am, and it is the one meal kept for Galomar's adult guests. It is included in bed-and-breakfast rates, but some rates are room only, so check yours. For a later start, FUGA Brunch & Bistro Bar is 5 minutes on foot and serves from 9am, Tuesday to Sunday; Bar Rodrigues opens at 8am from Wednesday to Saturday for a galão and bolo do caco.
The best places to stay in Madeira
Ten hotels, each here for a different reason.
The adults-only oneSentido Galomar
Caniço de Baixo · From about €220
The iconReid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel
Funchal · From about €825
The viewThe Cliff Bay
Funchal · From about €385
The grand oneSavoy Palace
Funchal · From about €495
The insider oneBarceló Funchal Oldtown
Funchal · From about €225
The smart moneyHotel Madeira
Funchal · From about €150
The hideawayCasa Velha do Palheiro
São Gonçalo · From about €320
The family oneVidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira
Lido · From about €355
The escapeHotel Quinta do Furão
Santana · From about €245
The design oneEstalagem da Ponta do Sol
Ponta do Sol · From about €225
Things to do from Sentido Galomar
The nearest of the experiences we would book, by car from the hotel.
The west, by jeepWest Madeira by 4x4: Fanal forest, Seixal and the Porto Moniz pools
From €695(650)13 min by car
The food and wineA food and Madeira wine walking tour of Funchal
From €954.8(550)14 min by car
Whales, on a big catamaranWhale and dolphin watching from Funchal on a catamaran
From €354.6(7,900)15 min by car
The sunset sailA sunset sail from Funchal, with a swim under Cabo Girão
From €504.8(2,600)15 min by car
Car hire in Madeira
On the cliff at Caniço de Baixo, 12 minutes from the airport, with line 555, formerly 155, into Funchal, 16 minutes away by car; parking is a public car park at €5 a day that cannot be reserved.
Read the car hire guideOpens Expedia’s car search at that airport for your trip dates, or for a week starting a fortnight from today. You book and pay with Expedia.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Sentido Galomar
Where can I eat near Sentido Galomar?
The resort has its own tables. The Atlantis, set into the cliff at the lido and reached by the lift, serves breakfast to Galomar guests and Madeiran cooking à la carte at lunch, from 1pm to 4pm, and dinner, from 6pm to 9.30pm, with a table booked ahead. Half-board dinner is the buffet at the Ondamar in Sentido Galosol next door, from 6pm to 9pm. O Galo, the resort's Italian, has 70 seats and a terrace, opens to the public and serves dinner from 6pm to 9pm, with lunch at weekends from 1pm. Capoeira, the lounge bar one floor above the Atlantis, pours cocktails over the sea from 3pm to 11pm, with toasties and Madeira fruit ice creams until 9pm and live music on some nights. Beyond the resort, Caniço de Baixo's restaurants and bars are 3 to 9 minutes on foot; the seafood houses at the east end of the promenade and on Reis Magos beach are a short taxi ride, or a longer walk. Restaurante Inn & Art, 3 min walk. FUGA Brunch & Bistro Bar, 5 min walk. La Carbonara, 7 min walk.
Our verdict
A clifftop adults-only building with a seawater pool, sea-view saunas and the Atlantic at the foot of the lift, for couples happy to share dinner and the lido with the family side of the resort. Check availability for the Double Room Sea View Balcony.