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The cool thing about an island out in the middle of the ocean is how much culture it develops separately from the mainlands sitting around it. And of course, one of the most important aspects of any culture is its food.
This Madeira food guide will walk you through all of the best dishes in Madeira that I got to try during my visit to the island. Plus, if you’re trying to figure out where to eat in Madeira to try all of these foods, I’ve included the bars and restaurants I recommended from my trip here as well.
From wine developed to survive months at sea, to the most spectacular bread that was once just the leftovers, here is all of the local cuisine Madeira has to offer. Because of coure, eating is one of the best things you can do on the island!
Table of Contents
What to eat in Madeira and where to eat it
Picadinho
The first thing to know when ordering a picadinho is that the dish is usually sized to be shared. So if you get one for yourself you may struggle to finish it. Traditionally the plate is piled with cubes of creamy, marinated beef poured over top of french fries or fried potatoes in some other form.
However, these days you can get alternate versions of a picadinho. For example, I got an absolutely delicious octopus picadinho from Lounge Bar Clube Naval do Seixal — it was actually one of my favorite Madeira food experiences during my visit.
This is both a very simple, basic dish and it’s also packed with flavors and simply delicious. While sometimes you might receive the dish with a side of tomatoes, you’re not always guaranteed any veggies, so if you’d like something other than meat and carbs, order a side salad.
Espetada
Another very simple, very delicious dish is espetada. And it’s also another Madeiran classic. Espetada is a long skewer of marinated meat cubes. Beef is the most traditional meat used, but these days you can also find it made with pork, sausage, chicken, or even squid.
The meat is usually prepared in a simple marinade of salt and garlic before being barbecued. After being cooked you’ll receive the espetada at your table on the skewer, hung vertically from a hook so that the juices drip down over the meat below and all collect at the bottom in a dish. Sometimes there will be bread in that dish to absorb the juices as they flow, but if this isn’t any, make sure to order it so you can sop up the sauce yourself. I highly recommend getting a serving of bolo do caco to complement any order of espetada.
While it can vary from restaurant to restaurant, an espetada is usually quite decently sized so plan to share it with at least one other person.
I enjoyed an espetada at Restaurante O Forno in Ponta do Pargo before going to watch the sunset at the lighthouse nearby.
Bolo do Caco
To be quite honest, the first time I saw bolo do caco I didn’t expect to be at all impressed. But as I sit in my office back on the mainland, writing this post, all I can think is how much I miss this magnificent bread. It’s difficult to put into words how a simple chunk of bread could be so good, but it just is.
The bread is made with wheat flour and was originally a way to use up any leftover dough. Each piece is circular and is cooked on a hot basalt stone. Bolo do Caco originates from Madeira so while you may find it available on the mainland, don’t bother, wait for your trip to Madeira to enjoy it, and fall in love.
My recommendation is to simply get a side with every meal you have during your stay on Madeira. But two stand out bolo do coco experiences for me were at Restaurante O Forno in Ponta do Pargo where I had a garlic bolo do caco. And also when I had a piece used as actually one of the best bagel alternatives I’ve ever experienced, served with smoked salmon and cream cheese, at The Studio: Specialty Coffee & Brunch in Funchal.
Polvo
While not necessarily specifically Madeiran, polvo (octopus) is a very popular dish around the island. You’ll see it served in many different iterations from restaurant to restaurant.
Personally, I think a whole octopus, simply prepared, with absolutely nothing else, is an amazing dish. And if that seems like too much food, look out for octopus starters which will likely be smaller — maybe just a tentacle or two.
If you want more to your meal, you can also enjoy octopus in many other ways. For example, as part of a rice dish — which is what I had at Theo’s by Chef Júlio Pereira in Funchal. And, as I mentioned above, when I tried a picadinho, instead of having it with beef I ordered it with octopus which was simply delicious.
Fruit
As a tropical island, Madeira is the perfect place for a variety of exotic fruits to grow. You can find things like custard apples, guava, and passion fruit sold all over the island. If you want to get just a little slice of fruit to taste, or some to take home, head over to the Mercado dos Lavradores, or Farmers’ Market. There, as soon as you walk, you’ll see the amazing array of fruits the island has to offer. Most of the stands will let you have samples before committing to buying. And you don’t have to buy a large amount. Get one of each fruit you want to try if that’s what works for you.
At the market I got some pitangas, which are also known as surinam cherries, though they are not in fact cherries at all but simply look like similar. Pitangas are semi-sweet with a slight bitter edge to them. Another fun thing about these fruits is that you can easily grow trees from their seeds. Since I live on the mainland I bought a few home with me, put them in some soil, and just a few months later they have already grown to little baby tree seedlings nearly a foot tall.
As well as buying the fruits and trying them as is, look out for products made with these exotic flavors. For example, I had an amazing passion fruit jam served with scones from Loja do Chá in Funchal.
Hipster food
In case you want something that’s not local (but also that’s made from a lot of local products) like, oh, I don’t know, an avocado toast… Brunch Club in Funchal is the place for that. I love eating as many local foods as I possibly can any time I travel anywhere. But I also give myself permission to just have what I crave every once in a while. And this particular morning it was the taste of a millennials bank account hitting zero (at least according to Boomers).
Looking for a Madeira food and drink tour? Check out these options:
What to drink in Madeira and where to drink it
Madeira wine
I have a small wine obsession, as of writing this post, I have been to 36 wineries around Portugal. So of course I was not going to miss out on tasting one of the most famous, and unique, wines of the country — Madeira wine.
Madeira wine is a fortified wine which means that spirits are used in the distillation process resulting in both a sweeter and stronger wine than a typical table wine. Other examples of fortified wines are sherry, port, or my favorite — moscatel from the Setubal region of Portugal. This distillation process was initially used as a way to preserve the wine for long journeys across the ocean.
Wine first left Madeira after the island was initially discovered in the 15th century, and over the years distillers experimented with adding cane sugar to keep the wine from spoiling. However, it’s believed that the process most similar to what we know today was not perfected until the 18th century.
There is a lot more to the history of Madeira wine, so I highly recommend going on a tour of one of the local distillers. I went for a tour at Blandy’s, one of the best known producers, located in Funchal.
The tour was short, only about 30 minutes, but it takes you through the barrel rooms and a quick history of the wine and of Blandy’s. The tour then culminates in a tasting of two wines (this was my choice, you can opt for more tastings) and costs €15 in total.
If you don’t want to go on the wine tour, you can have just a tasting at Blandy’s, or you can simply order a glass of Madeira wine at most of the local bars and restaurants.
Nikita
This was easily my favorite of the Madeira traditional drinks I tried. The original recipe mixes white beer, pineapple juice, and pineapple or vanilla ice cream. Now, there are many, many iterations of that recipe. Some use white wine instead of juice. Some add rum. Some change the flavor from pineapple to something else entirely. There are no rules really, order whatever sounds most appealing to you.
A nikita is thick and milky and sweet. Luckily, when I tried one at Rei da Poncha it was just hours before I had to leave for the airport so I did not have the opportunity to consume too many. But I could see that very easily happening…
Local wine
While Madeira wine is local, there is also simply wine from Madeira — reds, whites, roses — table wines. The island is a challenging place to grow grapes and produce wines. The landscape is rugged and there is little if any flat areas. Vineyards have to be terraced, the work usually has to be done by hand as big machinery can’t navigate the narrow, windy dirt roads which intersect the interior. Then add to that the fact that you can’t get away from the salt air. Everywhere you plant you have to take the ocean into account which can, and does, alter the flavor of the grapes. It makes for hard going. And this all very much comes to fruition at Quinta do Barbusano.
To be very honest, I was not impressed by any of their wines. But regardless, I did very much enjoy my visit to their winery. The setting is spectacular. And the tour guide was very engaged, telling us all about the processes, the challenges, the day to day. Plus she was heavy handed with her pours, and who could complain about that?
If you don’t want to go out to the farm for a Madeira wine tasting you could certainly find options of local wines on restaurant menus around the island.
Poncha
Poncha may be the most well known of the drinks from Madeira. But I wasn’t much of a fan. The classic poncha Madeira recipe uses very few ingredients: rum, lemon, and honey. It is said that the drink was originally created as a sort of medicinal shot for fishermen to have before setting off to sea to ward off flus and colds. And that is more or less what the original tastes like — a medicinal concoction.
The good news is that these days there are many variants of the original recipe. You can get poncha which includes additional juices like passion fruit, tangerine, and more. Or other options which switch out the rum for agaurdente (worse, in my opinion) or cachaca.
I tried poncha at Bar Number Two which has a nice amount of outdoor seating by the water. The waiters and bartenders were very friendly and they had a lot of different poncha options on the menu.
What was your favorite food or restaurant you got to try during your visit? I’d love to hear about so I can add it to my list for next time!
