Madeira

Take a superb location on pedestrianised Rua da Carreira, a team plucked from top Madeiran restaurants and an inspired owner, and the result is one of the most authentic dining experiences in the archipelago....

Stylishly rustic, this excellent hotel-restaurant sets the highest standards on the north coast. Wonderfully imaginative gourmet dishes, such as cream of beetroot soup with glazed chestnuts, foie gras infused...

This great shabby-chic Zona Velha restaurant uses local recipes that every Funchal avozinha (granny) would instantly recognise. Take a seat at the tightly packed jumble of tables to enjoy espada (scabbardfish)...

Madeira's top seafood restaurant is an intimate affair at the heart of the Zona Velha, attracting tourists, locals and Portuguese rich and famous, who come for one of the most authentic dining experiences on the...

Two Michelin stars shine brightly from the kitchen of chef Benoît Sinthon, who supplies very well-heeled diners with aromatic Mediterranean and gourmet Madeiran fare at the award-winning Cliff Bay Hotel. The...

Housed in an old stone-and-dark-beamed salt store, this is one of the city centre's best restaurants with a different menu to most of its competitors. Lamb and black pork are more mainland Portugal than Madeira,...

This little piece of elegant old Funchal has somehow survived amid the expanding concrete of this part of the Hotel Zone, offering Michelin-reviewed but affordable Mediterranean and Madeiran dishes in an oasis of...

A Hotel Zone original that predates most of what's around it, this delightfully kitschsy Madeiran restaurant set in an ancient stone house is tastefully done out in Camacha wicker, azulejos (hand-painted tiles),...

The aptly named Atlantis looks as though it's risen from the waves and clamped itself to the cliffside above the suntrap beach below the Galomar Hotel. Seating options are on chunky wicker inside, or out on the...

This contemporary place is Câmara de Lobos' best seafood restaurant, offering the highest quality Madeiran fare. The fish, including parrot fish, red bream, dourada (sea bream) and espada (scabbardfish) are sold...

The slightly obscure theme here is famous visitors to Madeira (mostly Portuguese celebs), but with a blood-red and basalt interior and black-and-white photos covering the walls it's an atmospheric place to spend...

The 'Northern Star' seats 145 at formally laid, tightly packed tables, onto which waitresses plonk the mainstays of Madeiran cuisine such as espada (scabbardfish) with banana, espetada (grilled beef skewers) and...

Around since the late 1960s, the 'Whale' wins the prize for Madeira's craziest restaurant location, sitting atop the crumbly volcanic rock on Port Moniz seafront, occasionally taking a wave from the furious...

Located on São Vicente seafront, the town's best restaurant serves up 360-degree views of the coast and seascape (the dining room actually revolves slowly), as well as meat and fish in equal measure. The focus is...

The sister restaurant of Vila do Peixe is the 'House of Meat', a clean-cut eatery specialising in traditional espetada (chunks of beef covered in salt, garlic and laurel leaf, impaled on a green laurel skewer and...

Occupying the original 19th-century mansion house at the Quinta Splendida, this gourmet restaurant serves the most exquisite meals on this stretch of the coast. Take a seat in one of the three rooms to enjoy a...

At the turn off on the ER103 for Pico do Arieiro, this rustic mountain refuge plates up Portuguese and Madeiran favourites in a welcoming, slightly old-fashioned dining room. It's just the place to reheat after a...

Outside the tables are dressed in traditional Madeiran stripes, inside Europe's largest collection of football scarves hangs from the ceiling while 1000 beer bottles are lined up in glass cases. Characterful...

For a bit of olde-worlde elegance, head to the dining room of this quinta hotel, all Turkish carpets, antique lamps and starched tablecloths. Venison carpaccio, herring caviar and duck in gooseberry sauce are a...

Fusion isn't a word used often in Madeiran dining (bananas don't fuse that well), but this funky little urban bistro is attempting something never before tried on the island, and that is to marry traditional...