Practical information : Eating out Madeira
Timetable
Apart from cafés and snack bars open from morning until night, restaurants generally open from 10am or midday and close around 11pm or midnight. It's not uncommon for them to close a little later on weekends. While some are open every day, summer and winter alike, the majority close on Sundays. Options will be greatly reduced. It's best to book your table at the weekend.
Budget & Tips
A prego em bolo do caco costs just under €5. The price of a meal consisting of soup, a hearty main course, plus bread, drink and dessert(pão, bebida e sobremesa) often varies between €8 and €12 for the most economical (restaurants in modest neighborhoods offering cheap formulas for employees and workers, self-service and small casas de pasto/cantines and tascas/bistrots-taverns. For a meal in a restaurant, churrasqueira (grill) or cervejaria (brasserie offering fresh seafood and fish), expect to pay a minimum of €15. All forms of payment are accepted, although small restaurants may ask you to pay in cash.
What costs extra
Bread, cheese, olives or a bottle of wine is placed on your table, without you even having to ask for it. But this isn't free! If you touch them, you'll be charged; if you don't, they'll be kindly removed from your table. It's hard to resist when you're really hungry, especially in the face of the tempting smell of a hot bolo do caco... Prices on the menu include VAT. A tip is always welcome.
The local way
Gulp down um bica (espresso) at the bar. Enjoy a prego em bolo do caco in an unpretentious snack bar. Take a sweet break in one of the capital's many patisseries. Buy fruit and vegetables from the small street stalls (cheaper than the market!).
To be avoided
Beware, portions can be generous. So don't bite off more than you can chew. Some dishes can fill two stomachs! You can also order half portions(meia dose) to avoid wastage.
Kids
Children are welcome in most restaurants, except in sections where a bar license applies. Booster chairs are often available. Several restaurants offer a specially prepared menu for children.
Smokers
As on the mainland, smoking is prohibited in restaurants and other public places. However, you can enjoy a smoke on the terrace.
Tourist traps
In Funchal, they're concentrated in the rua Santa Maria, a tourist thoroughfare where good restaurants rub shoulders with mediocre ones, luring tourists with their cheap smiles and charming decor. Don't be fooled, follow the guide. Elsewhere on the island, the establishments that have a street corner (for example, only one restaurant for miles around) and a breathtaking view sometimes offer equally mediocre quality, because they make no effort to build customer loyalty. You pay for the view, nothing more. Fortunately, this is not true of all establishments. Beware, too, of restaurants offering a very wide choice on the menu. It's not always a guarantee of quality.