Your food experience in each destination will make all the difference.

Tropical fruits : Due to the mild climate, Madeira is full of exotic fruits. Papaya, Passionfruit, Custard Apple or Pomegranate to name a few.

In funchal you must go to Mercado dos Lavradores but if you walk in the street nearby you will find every product at half the price.

Barreirinha Bar Café : A fabulous place to have a drink and a bite to eat in front of the Atlantico. The burgers are exceptional (my advice: try the avocado one), perfectly accompanied with a frosty glass of island-brewed Coral beer.

Most of the tourists will stop in Funchal city center and won’t make up the journey up to the small hill to reach the café.

akeEspetada : Grilled meat on long sticks, typical dish from Portugal.

Restaurante Terrace d’Ajuda is one of the restaurant where we tried it, known as the “Parrot Restaurant”. I highly recommend trying one of the Poncha. A tasty drink made of Rum, lemon juice and honey (other versions can be made with orange, tangerine or passion fruit juices).

Quinta da Bela Vista : Staying in a Quinta –  old noble country houses, provide a great alternative to the ocean-front Hotels in Funchal.
The wine trade not being the main source of revenue, Quinta are turned into very warm hotel. with old world charm.

Althought we didn’t stay at Quinta da Bela Vista, we went for dinner. Walking through the gardens full of flowers in the spring with wisteria perfume provide the perfect place to walk through, sit and relax for a while.

The “à la carte” menu at  the Manor house was delicious and our waiter – Dinarte, was fabulous and made great suggestions.

Grilled king prawns with risotto (i would not use the same rice) & sauteed mango, and bluemouth rockfish fillet with artichoke sauce as a main course.

Lobster salad & tropical fruits.

Black scabbardfish : It is a signature dish in Madeiran cuisine. You will find Black Scabbard Fish with fried bananas on almost every restaurant menu on the island. They are definitely not the prettiest fish but do taste really good. Sometimes served with a passionfruit sauce.

Câmara de Lobos fishermen are well known for deepsea fishing, due to the natural habitat – It lives in deep waters, around 1000 meters. The fish have a dark skin with big eyes.

Where to Stay : Meliá Madeira Mare

With a maritime inspiration that is by far the biggest terrace (facing south) we have ever had, 4 sunbeds were placed on it but there was largely enough space to add 6 more. With an amazing view over the Atlantic. The hotel had everything you might expect (a kettle, a fridge, bathrobe ect).

A walk from the hotel to the old town will take you approximately 30-35 minutes but there are buses that stop near the hotel.

If like us you ask yourself why there is a young men with a hawk every morning, we have the answer. As you have your breakfast on the terrace near the pool almost every day of the year – thanks to Madeira amazing weather, there might be pigeon that comes to disturb you. The hawk deters pigeons around the pool areas.

For info the outdoor pool is heated during the winter months and even if you don’t need to reserve it, you will have to come early enough to enjoy the bali-beds on the decks.

The indoor one, gym and jaccuzzi are free to use as a hotel guest. And if you want a little more of it, the spa offers most of the most popular spa treatments.

In a nutshell:

Hotel : Melia Madeira Mare

Address : Rua de Leichlingen 2, 9000-003 Funchal, Portugal

Telephone : +351 291 724 140

Email : [email protected]

Website : www.melia.com/fr/hotels/portugal/madeira/melia-madeira-mare

Restaurant : Quinta da Bela Vista

Address : Caminho do Avista Navios 4, 9000-129 Funchal, Portugal

Telephone : +351 291 706 400

Email : [email protected]

Website : www.belavistamadeira.com