Various ponchas, Funchal. Some of the many food and drink in Madeira

I’m quite used to Portuguese food by now but the island of Madeira has its own unique food and drinks that are well worth a try, including the much-loved espetada (meat on a skewer).

As you might expect from a subtropical island, there is plenty of fresh fish and seafood and a plethora of exotic fruit and vegetables. I discovered some delicious cakes and a new-found appreciation for Madeira wine.

Read on to find out what to eat and drink in Madeira.

Scabbard fish with Madeiran banana

If you see scabbard fish (peixe espada) in the market or fish counter, you will be put off by its sheer ugliness. Thankfully, it’s usually served as a fillet and often accompanied by the small, dense and flavourful bananas that grow on Madeira. I was sceptical about the combination but it works.

Scabbard fish with Madeiran banana. Typical Madeira food to try
Scabbard fish with Madeiran banana. Typical Madeira food to try

Espetada – steak skewers

You’ll find this meat dish on pretty much every restaurant menu but not all espetadas are created equal. Despite the showy presentation – they are served from a long metal dangling from a hook – the first one that Dori and I tried was disappointing to say the least. As we munched our way through small cubes of slightly chewy steak, we wondered what all the fuss was about.

Luckily, I got a recommendation from a local for the best espetada restaurant in Madeira so we vowed to give it another chance. O Polar restaurant is high above the Câmara de Lobos harbour so you’d need a car or taxi to get there. It’s a simple restaurant that serves either espetada or grilled chicken. All the tables are fitted with the hooks for dangling the skewers and you order your meat by weight – the servers will advise how much you need.

From where we were sitting, I could see the kitchen and watched skilled hands select, weigh and slice a lean chunk of beef then thread it onto the skewer before placing it on the charcoal grill.

Espetada O Polar
Espetada, O Polar restaurant

Cakes from Madeira

You’ll see the dark, circular bolo de mel de cana in many places throughout the island. This is often translated as honey cake but it’s made from dark sugar cane molasses, aka treacle, hence the deep colour and strong flavour. You’ll find a few nuts and sultanas in it and although it’s a rather dry cake, it’s quite rich so you won’t need much of it and it lasts for ages.

Taste this and many other Madeira flavours on a scrumptious food tour in Funchal

Madeira cake, bolo de mel de cana
Madeira cake, bolo de mel de cana

I also tried the scrumptious and filling tarte folhada de requeijão (cottage cheese pastry). Essentially, it’s flaky pastry filled with a thick cream cheese paste which is sweet without being sickly.

Also on the cheesy side, the popular queijada (cheesecake) is nothing like what Brits or Americans might be expecting on hearing the word cheesecake. I have no picture of the one I ate but it’s a circular case of thin pastry filled with a fairly solid but not too heavy cheesy concoction.

Madeiran cheesecake, Tarte folhada de requijão
Madeiran cheesecake / Tarte folhada de requijão

Madeiran biscuits

Broa de mel are small round biscuits made with treacle and cinnamon. Again, they have a distinctive flavour but are crisp and light and last for months. They don’t weigh much and travel well so if you have room in your case, bring some home.

Madeira biscuits, broa de mel
Madeiran biscuits, broa de mel. Treacle and cinnamon treats.

Bolo de caco flatbread

Wherever you are in Madeira, you’re bound to notice the local bread, bolo de caco. Another flat circular offering, this time unleavened and made from wheat flour. Bolo de caco is typically served toasted and oozing with melted garlic butter and parsley. It also makes tasty sandwiches.

Bolo de caco, traditional bread from Madeira
Bolo de caco, traditional bread from Madeira which is often served with melted garlic butter

I was delighted to discover that our closest bakery and café sells wonderful pumpkin seed bread (pão de abóbora). If you get the chance to pop into a branch of Sésamo in Funchal, try it for yourself.

Strange fruit from Madeira island

Fruit is where Madeira food comes into its own. We wandered into the market in Funchal to admire the colourful displays. Within moments, we were approached by a stallholder and offered samples of some very strange fruit.

I like passion fruit but had no idea it came in so many varieties. I think we tried six in total including banana passion fruit and apple passion fruit. The weirdest fruit of all was the banana pineapple. It has a scaly green skin and chunky white flesh that tastes exactly like a cross between its two namesakes.

Tip: If you do decide to buy some fruit to take away, shop around for prices and try bargaining a little. Don’t be afraid to say no, either. When I discovered that one custard apple was going to cost us almost 11 euros, I decided that no fruit was worth that price and handed it back.

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What to drink in Madeira

The local lager, Coral, has been brewed on Madeira since 1872 and is usually served in a ballooned glass (uma balão). It’s more flavoursome and easier to drink than mainland Portugal’s most famous brands, Sagres and Superbock. Slightly darker and less gassy, Coral tastes stronger than it is (5.3% ABV).

Madeira is more famous for its distinctive wine. Back in the Age of Discovery when explorers roamed the oceans searching for new lands and opening trade routes, wine was one of the island’s main exports. Grape spirits were added to the wine to prevent it from spoiling during long journeys but the return of an unsold consignment led to a happy revelation.

During the trip, the wine had been exposed to high temperatures for extended periods of time which had actually improved its flavour. Since then, wine producers have been artificially recreating those conditions by heating the wine to around 60°C. The resulting wine can be sweet or dry. We tried a dry wine but preferred the darker medium sweet.

Want to get to know Madeira wines better? Try this Madeira Wine Day Trip

Glasses of medium sweet and dry Madeira wine. Food and drink in Madeira
Medium sweet and pale dry Madeira wine

Bright orange poncha is another ubiquitous drink from Madeira. The original version (ask for regional) is made from a sugar cane spirit, honey, sugar, lemon rind and either lemon juice or a mixture of orange and lemon.

We tried it at Taberna da Serra d’Agua, a tiny bar decorated with hundreds of business cards and with peanut shells littering the floor.

My stomach doesn’t cope well with spirits so I was a bit wary but found the poncha fruity and refreshing and neither too strong or too sweet. You can get many different varieties these days, with tangerine and passion fruit juice or using other spirits such as vodka but it’s worth sampling the traditional version if you can.

Mike, about to try poncha at Taberna da Serra de Agua, Madeira
Mike, about to try poncha at Taberna da Serra de Agua, Madeira

If you’re serious about sampling some of the best food and drink in Madeira, you could consider this Scrummy 3-hour Wine and Food Tour of Funchal.

Madeira guide books and maps

Guide books for Portugal rarely go into any detail about the Madeira islands so you should consider buying a dedicated book.

Take a look at these via Amazon:

DK Eyewitness have thought of almost everything in their guide to the Top 10 (gardens, beaches, museums, walks etc.) Top 10 Madeira (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide).

If, like me, your interests centre around food and walking, this guidebook may fit the bill Madeira (Walk and Eat) (Walk & Eat).

Dedicated wine buffs should consult this guide Madeira: The islands and their wines (The Classic Wine Library).

Another general interest guide book is the Lonely Planet Pocket Madeira (Travel Guide).

If you’re driving in Madeira, it’s wise to have a paper map of the island as well as GPS navigation – try this Madeira map.

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Food and drink in Madeira
Food and drink in Madeira
What to eat and drink in Madeira Portugal
What to eat and drink in Madeira Portugal

13 Comments

  1. When we vacationed in Madeira, we went on an excursion to a huge hall that served a meal and provided traditional Madeiran music. They had steak on a stick that was wonderful. We were also served a stew one night with chicken that we ordered again another night as it was so tasty. We found the food to be very succulent.

  2. Hello….you should get your facts right….in the market (Mercado dos Lavradores) you can try the local fruits, in the supermarket you cant try… and most of the fruits are imported!
    Best wishes!
    Thanks for Visiting Madeira 😉

  3. Oh, and i forgot: Caldo verde, some kind of cabbage soup, very tasty. Usually it comes with Chouriço, a sort of special sausage. Generally Madeira is a tough place for vegetarians, even veggie food is mostly spized with some kind of meat. Madeirense just cant imagine that you could survive wiithout your daily portion of animal proteins.

    1. Author

      It’s pretty much the same in my region of mainland Portugal as far as attitudes to vegetarianism are concerned.

  4. Well i miss the classic: Espada (Scabbard fish) – which is only found in the waters around Madeira. Espada with banana might take a little time to get used to it, but tastes nice.
    The other thing sounds similar – Espetada – but is really different: Skewer with – traditionally beef, but can also be with other meat or even fish or sea food.
    Sometimes you just find a butcher on the road who offers you nice beef at a cheap prize and you can bbq it on the skewers in his back yard.

    1. Author

      I’ve heard so many good things about the espetada that I’ll definitely be adding that to my list for next time. I’m also intrigued by the banana and fish dish… Thanks for sharing!

      1. When I retired the first time, we bought and ran an inn/Portuguese seafood themed restaurant on San Miguel beach in Costa Rica where one of the most popular dishes was Madeirense style red snapper with banana in honour of my Madeira born mother. Instead of making it with a passion fruit (maracuja) sauce, we made it more uptown with a rhum/vanilla sauce(main and dessert in the same dish, ha ha).

        1. Author

          Sounds delicious!

  5. Yes – the market in Funchal is a great place to look and take photographs, but they really charge tourists way over the odds. There’s a “Pingo Doce” supermarket quite near it, where you’ll find much of the same stuff at normal prices.

    I would recommend three more Madeira specialities – grilled limpets (lapas), the rich tomato and onion soup which is found all over the island and “milho frito” , like cooled and then fried polenta which is served as an accomaniment to, say, tuna stakes or espatadas (beeef kebabs).

    1. I forgot tomention that the tomato soup usually includes an egg. I once had three (!) in the one serving.

    2. Author

      Thanks for the suggestions, Robert. I like the sound of all of them, even the eggy soup.

  6. I’ve never been to Madeira, but I have tried the Honey cake (they sell it in Portugal too) and the biscuits. But that cheese tart looks divine and like something I would love to try! I must look for a recipe!
    That fruit is amazing, I had never heard of all those varieties of passionfruit or the banana pineapple! I’m sure you had a great time.

    1. Author

      Hi Sami, I did, indeed. With spectacular scenery and lovely food and weather, there’s not much to not like about Madeira, really.

Over to you. Please share your thoughts in a comment.