I have never met anyone who didn’t appreciate Portuguese cuisine. Apart from other factors, Portugal is known for its incredible gastronomy from North to South. Some of the most well-known and talked about traditional foods and drinks are from the Minho and Alentejo regions. But what about Madeira’s local foods and drinks? So that’s why I’ve decided to put together this post with 13 local foods and drinks you need to try in Madeira!!

After my recent (and first!) trip to Madeira, I was quickly convinced that Madeira’s local foods and drinks are probably one of the best in Portugal. In my opinion (for what it’s worth 😊), maybe only in Alentejo, you can eat even better.

Anyway, whatever your favourite region in Portugal when it comes to food, I leave you here some suggestions of 13 local foods and drinks you must try in Madeira.

“Picado” is a dish found on almost every restaurant menu in Madeira. Preparing this dish is quite simple but it is also extremely tasty.

In short, the dish consists of small pieces of beef (or chicken) cooked in a sauce that includes garlic, bay leaf and wine, among others. The meat is served with fried potatoes that end up “soaked” in that amazing sauce. It was clearly one of my favourite local dishes!

Some of the restaurants where I tried good “picado” were: A Gruta (Funchal) | Taberna de São Vicente (São Vicente) | A Bilheteira (Santa Cruz)

And because you can’t live on meat alone, there is also a version of “picado” with octopus. This is also extremely delicious.

If I had to choose a favourite dish in Madeira, it would be “bolo do caco”. Bolo do caco is served as a starter in most restaurants and it is usually spread with delicious garlic butter.

Bolo do caco is a fluffy bread made from flour and sweet potato.

Bolo do caco was a regular on almost every meal in Madeira so I can recommend some places where I tasted great “bolos do caco”: Taberna São Vicente (Santa Cruz) | Abrigo do Pastor (Camacha) | O Polar (Câmara de Lobos) | Maré Alta (Ponta do Sol)

However, in many places, it is also possible to find “pregos no bolo do caco” (“prego” is a traditional Portuguese steak sandwich). Another perfect combination!

When it comes to “pregos”, these three were delicious: O Virgílio (São Vicente) | A Bilheteira (Santa Cruz) | Barreirinha Bar Café (Funchal)

Madeira is surrounded by sea and, therefore, grilled limpets are one of its main delicacies. The limpets are usually grilled still inside the shell and served in the pan in which they were cooked.

I confess it wasn’t one of my favourite dishes, but I’m not the biggest fan of shellfish either. Now for those who like it, it’s a local food not to be missed.

Just reading the name of this typical dish, you’re probably wondering what kind of invention this is! But the truth is that this is one of those cases where first you find it strange and then you love it.

The most traditional version is served with banana, but since I don’t like bananas, I opted for the passion fruit version and let me tell you, I really liked it.

I tried the passion fruit version here and I recommend it: Dom Peixe (Porto Moniz)

Whoever looks at the photo would hardly guess that this is corn. Often served as a side dish, this is another true delight of Madeira’s local foods made of corn flour.

I tasted the best fried corn here: O Polar (Câmara de Lobos)

Visiting Madeira and not trying one of its delicious skewers is almost mission impossible. Traditionally they were served on a bay leaf stick to obtain more flavour, but nowadays this doesn’t happen so often.

But they are still very tasty. I tried this delicacy in two different restaurants and they were both wonderful, especially the first one: O Polar (Câmara de Lobos) | Abrigo do Pastor (Camacha)

And because Madeira’s local cuisine is not only about salty food, one of the desserts that is worth trying is the passion fruit pudding – very sweet but light!

I tried it in this restaurant and it was very tasty: Abrigo do Pastor (Camacha)

Another traditional dish for those who love sweets is honey cake. Among other ingredients, it takes honey, flour, sultanas and Madeira wine.

It’s not the typical dessert (it wasn’t one of the delicacies I enjoyed most), but it’s still pleasant!

And still talking about sweets, have you ever heard of Madeira’s “queijadas”? Let me tell you that it’s another nice treat… although they contain cheese, their flavour is smooth and very nice.

You can easily find this sweet in the various cafés around the island.

Poncha is without a doubt Madeira’s most famous drink. It is prepared with Madeira rum (also well known), honey and sugar and there are several flavours available.

I confess I didn’t love it (it tastes quite strong), but they say the best is served here: Taberna da Poncha (Serra de Água)

Brisa is a carbonated soft drink produced by a local company. I’m not a big fan of this type of drink, but quite honestly I didn’t dislike the taste. There are several options: passion fruit (the most traditional one), apple and orange. 

And lastly, let me tell you about my favourite drink: Nikita!

Nikita is a kind of very fresh cocktail – perfect for warmer days! It’s made of ice cream, pineapple juice and beer and/or wine, and there are several flavours available 😊

I was simply overwhelmed and this was clearly the best Nikita I tasted in Madeira: Barreirinha Bar Café (Funchal)

Finally, I just wanted to point out that this post obviously only represents a small part of all Madeira’s local foods and drinks, but I hope it left you wanting to travel to Madeira 😊

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