Portuguese€€Zona VelhaDaily 11:00-23:00
Taberna Ruel works a Madeiran and Portuguese kitchen on Rua de Santa Maria, named for chef Ricardo Ruel and built on island produce and modern technique.
Signature: Madeiran daily plates, Portuguese wine list
Order: A Madeiran plate from the daily list, with a bottle from the Portuguese cellar.
Tip: It runs straight through from 11:00 to 23:00 every day, so it catches both the late lunch and the early dinner.
Contemporary Portuguese€€Zona VelhaDaily 12:30-15:00 and 18:30-23:00
Lá ao Fundo sits at the fortress end of the Funchal old town, where chef-owner Jaime Cruz pulls Portuguese, African and Indian threads into one short menu.
Signature: Author dishes, Vegetarian plates
Order: The daily author dish, rewritten each morning around the market delivery.
Tip: Lunch and dinner run as two separate services with the kitchen shut between them. Book the terrace.
Contemporary Portuguese€€€SéRestaurant daily 12:30-15:30 and 18:30-22:30; gastrobar Sun-Thu 11:00-23:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-00:00
Terreiro Concept is a zero-waste Funchal gastrobar and dining room cooking and mixing from its own kitchen-garden plantings and island growers.
Signature: Garden-led plates, Madeiran fish, Garden cocktails
Order: A cocktail built from the kitchen garden, then the daily fish.
Tip: The gastrobar runs straight through from 11:00 while the restaurant works lunch and dinner services. Friday and Saturday it stays open to midnight.
Seafood€€Ponta da CruzTue-Sun 10:00-23:30, closed Monday
Doca do Cavacas is built on the rock above the Ponta da Cruz sea pools in Funchal, serving grilled fish, shellfish and espetada by the water.
Signature: Grilled fish, Shellfish, Espetada
Order: Grilled fish of the day, with the natural pools below the terrace.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Lunch on the terrace catches the sun over Praia Formosa.
Portuguese€€SéDaily 11:00-23:00
Beerhouse brews on the São Lázaro pier in Funchal, pouring its own beer beside a marina terrace and a kitchen of fish and regional Madeiran plates.
Signature: House-brewed beer, Fish of the day, Regional plates
Order: A glass of the house brew with the fish of the day.
Tip: The terrace faces the marina and the cruise berth, so it fills fast on cruise days.
Contemporary€€€LidoWed-Sun 18:30-22:00, closed Monday and Tuesday
Horta is PortoBay's healthy comfort-food room on the Funchal Lido promenade, flagging every vegan and vegetarian plate on an otherwise mixed carte.
Signature: Garden vegetables, Vegan barley risotto, Beetroot hummus
Order: The barley risotto with red pesto or the beetroot hummus, both listed vegan on the carte.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday, and the a la carte runs in the evening only. Ask for a table on the Lido promenade rather than inside.