Future travelers food recommendations

Just came back from a week in Madeira. What a beautiful place!

One of the mistakes we first made was try to go to nice restaurants in Funchal, like Akua and Taberna do Capitao. Honestly, it was a waste of time. Akua had amazing bread. The rest of it was trying to imitate "nice restaurants dishes" but the substance wasn't there. They were not memorable. It was simply...fine. Akua had a tuna tartare in a cone, which is similar to serving it in a martini glass - it looks fancy. But the flavor was very basic. Lots of things had tons of sauces which drowned out flavors but again...looked fancy.

The best restaurant was 5 Sentidos. I would recommend it if you're looking for a nicer dining experience. It's small and intimate and the food was delicious.

However, this type of dining is not where Madeira shines. The absolute best food was in snack bars. Bela 5, Snack Bar A Pipa, Snack Bar Restaurante Boca Da Encumeada, Restaurante Seixal Butcher, and many more... They were perfect: beer, poncha, wine... Bolo do Caco, Fresh Octopus, delicious steak sandwiches, grilled skewers of meat. The food was fresh and incredible and A LOT cheaper than the restaurants. You don't need fancy sauces when the ingredients are stellar!

So for future travelers... if you're looking for a nice date place where you want to dress up a bit, go to 5 Sentidos or Akua. If you're used to great restaurants in New York, Chicago, or other big cities, you're not going to be that impressed. But spend a day hiking, work up an appetite, and then find a nice snack bar - it'll be an amazing experience.

Cheers!