Gastronomy in Madeira by staying at home!
Even if you stay with us on a Bed and Breakfast base, our service, upon request, does not stop there. Up to 3 days a week we can offer you some gastronomy in Madeira. We can cook you dinner inviting you at our table.Note that we take Sundays off.
Usually preceded by a glass of wine near the wood fire, we serve the very best Madeira – in collaboration with our kitchen – has to offer. Pure gastronomy in Madeira. Wherever at all possible, we use local ingredients. The island offers an abundance of fruits and vegetables. When we buy them at the farmers’ market, we know that is was still in the field the day before. Such freshness is no longer available in the shops at home. And it tastes accordingly.
abundance
Fruits and vegetables are abundant. We prefer to buy them at the local farmers’ markets. Whatever we buy, it was usually harvested only yesterday. Short of having your own vegetable garden, you won’t be able to gut it this fresh at home. And you can taste that. The fish we buy here is also fresher than we can get in our home country. The same goes for the chicken, which comes from the island and fortunately is not raised in the bio-industry in a jiffy.
Some meat comes from the mainland. And dairy comes mainly from the Azores, where they have specialised in it. Wine comes from the Portuguese mainland. The wine made on Madeira is mainly used to make Madeira wine. And for a reason: untreated, it is simply not very good. The simple Alentejo wine, literally “from over the Tagus”, is very affordable here and of excellent quality.
glass or two more
And with all this beautiful produce, we cook you – and us – a delicious meal. We love to do that and – in all modesty – we think we are good at it. We offer a three course dinner for 15€ per person. We serve a starter, a main course, dessert and, if you like, coffee or tea. Wine – unlimited – is included. Gastronomy in Madeira at a friendly price!
Depending on the season and the availability, we try to serve a mix of typical Madeiran dishes and the best of dishes the international cuisine has to offer. The famous Peixe Espada Preta is one of the local dishes, but the super fresh tuna makes it possible to serve an excellent Italian Vitello Tonnato. In short, we try to keep a balance between the international and the local traditional cuisine, which we usually give a twist to change it from just a hearty meal into a gastronomic experience. And we do requests, if at all possible.
environment
We do try and be as friendly to the environment as reasonably possible. We much rather use local produce instead of buying food that has been dragged over ridiculous distances in order to get it here. Fish, fruits and vegetables from, say, Southeast Asia we really avoid if at all possible. Apart from being unfriendly to our environment, the flavour really suffers from the long transport in refrigerated ships. If you have tried to eat an imported avocado at home and compare it to the Madeiran avocados, you know exactly what we mean.
On top of this, the Madeiran farmers hardly use any pesticides. They argue that it’s too expensive. A much better and more credible reason than politically correct environment talk, which is usually just that: talk. And no pesticides usually men as better flavours. You get it: no need to go out for a gastronomic experience in Madeira.
diet wishes
We gladly take all your diet wishes into account. And we love to make your favourite dish, always in function of the availability of the ingredients. Do note, though, that we are not trained diet cooks. That is a different science in its own right. We try to follow your dietary wishes and we follow your directions as far as we possibly can. The diet products you are probably used to at home will likely not be available in Madeira. For fully vegetarian meals we already stated that, apart from the local fruits and vegetables, the necessary ingredients are often difficult to get here, and disproportionally expensive. Therefore, we have to charge a small supplement of €2,50 for completely vegetarian meals.
alas, no vegan
We don’t do vegan. Much as we regret it, it is not possible. The island lacks the produce necessary to make balanced and attractive vegan meals.
when to ‘order’
If you wish to have dinner with us, it suffices if you tell us at breakfast. Should you wish to have dinner with us on the day of your arrival, we would like you to tell us before you leave home for Madeira. Please, also tell us beforehand if there are things you cannot eat or that you simply do not like. No hardship for us to take that into account. Did we convince you: look at the calender to see if we have space in your choice period. Then, send us a message and book your stay! You are more than welcome! If you decide you want to eat out instead, have a look at the page ‘eating out in Madeira‘ which we wrote to give you some background information.
Raposeira de São João. Not just a beautiful and welcoming place, but also pure gastronomy in Madeira!
In the background of this page you can see the famous avocado, which is called ‘pera abacate’ here. They are usually not available in high summer, but the rest of the year they are. It tastes so good here that we don’t buy them in our home country anymore. There they have to ripen in the refrigerated ship that brings them. So you can choose: either rock-hard or already too far gone. Here, they ripen on the tree, often in the sun, and that is why they are soft as butter and have a rich aroma.
This page was updated on March 6, 2022.
