Madeira Island, a beautiful destination island on the Atlantic, just off the coast of Northern Africa, is known for many things: its imposing mountains, its green forests and its rich seas.
These are but a few reasons to make plans for a Madeira Island trip in the future, but what if we told you that you have at least one more?
That reason is simple, but delicious: food! Specifically, gastronomy of excellence or fine dining, distinguished by the Michelin Guide.
It is a little-known fact that Madeira Island has not one but two Michelin Star restaurants. For this reason alone, if you’re a foodie, you should definitely make plans to visit the island! Let’s have a look at both these restaurants:
Michelin Star Restaurant in Madeira Island: Il Gallo d’Oro
This beautiful restaurant is part of the Cliff Bay Hotel and it is headed by Chef Benôit Sinthon. It received its first Michelin star in 2009, it was the first-ever Michelin star awarded in Madeira Island. In 2017 it was awarded a second Michelin star and has kept both since then. This year (2022) it has also received a green star which awards environmental sustainability.
Ill Gallo d’Oro has recently undergone a full renewal of its space and it sports a sleek modern look with neutral colors and modern furnishings.
Photo: Porto Bay
The cuisine of Chef Benôit Sinthon is Iberian based with French techniques and a profound respect for local ingredients, some of them coming directly from the restaurant's own vegetable garden. You can’t get much more environmentally sustainable than that.
When you go to Il Gallo d’Oro you have a choice of two menus.
The first one, Terroir by Benôit Sinthon is a 7 to 10-course degustation menu that showcases Madeira Island ingredients like limpets, fish from our sea, vegetable and fruits sourced from the garden.
Photo: Porto Bay
It is the chef’s interpretation of the land, delicate and balanced, with reinterpretations of classics like the madeiran “espetada” (traditional beef skewers) or the combination of langoustine, peanuts and poncha (traditional sugarcane rum-based drink). Prices range from 175€ to 225€ per person, a bit more if you also pair with the corresponding wine suggested by the sommelier for a complete experience.
Photo: Porto Bay
The second menu is the Top Experience and consists of a degustation menu of 6 to 11 dishes. This menu combines top European ingredients with the very best local delicacies. In this menu you can find tuna tartar paired with avocado and passion fruit, all from the island, trout caught in the forest of Ribeiro Frio paired with fragrant kiwi, parrot fish with exotic saffron and also something sweet in the dessert made from coffee, passion fruit and cookies. All of this is presented with a sense of theatricality, there are nods to the characteristics of the island in the plates presented (some even make us think of the black volcanic sand and rock that you can see on the coast).
Photo: Porto Bay
Prices for this menu range from 165€ to 275€ per person.
Michelin Star Restaurant in Madeira Island: William
The second restaurant distinguished with one Michelin star in Madeira Island is William. William is located in Belmond Reid’s Palace, one of the most gorgeous hotels you can find in Madeira Island, established in 1891. The name William is a nod to William Reid the Scottish man who envisioned the hotel.
The ambiance is a throwback to elegant olden times, it is refined and makes you think of being in the Amalfi Coast, as the view from the hotel is breathtaking.
Photo: Tyso Sadlo
The authorship of the food in this restaurant is from a Portuguese chef, Luís Pestana. The food is seasonal and mostly local, a true homage to the island’s culture and history.
The degustation menu offers gorgeous dishes such as smoked parrotfish with sea lettuce, fennel and beetroot or a regional delicacy of chestnut soup from Curral das Freiras with a very modern twist. A combination of traditional ingredients with fresh local fruit is common and enjoyed in courses such as their scabbard fish and turbot duo with passion fruit caviar, crispy banana, couscous with tomato and limpets.
Photo: Belmond Reids
This menu has a price ranging from 120€ to 160€ per person. All dishes are paired with selected wines by the sommelier in charge.
Alternatively, they also offer a fully vegetarian menu with bright and innovative dishes such as their yolk confit over baked potato mashed and vegetable demi-glace with pomegranate or the carrot broth with ginger textures.
This menu has a value of 102€ to 148€ per person, depending on your choices.