Best cheap eats Lisbon & Funchal

[jacionasty]

Hello all -

Going to Lisbon and Madeira at the end of March and would love recommendations on can't miss cheap eats. I'm running on a moderate budget and which I could indulge in nicer places, but alas I cannot on this trip.

I'm open to anything worth checking out in any area easy to get to by public transportation. Will be Lisbon for 5 nights and Funchal for 4 nights, so there is plenty of area to cover in terms of food.

Thanks so much for your suggestions!!!

- hungry brooklyn girl

[rebeccayael]

Hi jacionasty,

Did you find anything good in Funchal/Madeira? Husband and I are heading there around the same time (late March) this year and you're the only post I can find about Madeira on here!

Have any good tips to report?!

Thanks! :)

Rebecca

[kingfern]

Hi

I regularly go to Madeira, its my little haven and every night we eat amazing food!
The restaurants near the harbour are nice but the prices are not the norm for Madeira so I suggest coming more towards the Lido or Praia Formosa.

The fish restaurant Doca do Cavacas on Ponte de Cruz has a great view of Praia Formosa beach. Excellent fresh fish with local veg - always great.

For the best espetada restaurant that locals often go to, ask for 'Casa San Antonio' - near Camara do Lobos.
Either take a taxi or ask for directions as one can get lost is driving.
Its quite high in the mountains but its worth it and very affordable!

Enjoy, its a beautiful island!!

[rebeccayael]

Awesome! Thanks for the recommendations - sound like our kind of places. I'll report back!

[Nyleve]

Had the best grilled sardines of our trip last summer at a little place in Alfama called Barracao de Alfama. Rua de S. Pedro 16. We got there by cab so I'm not sure about public trasit, but cabs are cheap anyway. The street itself is a small pedestrain laneway so we were dropped off about a block away and had to search to find the place. VERY VERY simple but the food was fresh, generous, cheap and absolutely delicious. We ended up there for lunch one day because we were absolutely starving, and just randomly picked the place out of the Rough Guide which so rarely has good restaurant recommendations that it almost came as a shock.

[rebeccayael]

Thanks for this! I didn't see your response until now. Looking forward to trying out some of those sardines...

[rieu]

Hello jacionasty and rebeccayael,

Hope you had a good time in Madeira!
Would love it if you would share your good finds on the island
Thank you!

[rebeccayael]

Hi rieu,

To be perfectly honest, I didn't find a ton of great spots. Part of that is no doubt because I opted not to rent a car while on the island (which I would definitely recommend - the public transport system isn't particularly efficient and having a car really opens up different regions for exploration). So, that prevented me from exploring some of the options mentioned above.

I woudl recommend Restaurante Gaviã o Novo (Rua de Santa Maria, 131; 351-291-229-238). It's a very simple fish restaurant in the old part of Funchal. Nothing much to look at - and not inventive food - but delicious, fresh fish prepared that day based on what is in the market. For me, it's hard to go wrong with that. We ate outside, which was lovely, as it's on an old cobbled street, and loved our evening there.

Cheers!

[rieu]

Hello rebeccayael,

Thank you for your reply and for the recommendation.
Have a great day!