Madeira Restaurants With Vegetarian Meals
Vegetarian Meals - Just Ask
Most restaurants in Madeira do not have a vegetarian meals section detailed on their menus. This is even true for the large restaurants in Funchal.
However, nearly all restaurants in Madeira cook to order.
Meals are prepared from fresh ingredients. Meals are definitely not ready-made nor do they come out of a package in the freezer. It is for this reason that you can order the same dish on two consecutive days from the same restaurant and they will be presented and taste slightly different - it all depends which chef is on duty and what their personal cooking style is.
Therefore, if you have particular dietary requirements - be it vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free - then you can always ask what ingredients are used when you place your order. Most restaurants will be happy to oblige any requests.
Whilst nearly all restaurants and cafés have English speaking staff, some ingredients regularly used for cooking in Madeira will be unfamiliar to most Britons. This is where a book like Walk & Eat Madeira comes in handy. This book has a short chapter detailing salient points for those who wish to eat vegetarian meals or have gluten-free or dairy-free requirements.
Vegetarian Shopping in Madeira
Of course, many visitors to Madeira will want to shop to provide for picnics and snacks.
In general, the supermarkets do not label vegetarian products as such. There is also a distinct lack of labelling for those with a gluten-free or dairy-free requirement. Add the fact that product ingredients will be listed in Portuguese and shopping can become a nightmare for those with a food allergy or intolerance.
Thankfully, there are shops in Funchal that specifically offer vegetarian products. Updated details of shops with dedicated vegetarian sections is given in Walk & Eat Madeira.
Eat & Walk Madeira
Eat & Walk Madeira by john and Pat Underwood, published by Sunflower Books, is the one personally used by the editor of Love-Madeira to assist in sourcing vegetarian meals and avoiding food intolerance ingredients.
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This useful, pocket-sized book contains a short chapter detailing gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian meals in Madeira.
It gives information on:- Shops with dedicated vegetarian sections in Funchal
- The vegetarian café-restaurant in Funchal
- Useful Portuguese phrases and terms for vegetarians and those with food intolerances
- Many recipes that can be sourced from gluten-free and dairy-free products for those self-catering
- Useful hints for shopping for gluten-free and dairy-free products
- Extensive details of Walks on Madeira Island and where to eat when you are undertaking these walks
- Offers online updates
Sunflower Books are a winner of the
Thomas Cook Best Travel Guide Award
Sunflower publishers acclaimed by Which? Travel Magazine
Recommended Provider for Guidebooks (April 2011)
P.V.B. stated:
If you like to walk and you like to eat--both activities that I find very pleasurable--you are going to love this book. It is the perfect guide to spend some days in Madeira, that Portuguese pearl in the middle of the Atlantic. It is small so you can carry it with you all the time, but it is full of fun and food. Inside it you can find the description of several walks around the island, both near the sea and at the high peaks of Madeira (about 6000ft). But the best part comes at the end, sometimes during the walk. A restaurant, or a tea house, where you can rest and enjoy the excellent local food. You can also enjoy that food back home if you follow the recipes that accompany each walk. The best guide of Madeira we have used in our two trips to the island. "
