Cheap Eats in Funchal: 8 Affordable Places to Eat

What cheap eating in Funchal actually costs

Most restaurants on the island charge between about €15 and €25 per dish or per person, excluding drinks, so a standard dinner is not cheap. The budget lever is the snack: warm prego sandwiches in garlic bolo do caco, toasts with cheese and ham for around €2, and plain or filled bolo do caco for a couple of euros. Small local bars outside the tourist core serve the best value, so walk two or three streets inland from the marina before committing to a menu.

Menus are usually posted at the door, so you can check a few prices before sitting down. A coffee at a small local bar can cost as little as €1, while the same cup near the marina runs to a couple of euros. The bigger gap is between a snack and a full plate: the prices below show the difference clearly, and a lunch of soup and bread often costs less than a single restaurant main.

How to spot value: prego, bolo do caco and toasts

A prego is a steak sandwich served in bolo do caco, the local garlic bread; the Prego Especial adds ham, cheese and vegetables. Order one at a bar counter and you have a filling lunch for small money. The sandwiches are the real budget lever, more than any restaurant discount; our Funchal Food guide has more on local dishes.

Look for toasts with cheese and ham, and simplified burgers served in ordinary bread or bolo do caco. Padarias and pastelarias also do filled bolo do caco with chicken, tuna or salmon, which makes them a good stop before a long walk. A pastel de nata and a coffee is another cheap, fast lunch that costs less than a sit-down starter.

O Castelo dos Hamburguers: homemade burgers in São Martinho

O Castelo dos Hamburguers, on Rua da Carreira in São Martinho, serves homemade burgers wrapped in warm bread for €4.50 to €6.50, with milkshakes from about €3.50 in flavours such as avocado, passion fruit, mango and strawberry. It is a family business and the sandwiches are built to order, so allow a little time at lunch. The kitchen opens every day except Sunday and closes for the whole of August, so a Sunday arrival or late-summer trip needs a different plan.

O Calhau: sandwiches, tapas and coffee beside the Sé cathedral

O Calhau sits right beside the Sé cathedral on Rua de João Gago, painted bright blue with white sofas and chill-out music. The kitchen opens seven days a week from 9am to 11pm, which makes it a safe bet when other places are shut. The grilled tuna sandwich with peppers costs €7.50, and the signature tuna steak cooked on the Calhau pebble costs €19; tapas and coffee are also available.

Mercearia Dª Mécia: toasts, quiche and lemonade

Mercearia Dª Mécia on Rua dos Aranhas is a shop and café in one, selling Portuguese design objects alongside homemade snacks. The mint lemonade costs €1.70, the passion fruit version €2.20, and special toasts start at €3.70; a mini quiche of the day with salad costs €4.20, and cured sheep cheese with bread and jam is €6.70. The queijadinhas made with fresh cheese and lemon are a good sweet stop, and the shop sells items such as Bordallo Pinheiro swallows and Ach Brito soap if you need a gift.

Santiago Beach Bar: lapas, poncha and a beer by the fort

Santiago Beach Bar, by the fort on Rua Portão de São Tiago in the old town, serves lapas (limpets) in garlic butter, a poncha, a small beer and a glass of wine. Fishermen mend their boats nearby, so you eat with a working harbour rather than a view over the marina. A dip in the rocky ocean is possible from the shore, but the bar is best for a late lunch of shellfish and a drink.

Padaria Pastelaria Mariazinha: chorizo bread on Rua de Santa Maria

Padaria Pastelaria Mariazinha on Rua de Santa Maria in the old town is known for its chorizo bread, which locals buy after a night out in the painted-doors street. Arrive before the mid-morning rush if you want the full range, because this is a working bakery rather than a café with table service. The street itself is one of the best places to walk after eating; the rest of the old town's sights are covered in our Funchal Attractions: 9 Visitor Guides.

Vila da Carne and Vila da Peixe: espetada in Câmara de Lobos

Vila da Carne and Vila da Peixe on Rua Dr. João Abel de Freitas in Câmara de Lobos serve espetada, beef with garlic and local bay leaf grilled on an open fire, with fried corn and chips. This is a day-trip stop rather than a Funchal lunch: the fishing village sits a short bus or taxi ride west of the city, so build it into a half-day. Avoid it if you have a tight timetable; the drive back into Funchal takes time before your next sight.

Quebramar Restaurant, São Vicente: the rotating north-coast room

Quebramar Restaurant at Sítio do Calhau in São Vicente serves Caldo da Romaria, a typical soup from the north of Madeira, in a room whose distinctive UFO-style architecture is among the reasons to come; it also rotates slowly between the São Vicente mountains and the sea. It is a day-trip destination, not a city lunch: budget the time to get to the north coast, and check whether the kitchen is serving before you drive up. The architecture alone justifies the stop if you are already touring the north.

Restaurante Quinta do Furão, Santana: the tomato soup

Restaurante Quinta do Furão on Estrada da Quinta do Furão in Santana serves a tomato soup with a poached egg and a paprika kick, unlike the standard version elsewhere. Like Quebramar, it is a north-coast stop rather than a Funchal meal, so treat it as a lunch while touring Santana's thatched houses rather than a city-centre option. Prices are not published for either of these north-coast stops, so check the menu at the door before committing.

Madeiran food words to order with

Lapas are limpets grilled with garlic and butter; peixe espada is swordfish and bife de atum is tuna steak. Milho frito is fried corn cut into cubes, and queijada is a small cottage-cheese cake sold in coffee shops. A queijada with a coffee makes a cheap mid-afternoon stop, and bolo do caco is the bread to order with lapas so you can mop up the garlic butter.

If you want to eat meat-free, ask for milho frito with salad or a cheese toast rather than assuming a vegetarian menu exists; our guide to Vegetarian Restaurants in Funchal covers the dedicated options. For a proper sit-down meal, our Best Restaurants in Funchal picks out the mid-range and special-occasion rooms.

Ways to cut the bill: supermarkets and discount schemes

Pingo Doce supermarkets run cheap bars and buffets that are an alternative to a restaurant main, useful if you are self-catering or watching the budget. The Fork app and the MadeiraNow card are both used to find restaurant discounts, but terms change, so read the current offer before relying on it. If you are self-catering, a supermarket picnic of bolo do caco, cheese and fruit is a cheap lunch.

Which cheap eat suits your day in Funchal?

Pick O Calhau if you need a table on a Sunday or a late-afternoon snack near the Sé, since it opens daily from 9am to 11pm. Choose Santiago Beach Bar for a plate of lapas and a poncha by the fort, and Mercearia Dª Mécia if you want a lemonade and a quiche with a side of Portuguese design shopping. For a quick start, Padaria Pastelaria Mariazinha's chorizo bread is the fastest option.

Save Câmara de Lobos, São Vicente and Santana for the days you are touring the island, not for a city lunch. If you are still deciding where to eat in the evening, the Best Restaurants in Funchal guide covers the next price band up.