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MADEIRA LOCAL GUIDE

Madeira Food Guide

Fresh fish, grilled meat, warm bread, tropical fruit. Simple, generous cuisine built around sea and land.

Dishes to try

Espetada

Beef cubes with garlic and salt, skewered on bay laurel, grilled over embers. Served with bolo do caco and milho frito.

Espada com banana

Black scabbard fish fillets topped with fried banana. Sweet and savoury. Most famous seafood.

Bolo do caco

Round flatbread cooked on hot basalt stone. Served warm with garlic butter.

Lapas (limpets)

Grilled in the shell with garlic butter and lemon.

Milho frito

Crispy fried cornmeal cubes. Classic side.

Picado

Fried beef cubes with garlic, on chips. Sharing dish.

What to drink

Poncha — sugarcane rum, honey, lemon. National drink.

Madeira Wine — fortified, from dry (Sercial) to sweet (Malmsey).

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Quick answers

What are the must-try dishes in Madeira?

Espetada (beef on a bay laurel skewer), espada com banana (black scabbard fish with fried banana), bolo do caco (flatbread with garlic butter), lapas (grilled limpets), milho frito and picado.

What is the national drink of Madeira?

Poncha — sugarcane rum, honey and fresh lemon juice. The island's other classic is fortified Madeira wine, from dry Sercial to sweet Malmsey.

What is bolo do caco?

A round flatbread cooked on a hot basalt stone, served warm with garlic butter — the classic side to almost every Madeiran dish.

What is espada com banana?

Black scabbard fish fillets topped with fried banana. Sweet and savoury — Madeira's most famous seafood dish.

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