A while back I talked about a pretty awful restaurant experience on Madeira island. The place was located in the city of Funchal and was called Restaurante do Forte. It was not a place that I would recommend going to at all. In that post I also mentioned that the next night we had a phenomenal meal at a different location called Restaurante Hemingway so I'll talk a little about it here and now.
We sat outside in the back on their covered terrace. It had been raining previously that day but eventually it stopped in the evening and they reopened the ceiling cover. The restaurant had a book theme of course, because Hemingway was an author, and the terrace was lined with book end wall paper. I actually thought that it was slightly tacky and a little too "on the nose," but that's just a matter of personal taste I think.
The meal was actually very reasonably priced for both the quality and quantity of food. The three course tasting menu came with a wine pairing that started with an aperitif of champagne. A glass of white wine came with the appetizer, red with the entré and then Madeira dessert wine to finish things off.
I got shrimp on toast for an appetizer and my wife got carpaccio.
For her main entré she got the Beef Wellington. I don't know why I didn't take a photo of it. I guess I sometimes forget to take one in the moment. Maybe someone from another table looked over at me and I got scared?
I had the Wellington the night before at the other restaurant so this night I chose the Duck a l'orange. It was a very good dish but my wife's Wellington was better. To be honest, I had a mild case of plate envy that night.
We both got ended up getting the same dessert. It was a pastry filled with fruit and sorbet and was quite good overall.
We both got coffees at the end of the meal as well. Mine was a decaf (don't judge me).
After the previous nights experience I had went in expecting long wait times between courses and figured that this dinner would be another 3 hour ordeal. But the meal actually progressed rather quickly, at a pace that one would expect really. We were out of there in probably an hour and half (maybe a little less even) which felt pretty reasonable overall. The service was excellent as well, which made me realize that the previous night was probably an anomaly and not an expectation of the island by any means.
That was our last night in Funchal and on Maderia Island so it was nice to end the experience on a definitive high note.
The next morning we dropped off our rental car and headed to the airport to fly over to Lisbon. This post is a bit out of order considering that I've already talked about Lisbon, but what can you do? It's not like I wasn't going to post these picture or something. But anyway, I just have one more Portugal post to come and then I'll be done and moving on to a new location.
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @ladytitan ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
The food looks sumptuous and the ambiance is inviting... However, aeroplanes are what excites me the most these days:)
US vs UK English is driving me crazy. My computer is changing every thing (everything?) recently, and my brain is too tired to make sense of it. I have always known aeroplane and it corrected it to airplane...I stubbornly changed it back...and I don't want to rant over your lovely delicious meal... because it's not every day (everyday?) that i see shrimp that looks divine.
PS. Happy 75 🎉
.
.
Yes, I have been drinking wine 🤣
Lmao 😂
I won't judge how you spell airplane lol or for ranting about it 🤣 I rant all the time about everything.
???
What's that mean lol?
🤣🎉
Tut tut tut! You forgot to take a photo of the best dish. Absolutely hopeless !!! 🙄
Haha so true. So many times I've said in my posts "I don't have a photo of it, sorry." Figures it was the best dish too.
At most, I'll snap a quick one of the meal while doing my best impression of nonchalant but I can't think of the last time I did that. Maneuver inconspicuously like I'm stepping outside or something, making all the effort not to draw attention to myself, wait til no one's looking, snap.
Apparently you're not phased by it! = }
Haha yeah. It actually really makes me feel embarrassed to do it. Until I drink enough eine that is, then I don't care anymore. I try to do it as discreetly and quickly as possible though. I never stand up to take them. Lol
Why not? You guys really need to up your game and not be so shy!!! 😏
Haha yeah, I may as well make a scene about it. It would be worth it for Hive lol
Hurry, just one! Before they see. Move the receipt. They're gonna see me! And the Coke Zero.
I remember your post about the other place, what a contrast, I wonder if the book wallpaper is in reference to the great man himself? hence the restaurant name. But I don't know if he has any connections with the Island.
Yeah I think the wall paper was a part of the book theme to go with the author. If I recall the menu named the dishes after famous writers also, or maybe it was Hemingway's book titles. There was definitely a theme going on. Not sure if he was connected to the Island or not.
👍
I couldn't help laughing when I read this part. 😂 Why would you be scared of another's look? It's your food and can take as many pictures as you like.
I sometimes forget to take picture of fancy food when I visit some restaurants. I guess I get carried away. I'm sure you and wife had a great time. These pictures are lovely and so is the restaurant. 😃
Haha yeah I don't know. I just get embarrassed and feel awkward taking photos in restaurants for some reason. I still do it fairly regularly but it always makes me feel uncomfortable
sometimes I like the food my husband chooses more than my own choice and I wish I had chosen the food he preferred too. It looks very delicious, enjoy your meal👌🏻✨
Yeah, food envy is definitely a thing lol
What a fancy place,and the food look super!!❤️
Yeah it was a little fancy. Not so much that it was stuffy though lol
This looks amazing 😍.
It was quite good 😁
Sometimes, I choose the same food as my girlfriend, because she used to exchange our dishes, because she liked mine better 🤣😬.
Haha that's a good strategy 🤣
Delicioso 😋
😋
It was! 😁👍