Madeira Story Centre — Attraction in Funchal

The restaurant in the Story Center in Funchal is located opposite the valley station of the cable car to Monte. After the usual local address, one takes the lift to the third floor and first enjoys a unique terrace with a wonderful view of the old town. For even more views there is also a separate view point with a fantastic panorama view. At the entrance, we were always welcomed in a friendly and courteous way and from day to day we were warmly welcomed and accompanied to our tables. In strict compliance with all currently necessary hygiene regulations, the table was freshly set and the order for the drinks was taken. The drinks and menu offer a selection that is in keeping with local customs, are rock solid and actually leave nothing to be desired. From the delicious Madeira wine, over a quite fine choice of wines and spirits up to the crude cola, everything is available. Everybody should also find what he is looking for in the food. Starters, soups, salads, fish, meat and vegetarian dishes, pasta and dessert, everything on the menu.

During our 14-day stay in July 2020, we visited the restaurant as a family of three on a total of 10 evenings and enjoyed each of them. As appetizer we can highly recommend the local Bolo de Caco (a crispy flat bread with a liquid herb/garlic butter), the shrimp cocktail with avocado and the grilled mussels (with extra garlic butter). But also the tomato or fish soup was really to our taste.

For the main course you cannot avoid the local speciality, the Espetada Madeirense. A meat skewer prepared on a laurel branch. Really tasty! And of course the fried black scabbardfish with banana, the Espada com banana. And the fish in general. Great and always deliciously prepared. Also the side dishes were always fresh and tasty.

And if you ever have a wish, just ask the service staff, who are always friendly and always try to please you with a song on their lips. As they say so beautifully and correctly in the German language: "Wo man singt, da lasse dich ruhig nieder. Böse Menschen kennen keine Lieder.". Also at this point once again our huge and heartfelt thanks to Marina and Pedro! You have grown very close to our hearts.

At the end we had a dessert and always a nightcap on the house. Well, and the bill, which was more than fair. For 3 persons with starter, main course, desserts and drinks we paid on average 80 Euro. To always tip 10 Euro here was really very easy for us.

In summary we say that the restaurant in the Story Center offers a rock solid offer of food and drinks without any frills in perfect combination with a very personal, warm and cordial service. We think this is fabulous and are already looking forward to hopefully being our friends' guests next...

We went specially for the scabbard fish as it was our last day. Having my family roots in this island, we couldn't leave without having it at least once. We were greeted by the PR man outside, who confirmed it was on the menu and kindly whisked us up the lift. After choosing our starters and mains, the waiter went on and on and on with the "fish of the day" suggestion. I stuck to my gut (pun intended) and insisted on my original dish, scabbard fish. The waiter continued his fish of the day routine and my partner ended up accepting it so that he would shut up and get on with the food order. Said fish was ok, nowhere near as good as the scabbard, but admittedly taste is always subjective. To our surprise, when the bill arrived, this miraculous fish of the day was charged at €28 which is more than double of what the scabbard costs. This, in my opinion, is dishonest and judging by other reviews, seems to be common practice at this place. We never asked for an "upgrade", and if your fridge is overflowing with fish of the day, we can help you by buying some, just don't charge us Premium Lobster price for it. Also I'm not sure about the 22% + 11% Tax on the bill, I'm aware the 22% applies in...

We were approached by a guy outside this place, who insisted it was a really nice place to eat. However, we were only out for a drink, which was no problem. We sceptically went in. The access to the roof terrace is through the museum display (which gives a very interesting history of Madeira) or souvenir shop and up to the next level by lift. On the roof terrace, we were surprised to find a large eating area outside and a large section under cover, too. We chose a table near the front so that we could people watch on the street below then ordered our drinks which came out soon after. If you go up the stairs in the corner of the terrace, it takes you up to another large level covered in astro turf. Good photo opportunities of the rooftops, cable cars, and the upper slopes of Funchal up there. This is a great place to sit have a meal, drink, people watch or all three, it was very relaxing. The servers were polite and prompt (well, apart from when Pedro forgot to get our bill, but we can forgive him for that because of his charm and good looks😉) and well presented. The toilets were...