Engenho Velho Hotel .Restaurante — Restaurant in Calheta

We stayed at this hotel for 5 nights. The hotel is located in a quiet village near the town of Calheta. Our room was spacious, with a view of the sea and the pool. The pool was a bit shallow and short for my taste (maximum depth 1.50 m), but it was perfect for a refreshing dip after a long day of hiking.

The hotel grounds were clean and beautiful, with a lovely garden surrounding the pool area. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful, especially the waiters Miguel and Juan, who made each of our dinners at the restaurant truly special. They were great to chat with and their service was top-notch. We always felt like VIPs, and I believe they gave the same warm treatment to every guest.

The restaurant serves local specialties, both fish and meat in different styles. Hats off to the chef – the food was truly delicious. I absolutely fell in love with their bolo do caco – I didn’t find a better one anywhere on the island (and I tried quite a few!). The prawns were fantastic as well. Don’t miss their octopus or the traditional Madeiran fish with baked banana – both were excellent.

They also make great drinks – there’s no cocktail menu, but they’re happy to prepare almost anything you like.

The only thing I would criticize is the breakfast – it was quite basic. The same ham and cheese every day, and the sweet options weren’t great either. I would suggest a more varied selection, or at least rotating items, because if you’re staying for several days, it gets repetitive and a bit boring.

Overall, we really recommend both the hotel and the restaurant, and we would definitely stay here again. Thank you...

After reading several overwhelming reviews, I decided to book a stay for a few days with my girlfriend. The hotel is located on a very quiet area. Perfect to enjoy the sun and relax. The rooms are big and very clean. Even the balcony is wide and spacious. All of them have view to the sea and pool. The breakfast is served at the restaurant until 10:00. It does not vary that much but it is very good and there is plenty of food to mix and match. I found the hotel team very friendly. In special, I would like to thank Sra. Mónica for the amazing service and attention to detail. A person that goes for that extra mile, just to make you, as a guest, happy and comfortable.

As a con, I wish it would be possible for the breakfast to be extended until 11:00, so the lazy people on vacation can sleep a little bit longer. Additionally, the swimming pool could be a little bit bigger, considering half of it is being wasted with a very low water profile, for maybe wetting your feet (???).

However, none of these small cons are a detriment to enjoy the space and give it a lower review score.

Overall, I highly...

Avoid this when you are vegetarian!

Visited the restaurant today with my girlfriend on our last evening on madeira. We leaved without finishing the food. I can not imagine why they are so many good reviews. They serve (pre-cooked?) stuff like from a cheap hotel buffet without any taste . Spices , herbs, a good idea is completly missing! Maybe they serve good fish/meat. I don t know because we are vegetarians.

The dinner starts with a dirty glas. Atmosphere in the restaurant was just a big breakfast room of the hotel with dirty windows and noisy atmosphere.

Starters (polenta, bread,olives) was okay. But the main dish was a joke. Rice with lentils was very bad. It wasn‘t stewed like it s written on the menu. There are no herbs,spices or anything special/tasty inside. Just dry rice with (pre cooked ?) lentils from the can (?) for 15 Euros. Vegetable lasagne was also very very bad for 15 Euros. They used freezed vegetables and put just tons of cheese and cheap ready-made (?) sauce on the top. Also no spices, no heart. Nothing.

Anyway: Service guy offers us a beer after our review...