Razão por Octávio Freitas — Restaurant in Calheta

Razão has gotten our attention for its intriguing concept: a dynamic, ever-changing menu driven by locally sourced, garden-grown vegetables. Naturally, we were eager to experience this innovative approach for ourselves. With the great, albeit limited, initial reviews we read beforehand, our expectations were high. Unfortunately, our visit left us somewhat disappointed.

It’s worth noting that our experience may not fully reflect the restaurant’s usual standards, given the strong praise it has received from other guests. However, based on the concept and the premium pricing, one expects a level of execution that, sadly, was not met during our meal. We believe the restaurant may need to either refine the current rotating menu or consider transitioning to a more traditional à la carte offering, where dishes can be thoroughly tested and perfected.

Our five-course tasting menu, while ambitious, failed to showcase what we had hoped for. The starters were passable, but the main courses fell short of the mark. The food was rather bland overall and the flavor pairings felt somewhat random, such as the hummus and tuna combination, which, while experimental, was ultimately unbalanced. The tuna was underseasoned, and the hummus, overly acidic with an overwhelming amount of lemon.

The other main, a magret de canard, was similarly disappointing. Overcooked and lacking the depth of flavor one expects from such a dish. While the accompanying sauce showed promise, it wasn’t enough to salvage the dish.

That said, the service was a bright spot in the evening—attentive, warm, and professional throughout - although we felt like we were a little bit rushed through the experience (to be fair we arrived rather late, also). However, as much as we appreciated the impeccable hospitality, the food, which should be the star of the experience, simply didn’t rise to the occasion.

The atmosphere and great views were somewhat disturbed by the noise coming from inside the restaurant, hence 4/5 stars.

Razão’s concept is exciting and full of potential, but it must be supported by a level of culinary excellence that matches the idea and the prices (we left paying 180€ for 2 persons). We left hoping that our visit was an outlier, and that future guests will encounter a more polished, harmonious...

I honestly feel sad for writing this review but I guess I have no other choice but to share my personal experience which I hope they learn from such that everyone can have an awesome experience.

The food was really good and tasty, there was a dish that we didn't like as much but liking is something subjective, the rest was 10/10 without any doubts.

I understand that we also pay for the experience, not only the food but our experience wasn't the same as the others.

We got our table at the same time as another couple and finished 30mins after them, something got messed up with our table and the order of the menu changed, they forgot to bring fish and got the meat first, while it's annoying it's understandable. But when the other two tables arrived 15-20mins after we did finish earlier than us and got their mains before we did get annoyed. We ordered more bread and they forgot, and had to wait quite a bit for a dessert that was different from the others (maybe they serve a slightly different menu within the same day) but while delicious it was a pie so it's prepared before hand and we should have no waiting time and they should have be more conscious after the previous delays.

We told them about this and they brought some 20 year old glass of wine to my wife, nothing for me as I don't drink alcohol.

Additionally we got the wrong check and we told them about the experience the waiters were sorry but instead of doing something else they just said something about the next time, I'm sorry but there won't be a next time, if you weren't able to provide the experience do something meaningful about it, a sorry us not enough in this case.

I really hope the rest of the people have a wonderful experience because it's such a...

This restaurant is an unforgettable experience.

I invited my significant other, including my baby (5 months old) and my parents as a surprise to dine at Razão.

The whole experience was magical and i absolutely adore the surprise menu from the excellent chef.

The food tasted amazing and i have never had such an amazing vegetarian (mushroom) dish, even though i myself am a huge meat lover. My girlfriend said she has never had such good turkey as well. Oh, and the Poncha drink was the best we have had during our entire stay on Madeira.

It was very quiet when we were there, so we were lucky enough to get a full tour of the place, the kitchen, where we met the chef, and the outdoor area along with a showing of all their homegrown vegetables and fruit.

The waiter was amazing and such a kind and funny soul and took some amazing photos of us outside.

Even us bringing a baby was no problem and they were all very delighted. The chef even wanted to carry him and say hello and one of the waiters brought us fruit for him. Very kind and such a good service.

The only minor negative thing i have to say, is that some things i would expect to be included in the price, when dining at such a high end place. For example, we ended up paying around 20 euros for still water. During the dinner it would be nice to know what is, and what isn’t included and at what price.

My girlfriend did not indulge any alcohol and they didn’t have any soda. Just be aware of that. However they made the most amazing and fresh maracuja juice for her with all local ingredients.

Thank you very much for...