BASMATI. BRUNCH WITH SOUL, DINER WITH SPICE — Restaurant in Funchal

Minor problem handled really badly. Great food, nice place, wine “OK”, prices OK. Wine arrived before the starters, half way through eating our starters, the aperitifs arrived. The server tipped the tray by accident and filled the plate of starters with Margarita which also soaked my wife’s dress. Also the glass broke leaving shards in our food. Obviously, the server was very apologetic and we don’t blame them at all. The dish of starters was replaced and so was one Margarita. Not a problem accidents happen. Then we were pretty much ignored for the rest of the evening. No one dared approach our table😂. All well & good. Nice food, slightly amusing. Then the bill arrived . FULL PRICE with not a word of apology. I questioned this in a tactful & friendly manner. It was reviewed, with no offer of price reduction. I said, “come on, my wife is still sitting here in a soaking wet dress, and you think this is OK?”. (Note - before it came to this, I’d have been quite happy to receive the wine for free, and still give a glowing five star review). Bear in mind, we bought aperitifs, starters, main meals, with side dishes and the most expensive red wine on the menu (just mediocre, but fair enough, not expensive). I offered to pay 50% of the bill, and stated “my starting offer”, in other words, happy to negotiate on this, in a friendly kind of banter. The Manager, I assume, came out, apologised, and presented his final offer. He offered a measly 8 Euros off the bill. That’s disgusting. I paid, in cash, but I’m afraid this would have been a five star review if handled better. Sir, I hope your pathetic 8 Euro price reduction costs you far far more in...

We stumbled across the little supermarket which is linked to this restaurant and the lady was so welcoming and invited us to have a look with no pressure to buy anything. Ended up finding some nice Indian spices and treats that I haven't seen on sale anywhere else in Madeira, then we discovered that they also have the Basmati restaurant so we decided to try it out the next evening. The food was absolutely delicious with lots of yummy vegan and vegetarian options, as well as lots of meat and fish options. Everything we ordered was beautifully cooked and seasoned to perfection! The staff are really friendly and welcoming too, we would highly recommend this place if you're in Funchal and looking for something a bit different. Thanks again, Harriet + Aaron from...

If you have ever been to Funchal Old Town you know there's many restaurants competing for customers. We had passed here yesterday and been allowed to browse the menu without hassle after saying we had plans with friends that evening. Having found the menu to our liking we arrived tonight. We eat fairly regularly at our local Indian which we would rate as varying from 4 to 4.5 stars but that rate is biased as it's a byo so cost effective as we swill away when drinking. Here my lamb dish was so tender I think someone with false teeth could have coped with it. Waiting staff very attentive. Final bill quite reasonable...