BeerHouse — Restaurant in Funchal

Came here with some family members during New Year's Eve to watch the fireworks, I have been Vegan for several years, so I made sure we called in advance to know wether they'd be options available for me or not, they assured us they'd make vegan friendly options for me. Right from the get-go the word "vegetarian" ("who has the vegetarian dish") was used, which I promptly corrected that it wasn't vegetarian, it was vegan. I had some vol-au-vents and some panna cotta which were meat free but I'm pretty sure had dairy, as I felt sick after consuming them (and continued to feel sick up until the next day). Also as they were serving the panna cotta, I asked once again if it was vegan as it looked pretty much the same to the rest of my family members food (they consume animals and their byproducts), to which the server replied "there's nothing in it, it's all the same" and hurried off, which is a pretty weird thing to say since panna cotta is typically made with cream, which is dairy (I seriously doubt they used a vegan substitute, given what the vegan main dishes looked like, they looked different from the rest and were pretty subpar presentation and taste wise (aside from the pea soup (cream free), which I admit was pretty good)). I understand you were pretty busy, but this is unacceptable. If you didn't fully understand what vegan was or didn't know how to accommodate me, I would rather you be honest. Vegan and vegetarian is NOT the same. Vegans do NOT consume ANY animal products at all (that means no meat/fish/"seafood" (no animals), no dairy, no eggs, no honey, or any other animal byproducts), vegetarians simply refrain from eating meat/fish/"seafood" (no animals) and that's it, they DO consume animal byproducts. At least I had a nice view of the fireworks, despite feeling...

The food and poncha is good but they ignore you completely if you’re dining alone. It’s almost comical to watch because the waiters kept going around looking at every other table and it seemed deliberately not looking at mine or making eye contact with me. I went twice since they are conveniently located to my hotel, on the water, and have TVs where you can watch a futbol game, and both times I got the waiter who looks like he’s always thinking about lifting weights. 😂 Granted, not the brightest bulb, but every time he walked by he would examine the other tables around me closely and ask if the patrons needed something or clean dishes if they had left, but each time he would look way over my head despite there being nothing behind me since I was sitting on the edge of the water. The other waiters didn’t notice me either. I could only get their attention by calling out to them, waving at them, or walking up directly to their station, even though there was more than one very close by the whole time. This is not the only place in Funchal that I’ve noticed I’m ignored when I eat alone so I’m not sure if it’s a cultural thing because I’m by myself or because I’m female, but it’s very frustrating to watch the waiter prioritize cleaning tables over serving me and for them to attend to other tables again and again while I wait with an empty glass just wanting to...

We live in Madeira and decided to give this restaurant a try because of its beautiful location right in the center of Funchal. Even though we knew it wasn’t popular for its food, we thought we’d give it a chance. Big mistake.

We ordered a simple breakfast/brunch: bolo de caco, an omelet, a small salad, and fries — all shared between two people. The food was bland, dry, and the bolo de caco was soggy. Definitely not worth it.

What really shocked us was the bill. Instead of bringing a printed receipt, the waitress just looked at her phone and told us "48 euros"! When we asked for details, she read them off the phone without showing us any paper. The omelet alone (one very dry omelet) was 23 euros — and keep in mind, all the food was shared, so the price was per item, not per person. Absolutely ridiculous.

As locals, we know normal prices, and this was a clear tourist trap. It feels like the owner is counting on tourists thinking it’s normal to overpay just because they’re on holiday. Nice setting, but sadly, that’s the only good thing about this place AVOID...