Il Gallo D'Oro — Restaurant in Funchal

After making the reservation (for 20:00), I didn’t receive a confirmation or other kind of information so the day before I called to be sure I had my table, and happily all was fine (but I was informed that I need to come at 19:00 because of no more 20:00 availability) and again, nothing else been said or sent to my email. Me and my partner wore both smart casual clothing mostly because we understood where we were going, but he preferred to use shorts because of the hot weather. The moment we arrived at the restaurant (at 19:00 as they asked), we were informed that it’s not allowed to have the experience wearing shorts, so I explained that we didn’t know anything about that because I haven’t received any information about my reservation or any dresscode limitations eather. The hostess gently called the manager or who ever he is (as he didn’t present himself) and using indirect words he said that if we couldn’t get any chance to change the shorts, we can’t go in, or they could try to change our reservation for the next day so we could get trousers until then (because we were staying one hour away from the restaurant so we couldn’t have time to go back ,change, and come to the restaurant again). As an excuse, he said that the information about the dress code is in the site of the restaurant, but we didn’t find any kind of “shorts limitation” information. As a quick plan, we decided to ask them for an hour delay so we could go fast buy some new trousers in a shopping mall, and happily that was ok. We were hungry and angry by the situation rushing to buy the demanded piece of clothing so we could make it back by 20:00. We were seated on a table outside even without being asked if we prefer that or inside table. We already had in mind what we were going to order, but all the time since we sat, we received the menu, the order was made, it took 1 HOUR for us to get the first corse. I was starving. (Don’t want to lie, they asked if we want the bread service in the beginning of the meal, or at the moment the chef suggests, so I accepted the chefs suggestion and regretted) we ordered the biggest tasting menu of theirs most famous dishes with 12 moments and one wine pairing (we were going to share it because I don’t drink too much) and they served the first 2 wines as two wine pairings until I reinforced we only ordered one pairing. It took 20 or more minutes before every course we ate, having in mind that we ate them in two bites very quick. (Probably my own thinking, but the couple next to us were doing the same menu and were eating much slower, so I think the staff took long time for our food so the kitchen could make the preparation of both our tables courses at the same time). To have more bread, I had to ask our waiter to bring some more. The wines were pretty simple and nothing special (if you have some knowledge about Portuguese wines and you drink them often, you wouldn’t be surprised by that pairing, at least for the price you pay for it) There was only one I considered to be somehow special and interesting, other than that, it was all low/medium quality Portuguese wines. (Maybe for an ignorant tourist it works). All the waiters were pretty polite and nice, so that was a plus. I am allergic to chocolate so the main dessert were changed for me (at least that they had in mind) but in the end we received the supposed “marry go round” Pettit fours, having only 2 options (none of them for me). And the tables before us had much more options than us. Having some experience with other Michelin restaurants in Portugal, we noticed some really really similar combinations and presentations as in some restaurants we went. In terms of quality, all of the ingredients were perfectly prepared and served. For a one time experience it was ok, but still took 5 hours for them to serve us a 12 moment tasting menu that we could eat in one hour perfectly (as we already had before). It’s always a game of expectation versus experience, and here, definitely our expectations weren’t overpassed as a restaurant with...

Just exceptional!

Reservation: It went flawlessly through the booking system and we could get a table during our week holiday in Madeira (booked 1 month in advance), which from experience is not easy for Michelin-Starred restaurants, and so we felt lucky. During the reservation process, we asked if it was possible to have one vegan menu and a vegetarian one and the restaurant answered positively to our request.

Atmosphere: The place is carefully decorated, refined, without any fuss; you clearly understand that you are in a special place. Though our table was not directly in front, the glass wall is opening up to a wonderful view of the sea.

Service: Very professional and attending, friendly and caring; everything you can expect from a restaurant of this class.

Wine: My girlfriend had a couple of champagne glasses and she was really happy about it, the Chef Sommelier recommended her very well. Though I could not drink alcohol that night, to my great dismay, I can say that the wine list was looking truly amazing. I am 100% sure they would have married perfectly with the food that was served.

Food: Masterpieces, from beginning to the end. The journey took us through different textures, tastes, dishes, which were sometimes very simple or complex, without giving too much details, to leave the future guests some surprises effects. We were amazed by the carrots dish, such a simple concept "a dish only made with carrots", but still you could see the different textures of it, the tastes, just beautiful! (See picture) The egg dish that my girlfriend had was according to her "special". It took her back to the time when she was having field grown chickens, when the eggs were having a good taste, that unfortunately all industrial one lost nowadays. The breads and butters...just wow, we ordered two services of it, and wanted to have another one, but it would have been too much. The butter with Madeira wine was the highlight for my girlfriend. To me the bolo de caco was the best bread, mixed with some lactose-free butter and beetroot salt. Paradise.

I truly loved the main dish, which was mainly tofu, with some soja sauce mix and a couple of vegetables from the garden, such a simple dish, but beautifully executed.

On the downside, we felt let down by the dessert. We understood the concept behind it "a kind of deconstructed pinacolada", but we felt there was room for elevation. Do not misunderstand me, it was far from bad, but compared to the masterpieces we went through before, we had the impression that it was not on par.

Overall: Hat's off, that's it. Being used to going to Michelin-Starred restaurants, I can fairly say that the 3rd one is not far. We will...

Total Rip-off.

Last Saturday, I went to a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant with a group of 6 friends, all couples, for dinner.

The food was well-prepared, but the menu lacked creativity, and there wasn't a single memorable dish. We quickly noticed the restaurant's dishonesty when we received the first 3 courses, which were initially presented as an up-sell, consisting of 3 pieces of swordfish that added an extra 50€ to the menu.

All members at the table were having wine, except for me, who was drinking sparkling water. It was the first time, in a fine dining restaurant (with or without stars), that I experienced having my glass empty for 10 minutes on two separate occasions. Unfortunately, we had to bring this to the attention of the staff, and it was corrected for the remainder of the meal. Nevertheless, this is entirely unacceptable.

Next, they brought us bread, which resulted in crumbs on the table. The bread course passed, but the crumbs remained. Two more courses were served, and the crumbs persisted. We had to request that the table be cleaned. Again, in a restaurant of this caliber, this is something I had never experienced before. Unfortunately, due to bad luck, nerves, or lack of care, when they cleaned the table, several crumbs ended up in my lap.

It was during this sequence of events that the highlight of the evening occurred. We were presented with a set of knives, chosen by the chef, but without ever using the word "knife" in the Portuguese language (the restaurant is in Portugal, the staff is Portuguese, and we are all Portuguese, with the menu being presented entirely in Portuguese). We asked why only the word for "knife" was said in English, to which they responded that the word for "knife" in Portuguese could be mistaken for a rude word in English. I had never seen a restaurant or person avoid saying a word in their own language out of fear that foreign guests might associate it with a rude word in their language. It is a total disrespect for one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, which is embarrassing for any Portuguese person.

Finally, we finished the meal, and at some point, we were never asked about our satisfaction with the dinner. I note that the dinner cost 340€ per person, and it was the worst gastronomic experience I've had in recent years. This restaurant does not have a service worthy of a Michelin star,...