Ristorante Villa Cipriani — Restaurant in Funchal

Mediocre food at best - service lacking coordination, save your money for other amazing places in Funchal!

Our experience at Villa Cipriani in Funchal was nothing short of disappointing, especially given the high expectations set by the restaurant’s reputation and the numerous follow-ups they initiated before our visit. Despite the extensive communication asking for details about our special occasion—my husband’s birthday—they failed to deliver on every part right until the end.

When we arrived, not only was our table unprepared (although we were a few minutes late already) but our specific request for a table with a view was ignored, forcing us to move after we had already been seated. It was frustrating to see that despite all the efforts to coordinate beforehand, none of our requests were acknowledged upon arrival.

I preordered cocktails upon arrival which were supposed to be a celebratory touch and a surprise, but the staff was not aware of this and asked if we wanted to order cocktails, spoiling the surprise. Once arrived, the negronis were improperly made and had to be sent back, a detail that soured the mood. After that the staff became more aware of our table and gave us more attention but that only resulted in us having almost every member of the staff serving us, which was again not on par with the high status this place claims to have.

Then, when the food arrived, we were further disappointed. The buffalo mozzarella was dry and the tomatoes lacked any taste, we saved the dish by adding more salt, which is sad for a place of this caliber. The bolognese ragù lacked any depth of flavor, and was served at room temperature, pasta visibly already dry. We had to send that back as well. For a restaurant of this caliber, one would expect at least the food to redeem the experience, but even here, the quality fell far short.

Although the staff was apologetic, it didn’t make up for the fact that we were left feeling disappointed on a night that was meant to be special. Adding insult to injury, despite the clear (multiple!) issues with both service and food, no offer of compensation or discount was made. The only redeeming thing was that by the end of the night they finally read my requests and gave us a desert with a birthday candle (at least that was on the house). We left Villa Cipriani feeling quite let down, especially by the food as it was mediocre at best but at a premium price compared to other places in Funchal. Never before have we encountered so many mistakes in one evening, and it’s hard to reconcile this with the Michelin Guide’s endorsement.

Ultimately, what could have been a memorable evening turned into a frustrating series of missteps, and no amount of apologetic gestures could erase the fact that the night simply didn’t live up to...

SKIP THIS! I’m shocked at all the good reviews! Want to start by saying the service was great 5/5. We were given a free special bite of a small green thing with cheese and chorizo among other things that was actually quite good. The food though was borderline inedible. We had a bruschetta to start which was good the bread was soft and the tomato was fresh. We both ordered linguini with prawns in a lobster sauce and the pasta was SO DRY. I do want to say the prawns were good 4/5 but I couldn’t get over how bad the pasta was we tried adding more Parmesan cheese to fix the plate but nothing worked 0/5 for the pasta and sauce. We ordered a tiramisu and it was such a mistake it was BY FAR the worst tiramisu I have ever eaten in my LIFE it had a gelatin like consistency and I cant even describe how bad it was it was chewy like bad on so many levels and the top sprinkle of I don’t know what on the top smelled exactly like dog food . The views you can see are pretty and the restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere. Would never return ever nor recommend based on the food. For these prices compared to what you can get in the area SKIP THIS PLACE the view is not worth it. I am so disappointed that we threw 100$ basically down the drain for a...

We have visited this restaurant on a number of occasions over the past five years but this was definitely the best meal to date. Even before we had our starters we got a tasty chickpea amuse bouche, bread sticks and some delicious black olive baguettes and tomato focaccia bread with tapenade, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We both chose the octopus salad for our starters - the octopus was so moist and beautifully cooked. For mains I had the turbot and my husband the sea bass accompanied by a side of seasonal vegetables- again presented with care, well seasoned and so tasty. The Portuguese wine we chose to accompany the meal, although not the most expensive, was perfect with it. For desserts I had the yuzu mousse and my husband the red berry tartlet. Again both delicious. To finish petit fours were served with our tea and coffee. A perfect meal. The restaurant was busy by the middle of the evening so the only slight criticism I would have was that it took time to attract the attention of waiters to have our water and wine served but the staff were...