Restaurante Leone — Restaurant in Machico

I had a very good experience . Had a beef with really good sauce and potatoes. I see some people complaining about bad service and that they don’t speak English - second point regarding language is true. But was good service . The beef came medium done/ medium rare (which I had) and I liked it very much. If you want well done or any other, you need to ask for it.

But great food - good value ! Simple and delicious . The sauce was fantastic!! 🙌🙌

Below is a list on how you ask in Portuguese :

🥩 Levels of meat doneness in Portuguese • Mal passado — rare (lightly cooked, red inside) • Ao ponto para mal — medium rare (between rare and medium) • Ao ponto — medium (cooked but still juicy) • Ao ponto para bem — medium well (almost well done, slightly pink inside) • Bem passado — well done (fully cooked, no pink) • Muito bem passado / totalmente passado — very well done (completely cooked through, often a bit dry)

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🍖 Other useful general terms • Sem sangue — without blood (colloquial way to say well done) • Ao ponto certo — cooked just right / perfectly...

We were here 3 times, do not recommend.

Food - ok 3/5 Staff - bad 1/5 Atmosphere - subpar 2/5

The first time, we had to wait a while because there was a party happening, but it was overall good. Nice waiter, good and quite cheap food.

The second time, there was other waitress, which took her time even though there was almost nobody.. at the end we got our food, which wasn’t as good as first time, but for the price acceptable.

Third time we came, we had to sit inside because terrace was occupied by 3 regulars. Rest of the restaurant was empty. We waited around 10 minutes, left without any interaction.. Waitress saw us coming and we made eye contact twice while seated, but I guess there was something more important.

It’s shame, because the food itself is not bad, but it is not worth it. The other thing to watch out for is cigarette smell. The doors are open constantly, if someone is smoking outside, you’ll smell...

Our first visit to a restaurant in Madeira was truly an experience. We wanted to wait until the end of our vacation to write this review so we could compare it with other places on the island. After traveling around the entire island, we didn’t find a better restaurant. We’re glad we came here. The Madeiran specialty of garlic bread, followed by a beef skewer, was absolutely delicious – we haven’t had better anywhere else. The service was incredibly friendly. The only thing to be cautious of is the portion sizes, which are huge, definitely larger than in most other countries. I felt bad leaving food behind, but it was impossible to finish it all. If we ever return to Madeira, we will definitely visit this...