Adega Moniz — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Adega Moniz is a small restaurant (more like a café) where you can drink good wine and try the typical Madeira/Portuguese simple everyday food.

This place is definitely worth a visit. Prices are really cheap - a glass of good wine costs 1,25 € (!). Mussels and typical homemade fried potatoes are very tasty.

Although this place is certainly very nice, it is hardly the number 1 on the island. It's a small place near Santa Cruz, but it's only accessible by car. Which is actually pointless, as this place bets on a good choice of wine, but one of you can't drink because of driving.

Pros: affordable prices delicious food not a very large selection of dishes and all typical of Portugal and delicious. nice decoration downstairs, as if you are sitting in a wine cellar. great wine selection friendly staff a local place, not a tourist attraction.

Cons: check their social media page - they may be closed on the day you visit. hard to get to the place on foot place offers a good selection of wines, but one of you has to drive to get to the place. the area outside could be a little more cozier.

Total: 4.5 out of 5. A nice local place to visit to get to know Portuguese wine and...

Didn't get to eat. There was a queue. A waitress told me to put my name in a book, on a list, then she'll call me (apparently they don't take reservations). And so it went name by name they were calling different customers to different tables. As I was waiting I spotted a couple approaching the waiter and being seated right away (no book, no list, no queue), and the table being set for them. So i asked the waiter pointing at the prepared table if they had a booking. He said it's a 'waiting table'. No answer for the questions why just a few moments before somebody had eaten at that table, nor why was it being prepared at the moment. If the sequence of service is arbitrary don't put my name in the book and let me know...

"Adega Moniz" falls short of its high rating, offering a rather underwhelming experience. The atmosphere is more akin to a bar than a proper restaurant, with sticky tables that immediately detract from any sense of comfort. The food is mediocre at best, lacking the quality one might expect given its reputation. Place is crowded and noisy.

Communication was also a challenge, as the staff’s grasp of the universal language of food barely reaches a B1 level, making it difficult to navigate the menu or ask questions. Given the overall experience, it’s surprising that "Adega Moniz" holds a rating of 4.7 stars; in my opinion, it barely...