Restaurante Central — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Went twice there on our holiday. First was just a random pick. We ordered mussels for starter. They were lovely, but we had to wait for them at least 30min. The main courses came faster (banana/passion fruit sword fish) and it was tasty, but the waiter forgot my partner’s wine..Had to remind her after 10min. We wanted to go there another time bc of the mussels, but that was a mistake.

Second time was lucky for us, bc we were almost the first in the restaurant (no people waiting for their dishes) around at 6.30pm. We ordered for starter the mussels and Madeiran soup. Starters came fairly fast (15-20min). The soup was not a success. It tasted just oily and nothing more. We tried the soup in the other restaurant by the church and it was delicious. Mussels were as good as the last time. Main courses arrived fairly soon, but were disappointing. I took cod with air dried ham and my partner the meat skewer. Both were quite tasteless. Boiled potatoes, salad and fries were ok, but the vegetables were just a mush. Reminded me of school lunches in a bad way.

From the two times we can say, that the service was extremely slow (kitchen and waiting) and some of the dishes you can find from other places at much better quality. If you go there when you feel hungry, be prepared to wait a long time before receiving any food in front of you. It is not a big restaurant, so makes me wonder how the service is so slow. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch customers getting agitated and frustrated for waiting everything in the tables expecially on our...

In one word: phenomenal. Great staff! Who are willing to take their time, kind, knowledgeable and speak a good level of English! The food, oh the food! It's on another level, their mixed grill is one of the best meals I've had, probably ever. The large offers 14 different kinds of meat which are hand grilled on a spit, to be brought out to your table and cut right in front of you. And to finish it all off they offer a slice of grilled pineapple at the end, which after all those meats is really refreshing. Now I could go on and on about the different items on the menu I've tried and which ones are the best (Picanha!! 🤤) but so far everything I've tasted there is great! Also the prices are cheap I guess normal compared to Portuguese standards but compared to the quality, it's an absolute steal! This place is a 100% -MUST- do in Madeira and would recommend it to all. 15/10, would come...

A wonderful experience, especially for a romantic dinner, the atmosphere is very elegant, the service is perfect and there's a variety of local specialities. The grilled dishes are mainly prepared on acacia cinders. They are served with saulted vegetables and salads, perfectly matched with the dish you've chosen. The "rodizio brasileiro" is a rich tasting experience if you would like to try many different kinds of local meat. At the end, the maracuya dessert or a glass of Madeira wine will be the perfect conclusion of the dinner. Excellent the quality of every...