Olivia

We found this place by chance and made a reservation on the Fork app. The staff were friendly and attentive and good at giving recommendations. We had the lunch specials of creamy cheese, mushroom pasta and pork escalope with spaghetti and a passion fruit cheese dessert. Wow, it was so delicious! There was a good buzz about the place and all the food they were bringing out looked amazing. You can walk off the street and get a table but I'd suggest booking ahead of time to avoid disappointment. If you're in Funchal, you NEED to eat here!

A must try if you’re in Madeira!!! All the seafood was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. Perhaps the best mash I’ve had, it was buttery and smooth. Lastly the mushroom risotto, if you like risotto you have to try this, it has so many layers of flavour to it and was so umami, spectacular!

The food and atmosphere were really good! We had the curry shrimp as a starter, octopus and beef tenderloin for main. The shrimp sauce was tasty, the octopus was very tender and the mashed potatoes very flavourful. The tenderloin was also perfectly cooked, soft. The service was also good, we asked them to move our table because the AC was blowing air on us, and they moved us immediately, which we appreciated. Overall, it was a great experience for our last night in Madeira!

Category: Fine Food. Although all of this part of Funchal is a tourist area, I put this restaurant in my Fine Food category instead of my Tourist Area category. The reason is that it is very different from most of the restaurants we have seen or experienced in Funchal. First, it has a fundamentally different clean, modern, industrial, concrete and steel ambiance. The ceiling is completely open and exposed, revealing everything that most restaurants want to keep hidden. The kitchen is also open. We could sometimes hear the chef talking to the kitchen staff from our table. Although there were tables outside for al fresco dining, we chose to dine inside because we love this kind of restaurant, and this one in particular. We discovered it while walking by a few days earlier, on our way to another restaurant, and decided to eat at Olivia on our last night in Madeira. Turned out it was a great choice. We especially liked the fact that it was very busy AFTER 8pm, which is our normal dinner time. Most restaurants here are clearing out by that time. The menu also seemed different and more creative than most. We shared and enjoyed the duck breast with chorizo risotto (I REALLY liked the risotto, and it was in keeping with my philosophy that risotto is best as a base for other food (in this case duck) or as an accompaniment, and that it is too rich to be a main course). We also loved the tiger prawn fried in ginger and pepper olive oil, with mashed potatoes and spinach. The mashed potatoes were delicious mixed with the olive oil, which was flavored by the ginger, pepper, and prawn. I even dipped some of the duck breast in it. The restaurant seemed to have a group server approach; every server seemed to serve every table. They all did a great job. Reservations recommended. YouTube’s Chef’s Apprentice

What a fantastic restaurant! The staff were very friendly, polite, attentive and helpful. The food was incredible - I had a generous sized portion of octopus with mashed potatoes and chard. It was a nice atmosphere, artsy and new decor. It felt special, without being pretentious. Perfect. Definitely recommend!

The entire experience was sublime! The starters of prawn stew and oxtail Croquettes were a taste sensation! The mains of lamb shank, prawn mash and the winner of octopus was on a level I have never ever tasted before. If you love octopus, please order this! It absolutely blew my taste buds. Was just incredible, paired with a bottle of sauvignon blanc was perfection. The portion sizing for the mains is very substantial, we couldn’t actually fit in a dessert after was so full. Apologises the photos really don’t do it justice. The staff were very friendly and extremely attentive. Full marks to the whole experience. Highly recommended if you ever visit Funchal. We were very lucky to get a table as it became very busy as soon as we ordered our starters. Book in advance is recommended

Fantastic service and amazing food. Had no trouble accommodating a group of 9 people serving everything in a timely manner even during busy hour. Going back here once more to conclude our holiday on a high note.