Where to eat in Santana, Madeira
Santana has two tables that justify the drive and a lot that do not. Quinta do Furão, on the cliff edge above the vineyards, is the destination lunch — regional cooking, a terrace over the north coast, and the best view from a dining room on the island. Cantinho da Serra, up in the hills, is the opposite: a stone farmhouse doing slow-cooked stews in clay pots. €25–€35 a head at the Quinta, €18–€25 at Cantinho da Serra.
Last verified by Mike McCabe, on the island. 2 venues checked — hours, closures and prices re-confirmed before publication.
Every place we've eaten in Santana
Restaurants
- Quinta do Furão
Country-house restaurant on the north-coast cliffs above Santana, serving regional dishes — bolo do caco from the wood oven, espetada, fresh local fish — with a panoramic vineyard-and-Atlantic view.
- Cantinho da Serra
Mountain restaurant outside Santana with sweeping valley views, known for its slow-cooked clay-pot stews (cozido em panela de barro) and traditional Madeiran sides. A rewarding stop after a north-coast drive or a Caldeirão Verde hike.
How eating in Santana works
Santana is best known for the triangular thatched A-frame houses, and most visitors stop for twenty minutes, photograph them and drive on. Staying for lunch is the better plan, because both restaurants here are genuinely regional rather than tourist-facing.
It is a 45-minute drive from Funchal over the mountain road or along the VE1, and it is often cloudy when the south coast is clear — a good rainy-day destination in reverse.
- Book Quinta do Furão for Sunday lunch and for any table on the terrace edge.
- Cantinho da Serra runs a wood oven and a set of clay-pot stews — go hungry and cold, it is the right meal for a north-coast day.
- The drive from Funchal is 45 minutes via the VE1 tunnels; the old mountain road through Poiso is prettier and twice as long.
- Combine with the Levada do Caldeirão Verde or the Santana thatched houses to make the trip worth it.
Eating in Santana, answered
- Where should I eat in Santana?
- Quinta do Furão for regional cooking with a cliff-top terrace over the vineyards and the Atlantic, and Cantinho da Serra in the hills above for slow-cooked Madeiran stews in a stone farmhouse. Those two are the reason to plan lunch here rather than eat on the way through.
- Is Quinta do Furão worth it?
- For the setting, yes — it is the best dining-room view on Madeira's north coast, on the cliff edge above the Quinta's own vineyards. The cooking is regional and consistent rather than experimental. Book ahead, and ask for a terrace table.
- How far is Santana from Funchal?
- About 45 minutes by car via the VE1 expressway and the tunnels through the interior, or roughly 90 minutes on the old road over Poiso and Ribeiro Frio. Buses run but are slow and infrequent — this is a car or organised-tour destination.