Eating in Madeira: the Tasca

The “Tasca”…and what in the world is a “tasca”?

You can say a “tasca” to be a round the corner place where you can have quality homemade food and drinks at a very reasonable price in a local simple relaxed atmosphere.

It’s a great way to mingle with the locals since literally everybody goes there to have lunch or to relax and chat after work.

You can find “tascas” all over Funchal, Madeira island. Some are more fancy, others more typical but in the end it is the food that really counts. And this means fresh ingredients, authentic dishes, down-to-earth awesome food.

You can start off with small plates of mixed olives in oregano & olive oil dressing, strips of home cured ham or grilled linguiça (spicy sausage), pastéis de bacalhau and rissóis de camarão (codfish cakes and shrimp rissoles) or sea flavoured grilled limpets.

 Now you’re ready to try some of the hearty stuff and that would be octopus in tomato and onion sauce, dobradinha (white kidney beans with chorizo, smoked bacon and tripe cooked in a light tomato sauce), prego no pão (marinated sirloin steak sandwich but you might prefer your steak on the plate with an egg on top and authentic fried potatoes), febras no pão (grilled pork loin sandwich with a garlic wine pan sauce).

Did we mention the drinks? From beer to the refreshing jar of white or red sangria, always with fresh chunks of fruit and one or another secret ingredient, from the local wine to the typical mixed drinks, particularly poncha (sugar cane rum, honey, and lemon juice) which is said to cure almost everything, the choice is yours.

The best food and drink, the best company, in the best of places… that’s our “tasca”.