Madeira Restaurant

At this intimate neighbourhood restaurant, proprietors Luis and Maria de Sousa are bringing their Atlantic cuisine – including Luis’ delicious espetadas – from the Portuguese island of Madeira to Melbourne’s Brighton. Moments from the North Brighton tram stop along Bay Street, Madeira Restaurant offers guests a warm welcome. Dining here is a down-home experience, with a menu characterised by Portuguese-Madeiran delicacies drawn from land and sea, alongside select wines from the Portuguese mainland.

Undoubtedly the most memorable set of dishes on Madeira Restaurant’s considered menu, owner and chef Luis’ espetadas are as visually striking as they are delicious. These skewers of fish, meat, and vegetables are hung on a hook presented to you at your table, served with a traditional trinchado sauce. Choose from eye fillet steak, lamb backstrap or even Kangaroo for a landlubber’s skewer, or go for the seafood varieties that are the preference on the Atlantic-bound island of Madeira. The combo of Atlantic salmon and rockling is a winner, served with a simple garlic and butter sauce, plus your choice of rice, mash, or chips. These examples of specialist Portuguese cuisine alone have the power to draw a crowd of Melbourne’s curious foodies to Madeira Restaurant’s premises down Brighton’s Bay Street.

Begin your meal at Madeira Restaurant with an entree of bolo de caco, a homemade Madeiran garlic bread that’s perfect for mopping up the juice from other of this Melbourne Portuguese restaurant’s recommended starters; the pasteis de bacalhau, for instance, croquettes of cod and herbed potatoes with a seafood sauce, or the pan-fried prawns in the de Sousa’s homemade peri peri sauce, a condiment that makes its way into a number of Madeira’s dishes. Our pick of the main courses yet again preserves the Atlantic heritage of Madeiran cuisine; bacalhau com natas is a Portuguese delicacy of cod baked with potatoes in a Bechamel sauce. Don’t forget to sample a Portuguese wine while you’re here – the Mateus is a fresh young rose while the Casal Garcia is a slightly carbonated Vinho Verde white wine with fruity, delicate notes that goes well with the seafood that dominates this Melbourne gem of a restaurant’s menu. A unique proposition in Brighton, and with limited dinner sittings from 5pm, Monday to Saturday, Madeira is sought after by Melbournites with a penchant for niche cuisine, so be sure to book a table in advance.