"French chef Benoît Sinthon has held Madeira's only two Michelin stars here since 2017 — book the Atlantic tasting and a sunset table."
Il Gallo d'Oro is the gourmet restaurant of The Cliff Bay, the PortoBay hotel on Estrada Monumental, and the only address on Madeira to hold two Michelin stars — the first awarded in 2009, the second in 2017 — along with a Michelin Green Star for sustainability since 2022. French chef Benoît Sinthon has run the kitchen since 2004. A full tasting menu lands around €210 a head before wine, served on a terrace above the Atlantic.
Sinthon builds tasting menus around the island and the sea — themed journeys such as From Our Seas and Homage to the Atlantic — reworking old Madeiran recipes with modern technique and produce from the PortoBay garden. The local black scabbard fish (espada) is a recurring signature, and meals open with bolo do caco bread and a garlic butter moulded to look like a head of garlic.
The room is formal but unstuffy, and the draw is the setting: a cliff terrace looking south over Funchal bay, best at sunset. Service is detailed and the wine list reaches deep into Portuguese and Madeira bottles, with a sommelier on hand to match the tasting.
For an anniversary, a proposal or a milestone on Madeira, Il Gallo d'Oro is the island's grand table: a two-star Atlantic tasting menu on a cliff terrace, paced for a long, celebratory evening as the sun drops over Funchal bay.
Not for a quick or casual meal, or for diners who want à la carte freedom — this is a formal, multi-hour tasting-menu room at four-figure-evening prices, geared to special occasions.
Il Gallo d'Oro holds two Michelin stars — the first awarded in 2009 and the second in 2017 — making it the only two-star restaurant on Madeira. It also carries a Michelin Green Star for sustainability.
French chef Benoît Sinthon has led the kitchen since 2004, building Atlantic-focused tasting menus that rework Madeiran recipes with modern technique and produce from the PortoBay garden.
Madeira's black scabbard fish (espada) is a recurring signature, and meals open with bolo do caco bread served with a garlic butter moulded into the shape of a garlic bulb.
Tasting menus run roughly €160–210 per person before wine, placing a full dinner firmly in the top price range. Reservations are essential and the restaurant serves dinner only.
Il Gallo d'Oro is the gourmet restaurant of The Cliff Bay hotel at Estrada Monumental 147 in Funchal, with a cliff terrace looking out over the bay and the Atlantic.
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