You would be forgiven if you didn’t think the food at the restaurant at the Nini Design Centre would be good. You would also be wrong.
Eating aside, people would go for the location, views, and the style. It sits atop a rock on a promontory on the far side of the port of Funchal, giving it remarkable views over the harbor and city. And, as everything in the building, the aesthetics inside are the work of famous Portuguese interior designer Nini Andrade Silva. They are stunning—breezy and elegant without being too formal. (Andrade Silva is noted for her unique design of Teatro Hotel in Porto, WC Hotel and Figueira Hotel in Lisbon, and Vine Hotel in Funchal, to name a few.)
So it’s a pleasure to sit down in the dining room, called DC Atelier, on the second floor, and be greeted with an amuse bouche—perhaps a shot of flavorful pumpkin soup—that actually amuses the bouche (mouth). It is the opening salvo in a generally intriguing dinner.
In charge of the menu and kitchen is Chef Eleutério Costa. Although the dishes change with the season, they typically celebrate Madeiran and Portuguese products. There are many luxurious elements, such as paté en croute and horse mackerel caviar, but also super-traditional ones, such as black scabbard fish (minus the usual banana or passion fruit, and with poached egg and sage-and-olive butter instead) and coconut bread, as partner for that paté.
The menu is easy to navigate, a set degustation of seven courses, a DIY tasting menu of four courses that you choose, and an a la carte section. This being Madeira, the seafood and fish, particularly the tuna, are good choices.
The seven- and four-course menus come with beverages (house wines, water, soft drinks, Madeira wine) and two options to make the wines better and even better still. Even one step up, the wines are quite good, including a Dão white from Niepoort and an interesting table red from Madeira.
For more information, visit the Nini Design Centre website.
Restaurante DC Atelier at Nini Design Centre
Rua dos Ferreiros, 125
Funchal
Phone: +351 291 215 500
Email: geral@niniandradesilva.com
Hours: 12:30 to 15:00 and 19:00 to 23:00