Madeira

As a gift for a favor given we received a voucher for dinner at Madeira – a portuguese restaurant on Guilford Cresent (close to Gwdyhw).

It’s a well known Cardiff fixture which turns out to have been there for seventeen years so goodness knows how we’ve never been before. Suffice to say they must be doing something right to have survived and thrived for so long.

First impressions were varying levels of amazement.  From the exterior it seems quite modestly sized but inside the restaurant is enormous. And we had just been bemoaning how quiet Cardiff is when the students are on hols so stepping into Madeira to find it packed and buzzing was a surprise.

If you crave modern or “cutting edge” then this is not the restaurant you’re looking for paduan. The decor is pretty much the definition of homely and traditional, oak features heavily in the decor.
The service (one odd “hilarious” incident aside) was spot on. Lovely smiling staff, very helpful advice from the head waiter Dino both on the wine (we choose a white  Pacheca £20 – very nice if a bit floral by then end of the bottle), and on which meals to order. One day all restaurants will have this level of friendly service.

The food is a mix of trad Portuguese specialities and other traditional steak and fish dishes – all cooked in an open kitchen set at the back of the restaurant.

For starters we choose the mussels in cream sauce and grilled sardines – both were outstanding. The cream sauce was good enough to scarf with a soup spoon and the sardines had that perfect hot-coal grilled flavor

I was tempted to go for the t-bone or rib-eye steak both of which looked amazing but was persuaded to share an order a selection of “espetadas” with the girrrrl and we weren’t disappointed.

The table was shuffled back into position under metal hooks and soon two metal skewers with delicious hunks of meat (mixed – lamb, pork and chicken) and monkfish were hanging between us

The waiter helpfully advised against side-dishes and he was right. These bad boys came with sauteed potatoes, battered cauliflower and peas – no frills but simple, delicious and ample food.
The espetadas had garlic butter (optional) melted down them and we also added a delicious Portuguese suace on the side.
All in all pretty awesome.

We came close to choosing the portuguese custard tart (as it comes from Nata’s bakery and is fab – we’ve had it before 🙂 ) for dessert but instead opted for the in-house cooked strawberry cheesecake which was delicious although a little heavy on the gelatin for my taste. 

For some reason the staff at some point guessed incorrectly that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary so sang us a little song and delivered a couple of free Portuguese liqueurs – hilarious if a little mortifying. It was a nice touch though and we couldn’t find any way to set the record straight so just went with it – the drinks were delicious.

All in all the meal for two came to £70 for three courses including wine and coffee so pretty good value.

If you’re looking for a buzzing atmosphere, and excellent Portuguese food in a traditional, warm friendly service in a homely setting then you can’t go wrong with Madeira.

A very enjoyable evening out