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Unforgettable

The new Golden Gate

About a week ago Funchal got back the corner of the world. More than a terrace – one more terrace – the Golden Gate is an historic reference, and its return to the city daily life is that small difference the city needed.

The offer is amazing. Starting by the pastry – made here – and an ice cream parlour that is to cry for. With different tastes to the ones we are used to see in the summer offerings, and tasty proposals that make us stop and lean our heads of the glass behind which all these enticing colours are to be found.

More than seeing the Golden Gate from the front, Madeira In & Out went to study its backstage, the place where everything starts. That and, of course, the concept. Or the concepts…

Starting by the production of its own cakes, pastries and ice cream, the new corner of the world is different. The basement houses the pastry kitchen and the ice cream factory, where a Venezuelan chef mixes all the ingredients, secretly, to make profiteroles, pastries…, where the sweet scents pervade, with people going in and out, with trays, pans and the like. It isn’t difficult to understand how one quickly reached the amazing number of seventy coworkers.

We go up. On the ground floor there’s a kitchen that just serves the terrace. Sandwiches, toasts and little else. It is from here that the cakes and scones that accompany juice, tea or coffee come from, and the pompous ice cream, to be eaten in the chairs that spread in the avenue, under the wide sun screens.

We go one level up. The last – and the one offering the best views over the avenue, very close to the trees that keep the upper balcony cool.

But before that, a new look onto the new kitchen of the restaurant, which doesn’t require too much effort as this is an open space and can be seen by all who venture on the upper floor. We first stop at the shellfish counter, at the top of the stairs, and it is from here that we first look onto the posh and comfortable dining room, where one can lunch or dine, mainly Italian cuisine.

The concept of the new Golden is based on the restaurants run by the same owners in Venezuela. Pasta and the Italian offerings are a different proposal, even because this menu finds no parallel in the city centre. There is also Portuguese food in the menu, and this can be had both for lunch and for dinner. Actually, it is also possible just to enjoy a tea or coffee break in the upper balcony, especially if you want to tread on that fantastic pavement that reminds us of old kitchens and patios.

Enjoy the summer of the return of Golden. Go and try out the new venue in town, and enjoy the pieces of history spread on its walls, the balcony, or the corner that came back into our lives. With a touch of class.

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