Places to eat
Taberna da Poncha
Hand-shaken poncha over a peanut-shell floor at the island's best-known tavern
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The place
Family-run for decades on the old mountain road through Serra de Água, this is the reference point for poncha: aguardente, sugar, and citrus shaken by hand in a wooden espadilha right in front of you. Peanut shells crunch underfoot and the walls are papered with visitors' business cards going back years. It's less a stop than a rite of passage on the drive between Ribeira Brava and the west coast.
When to come
Mid-morning or mid-afternoon road-trip stop, before tour buses arrive at midday
Worth knowing
- On the ER104 mountain road through Serra de Água, Ribeira Brava
- Standing-room only at peak times; no real food menu, just poncha and snacks
- Try maracujá (passion fruit) or tangerine poncha, not only the classic
- Cash is easiest