Hi All,

We're going to Sicily the last week of May for our honeymoon, and wanted to know if anyone has "must eat" recommendations for dinner, lunch, snacks... We're not looking for fancy; ideally would like the most authentic experiences possible.

Our itinerary is as follows:

• Ragusa (2 nights)
  • 1 day trip to Agrigento
  • 1 day exploring Ragusa and Modica
• Ortigia (3 nights)
  • Spend time in Ortigia, Siracusa, and anywhere neighboring
• Taormina (2 nights)
  • Maybe drive to Castiglione or hike up to Castelmola,
• Catania (1 night)
  • Last night before an early flight out of Catania

Thank you for your help!
Madeline

In Catania, I liked this place; it is one of a line of restaurants at the edge of the fish market; the market is not open at night and the street is very pretty, with multi-colored umbrellas strung overhead, along the top of the pavement. The restaurant is casual and you should make reservations. I ate there alone and they were very welcoming to me. I had the eggplant parmigiana and spaghetti with sardines and bread crumbs--both were excellent. I brought a serving of horse meatballs back to the hotel for my partner and he thought they were fantastic.

We also liked ME CUMPARI TURIDDU, where Stanley Tucci ate, and featured in his series about Italian food.


I wrote about the restaurant on this thread, which also contains text and photos of my other meals, in various Sicilian destinations. Here you will also find Taormina which, like Catania, is written about towards the middle to end of the thread:

https://www.hungryonion.org/t/sicily...-2023/34398/26

BTW: Catania is lovely and interesting; do not let any online chatter tell you that it is "sketchy." And anyplace you eat there will be "regional," as will be most restaurants in Sicily, with the possible exception of Taormina, where you should be a little careful not to wind up in a tourist-centric place. In that town, we loved ROSMARINO and ate there twice in about 4 nights. For that, and any other place in Taormina, you need to reserve ahead; have your hotel phone or do its yourself, online, You always get better treatment if you book in advance and that goes for anyplace in italy. And its kind to the restaurant, too.

If you need a hotel in Catania, I can recommend the one we stayed at, which was fantastic.
I will tell you about it if you are interested. Taormina as well.



What hotels have you booked???


Also, I would not take time away from Ragusa/Modica to travel to Agrigento. It's not a short distance, and Agrigento is tiring. And it will likely be very hot. And crowded!!
There is so much to see, and experience in Ragusa, as well as Modica, Noto, and the environs.

Listing a few places we enjoyed in Sicily (PS - we're vegetarian, so that influences our choices) corresponding to your itinerary, you can corroborate with recent reviews :
Ragusa (Ibla) : La Bettola, Thats a Moro, Gelati di Vini for dessert.
Ortigia : Moon (Vegan). Largely self catered in Ortigia (we had an apartment), but discovered some of the best gelato in Sicily here - Voglia Matta, Belfiore and the outstanding Gusto.
Taormina : Malvasia, Antica Rosticceria da Cristina (casual). Al Saraceno was highly recommended to us for its food and views, but sadly we couldn't make it.
FYI re: Castelmola, we took the bus going up, and returned by walking down to Taormina

Enjoy your trip!

Ortigia- I recommend both Locanda del Collegio, and Ristorante Regina Lucia.
Taormina-Nettuno, skip Nero d’Avola as we got food poisoning there.

Hi ekscrunchy

Thank you so much for the recommendations! For the restaurant in Catania, do you have the name? Horse meatballs...hmm...definitely different haha! We just started Stanley Tucci's series and have been drooling the whole time - I'll keep an eye out for that spot!

We ended up booking Airbnbs for the entire trip; for Catania we're right near the castle. That said, I'd definitely take the name of the hotel you loved - always good to have a back-up since sometimes the Airbnb falls through. I'm excited to visit Catania and glad you have good things to report - looking forward to reading your thread thoroughly.

Regarding Agrigento - that's really helpful. I am so torn! I know it would be a really big day trip and likely exhausting, but it feels a shame to miss since we're not tooo far! Plus my husband loves driving through the countryside (we live in the city currently, so driving is associated with vacation at this phase of life ha). I think we'll just have to see how we feel with the jet-lag/energy-wise, but I'll keep what you said in mind. I agree that we definitely have plenty to see between Ragusa, Modica and Noto... Originally I was debating about spending 1 night in Agrigento, but wanted to avoid a 2 hour drive after our long flight and jumping around too much.

Best,
Madeline

Awesome, thank you so much for these recommendations! Immediately saved the gelato spots in Ortigia... sounds like we'll have to have some multiple times a day!

Good to know re Castelmola. We will still have our rental car, but based off everything I've read, it sounds like it would be best to park it and avoid using it while around Taormina. The bus sounds like a good option!

Thank you!!

Thank you!! Saved to the map. UGH sorry to hear about the food poisoning - that is a bummer on vacation!!

I am just wondering what your starting point is: Are you flying into Catania airport? I have read your post but your itinerary says you start in Ragusa. Just fyi, the drive there will take you longer than google maps tells you. I would suggest to add an hour to what google says. I don't think we came at Ragusa from that direction, but we drove all around the area. The roads are two lane and winding. Depending on where you are arriving from, it may be quite a drive if you are jet lagged. That throws off your itinerary too, since your first day will not be doing any sightseeing.

Also, I agree with eks that Agrigento is far out of your way in such a short trip but it certainly is worth a visit! But I don't see how you could possibly manage to get there on this trip.

If you want another day somewhere, it is really very easy to drive from Taormina to Catania airport, and it is not a large airport at all, so not hard to navigate. I believe the drive is about 1 hour. Perhaps you could stay in Catania for one night on your arrival.

The main highways in Sicily are very good, and it is quick to get around that way, but once you get off the highways, the roads are often 2 lane and winding. But the countryside is beautiful, and especially in May, it will be green and smell like orange blossoms.

Hi! Yes, we are flying into Catania (from New York > Milan) - so needless to say, we will not be doing much exploring on day 1! The plan is to arrive, get our car, get to the hotel, and pretty much go straight to bed. The next morning, energy dependent, we were thinking of Agrigento, but per your and eks, it sounds like this might not be the trip for it... Though, we could be up bright and early and ready for adventure, so tbd!

Good to know about the driving - and good idea re spending the first night in Catania. I'm eager to get to Ragusa (partly because I wanted to try to do Agrigento the following day). We will spend one night in Catania at the very end due to our 7AM flight departure. I want to be as close to the airport as possible (even though an hour isn't terribly far, I figure 15 minutes would be more ideal at that time of day).

You paint a wonderful picture of May in Sicily - thank you!!

Ok..the hotel we loved in Catania, and where we plan to stay when we return to Catania in September, is this one, a few steps from the Duomo. It takes up one floor in an old, historic building a few steps from the Duomo. Not only was the room glorious, but the staff were exceptional. They even packed up all of my purchases (olive oils, pasta, assorted condiments) and arranged for them to be shipped back to New York. They have a free bar with snacks and wines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.palazzomarletta.it

The restaurant in the fish market has more "normal" dishes, the horse meatballs are an outlier, But you would not know you were eating horse unless you were told. Their eggplant parmigiana was fantastic...in a round shape and not with fried eggplant slices. Honestly, I loved it..its bustling and crowded but the staff were so lovely to me. Look at the link I posted, above, which takes you to the long food report, with photos, that I wrote about our trip last May..

The second restaurant was this one, that Tucci featured; look tag the restaurant, not their coffee shop:

https://www.mecumparituriddu.it/en/#sec3




https://www.hungryonion.org/t/sicily-dining-in-2023/34398

In Taormina I had wonderful meals at Ristorante Rosmarino, Tischi Toschi & Trattoria Da Nino.

https://www.hungryonion.org/t/catani...ril-2023/35973

In Catania - Mm Street Food.
https://www.facebook.com/mmstreetfood/

It is SO good, and in the vibrant market area. There are a lot of street food places there, but Mm is my favorite.

the best reason to stay overnight in Agrigento is being able to get to the Valley of the Temples right when it opens -- it will feel like you have the place practically to yourselves. it really is amazing. we stayed in a nice, modern if somewhat basic B&B, Dimora dei Templi and walked up the road to dinner at Trattoria dei Templi, which was surprisingly good and very reasonably priced

in Ortigia, we had an incredible meal at Cortile Spirito Santo. expensive, but innovative, delicious cuisine and an interesting wine list. we did not choose the tasting menu, as it's too much food for us, but between the various amuse bouches, palate cleansers, pre-dessert, etc. we were well taken care of. it's in the lobby of a hotel, but don't let that put you off.

another suggestion for Ortigia: Dave Sicilian Taste, in a small square at the end of Via della Giudecca. we had a lovely lunch here, the setting is really nice and the food was fantastic. we started with fried fresh anchovies in a nero d'avola reduction, and then we both had pasta with mullet and yellow tomatoes. everything was perfect, including the bread and olive oil. we were too full to have dessert, sadly.

Here is an outlier idea:

The best meal I had in Sicily was my lunch at LA MADIA, in the town of Licata, which lies between Agrigento and Ragusa.
If by any chance you want to splash out at a restaurant that served us a lunch that I rank up there with the best meals off my life, you could reserve a table at LA MADIA either for lunch (only if you arrive at Agrigento at opening time an devote only a half day there) or dinner, which you could have after you finish with Agrigento and are en route to Ragusa. This restaurant was sublime in many ways, not least for the personal attention lavished on us by the chef-owner, Pino Cuttaia. (The attention was in no way over the top in fact, the chef is rather a shy man). The food is impossible to describe and they make every attempt to cater to anyone with allergies or dislikes for certain foods. (My partner does not like shellfish). It's a smalll place, only about 8 tables, set very far apart. Tasting menu and a la carte. And not at all pretentious, despite the fact that it is always listed among the "best restaurants in Europe" by the usual suspects...

Regarding Agrigento, I would most definitely recommend going to Agrigento and also staying a night so as to be one of the first when it opens, which is what we did the last time we were in Sicily, which was 2018. We stayed in a hotel with a balcony overlooking temples. Driving is my vacation too because I drive less than 5000 miles annually where we live. On that vacation I drove more than 1200 kilometers over 9 days.

Wait..is this the HAPPYTRAVELER I know and love?

Not me!
But I did love the food in Sicily!