Sicily Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Sicily - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Sicily - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
This casual osteria is frequented by local winemakers who come for pizza dinners and rustic daily lunch specials, but most visitors are smitten with the small but amazing cellar focused on Etna natural wines. Everything's fresh, simple, and delicious—and made to pair with one of the delightful wines suggested by owner and wine enthusiast Sandro. He'll take you back to his cellar for a look, gently guiding you toward a unique bottle you'll never find back home.
One of Palermo's best modern pizzerias serves delicious Neapolitan pies from a big oven in the open kitchen—the genius is in the crust, which is seared in a matter of seconds. The owners make their money on a quick turnover (so don't expect a long, leisurely meal), but the pizza is delicious and the place often serves until midnight—later than almost any other restaurant in the neighborhood.
Starting in 1968, the mini-empire of owner Alfredo Olivieri was built one granita and one pane cunzato at a time, and no summer on Salina is complete without a stop at his little shop off the Marina Garibaldi piazza in Lingua. You'll find all the classic granita flavors (almond, coffee, lemon, pistachio), but it's the seasonal fruits that shine here: mulberry, fig, wild blackberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe. For something more savory, the overladen open sandwiches known as pane cunzato (one recent August they served 1,500 in a single day) pile on the signature flavors of the region. Look for the "Eoliana" full of capers, olives, anchovies, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Olivieri also has a full-service trattoria and a bakery, both steps from the original panineria.
Lawyer-turned-baker Valeria Messina has singlehandedly revived the use of heirloom grains in Catania. At her welcoming little corner bakery, she uses tumminia, perciasacchi, maiorca, and timilia flours to create crusty sourdough loaves, focaccia, buttery biscotti, and traditional pizza marinara. Don't miss her schiacciata (a sort of filled pizza) stuffed with the ingredients of the season, from broccoli or chicory to roasted peppers with mint or anchovies and capers.
You'll smell this panificio and focacceria before you arrive, as the scent of baking bread wafts down the street. The 45-year-old Francesco Arena works with ancient grains (like tumminia, perciasacchi, and rusello) and a hearty mother yeast to produce tender focaccia topped with everything from sun-sweetened tomatoes to escarole, crusty loaves, ham-and-cheese filled pidone, and the flakiest croissants. Arena has bread baking in his bones; his nonna opened the first family bakery in 1939, and his father followed suit with his own in 1970.
Pizza is something Sicilians eat at least weekly, and Frumento has been the area standard-bearer of excellence since it opened in 2015. Choose from five different dough options (from a classic Neapolitan-style to rye to ancient Sicilian grains) as your base, and then pick one of the 65 different topping combos. Ingredients range from the classics (tomato, buffalo mozzarella, salami) to things like capers from Salina, bottarga, 'nduja, and wild fennel pesto. The young owner is especially passionate about natural wine, and the list reflects that. They also have a second location in Catania (Via Raffineria; 095/8037564).
Agrigento's finest ice-cream parlor creates memorable versions of key Sicilian favorites such as pistachio, almond, and cassata, along with a superb "pecorino" made with fresh sheep's milk ricotta. The pastries are excellent, too.
This eatery has minimalist decor and young owners who are committed to local produce—right down to listing all producers on their website—without being scared to experiment. The wine list is really interesting, focusing mainly on small Sicilian bottles, and there is also a good selection of artisan beer.
Even on rainy days (which admittedly there aren't many of), the sun seems to shine bright here. They serve arguably the best granita in the Catania area; the pistachio is so creamy you'll swear they added dairy. The blood orange highlights the robust flavor of the local citrus while the lemon is refreshingly bright, sweet, and tart and the chocolate is dark and rich. Area residents pop in to have granita with warm brioche for breakfast, lunch, or as an afternoon snack (yes, granita counts as lunch).
What Americans know as Sicilian pizza quite frankly doesn't exist in Sicily, but at this historic café and pizzeria that's been around since the 1800s, you'll find the real pizza siciliana. Though you can find the dish throughout the area, especially in Viagrande and Zaefferana, Urna is said to be its inventor: they stuff tender calzone pastry with Tuma cheese, anchovies, and black peppercorns, and then deep fry the half-moon delicacy. The result is a gooey, savory, flaky delight. Eat it in the outside garden or get it to go.
Top-quality local ingredients are used in this modern, brightly lit pizzeria, where a vast range of pizzas are served, including seasonal, gourmet, and gluten-free varieties. The eclectic menu also takes in delicious antipasti, meat and seafood burgers, pastas, and seafood dishes. Order from a range of bottled or draught artisan beers (including American pale ales) to accompany your meal. Service is rapid and the patient staff answers all queries.
Open since 1987, La Nicchia is a Pantelleria institution, occupying an old dammuso and serving typical island dishes made with carefully sourced island ingredients: typically potatoes, cherry tomatoes, capers, almonds, and fresh herbs married with seasonal vegetables, fresh fish, and other seafood. In summer there are tables under the lemon trees in a traditional walled Pantescan garden. They also do good pizza, while their offshoot next-door, Dispensa Pantesca, serves a selection of informal light dishes to take away or enjoy with a glass of wine on the roof of the dammuso for amazing sunset views.
Arancine—fried rice balls—are ubiquitous all over Sicily, but rarely do you find them prepared while you wait or offered in such a range as in this little snack shop near Porta Trapani. The menu lists more than 35 varieties, which include swordfish, smoked salmon, and curry fillings, as well as vegetarian and vegan options. They make ideal stomach-fillers at any time, not least as snack lunches on the go.
Only the finest agricultural produce of the nearby Madonie mountains goes into the simple but fabulous dishes served in this informal eatery attached to the Palazzo Butera art gallery. The frequently changing menu---dependent on the season and what's available from their suppliers---might include chicken breasts in orange sauce and almonds; vegetarian meatballs with ricotta cheese; or sausages braised in red wine with kale. Cheeses, cold cuts, and salads are also on offer, or you might settle for a "gourmet sandwich" stuffed with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, anchovies, and mortadella. Many of these items are for sale in the small delicatessen inside, too, where there are a few tables in addition to the ones on the pavement.
This wholesaler specializes in oysters, mollusks, and crustaceans, and offers a tasting room that has become an obligatory stop for seafood aficionados in town. There are 24 kinds of oysters, all manner of clams (including Galician percebes), local red prawns in several sizes, and a tank of lobsters and crabs as well as fresh seasonal tuna. Choose between having your fish raw, steamed, grilled, or a la gratin, and dine in the simple blue and white conservatory while enjoying a glass or two of local white wine. They also make a fine fish couscous (one portion is ample for two people).
There's a regular trickle of locals to this gelateria conveniently located opposite the hydrofoil port. Most opt for the local favorite: ice cream in a brioche with a couple of wafer biscuits poking out. But it's not just the creamy and tangy ice creams that pull in the crowds, there are also delicious granitas, cakes, and desserts on offer, like the semifreddo cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries or blueberries. There's limited seating outside, and it stays open late.
Located in the Ognina port, the little Nitto empire has exploded: what began as a mobile market in the 1960s (from the back of a Piaggio Ape) is now a standing fresh fish market and series of restaurants. Locals line up outside the little market to get their daily catch, while next door the fast-casual restaurant serves some of the best-prepared seafood in the area, including squid ink pastas, skewers of grilled fish, and raw seafood platters.
This welcoming osteria near the train station makes a perfect lunch stop. With friendly staff and an appealing modern interior—red-tiled floor, chic basket lampshades, and rows of hanging wine bottles—it serves up inexpensive but expertly prepared dishes of local specialties such as risotto with prawns and artichoke cream, and baccalà su macco de fave (salted cod on a bean and fennel stew). The house wine is delicious, and the desserts are also worth sampling.
Set on a big square in Piazza Armerina that hosts the town’s weekly market, this is one of the very few pasticcerias that continue to make their own cornetti—light, delicious, and filled to order with custard cream, ricotta, jam, or chocolate. Other delights include iris (a deep-fried doughnut ball filled with chocolate) and krapfen (a doughnut ring filled with custard cream). There is a small covered terrace outside.
In the picture-perfect medieval town of Randazzo, high on the northern side of Etna, this generations-old bakery sits at the foot of the basilica in Piazza Santa Maria. Now run by Giovanna, the daughter of Santo, the pasticceria is especially known for its exceptional gelato and granita, which are made with all natural products, with no artificial bases, colors, or flavorings. Look for an upgrade to the tastes you already know and love, such as rich and creamy pistachio gelato studded with orange zest and candied pistachios. Or try a seasonal granita with flavors informed by the wares of local farmers, such as wild mulberry, yellow raspberry, apricot, or prickly pear.
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