Restaurants in Sicily
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Trattoria-Pizzeria ‘da Salvatore’
Charismatic Salvatore (who speaks German, French and some English) has run this popular, Slow Food–recommended trattoria in ‘upper’ Petralia for 25 years. The wide-ranging antipasti selection (€9) includes grilled seasonal vegetables and a delicious fresh ricotta frittata (omelette). Everything is prepared in the wood-burning oven, including pizzas (from €4), which are an evening-only treat.
reviewed
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A
Cucina e Vino
One of Ragusa's foremost restaurants, this Slow Food electee is a friendly place with pleasant terrace seating that overlooks the street. The menu is unusual, with things like rigatoni in a lamb sauce or ricotta ravioli in pork juices. The mains are in a similar vein, with stews of pork belly and tomato or lamb and artichokes. Great for a rich dinner, enjoyed with some potent red wine.
reviewed
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Tiramisù
This stylish but unpretentious place hidden away just outside Porta Messina makes fabulous meals, from linguine cozze, menta e zucchine (pasta with mussels, mint and courgettes) to old favourites like scaloppine al limone e panna (veal escalope in lemon cream sauce). When dessert rolls around, don’t miss their trademark tiramisu, a perfect ending to any meal here.
reviewed
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B
L'Acanto
The decoration is gorgeous, the food delicious and the staff friendly at this elegant restaurant that sits at the end of a small street in new Palermo. The menu is traditional with a modern twist, sprinkled with some excellent fresh seafood and grilled fish, and there's a decent wine list for boozy dinners. You eat by candlelight under canvas canopies in the leafy back garden.
reviewed
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Grammatico Maria
This café is run by Maria Grammatico, Sicily's most famous pastry chef. She was even the subject of Mary Taylor Simeti's book Bitter Almonds, a series of recipes and recollections from her childhood, when she learnt her considerable skills from the nuns of Erice. Try the exquisite cannoli in the leafy back garden - they are some of the best you'll taste.
reviewed
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La Tartana
It's hard to tell how to recommend La Tartana: as a bar, semi-disco or restaurant. It's all of those, plus it has great sea views from its terrace. During the day it has a good buffet lunch of fish and vegetables. The evening affair is a different ballgame, with an upmarket menu and crowd. Aperitivi, cocktails and a bit of dancing happen after dusk on the bar terrace.
reviewed
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La Forgia Maurizio
The owner of this devilishly good restaurant spent 20 winters in Goa, India; eastern influences sneak into a menu of Sicilian specialities, all prepared and presented with flair. Don’t miss the liquore di kumquat e cardamom, Maurizio’s home-made answer to limoncello. The tasting menu is an excellent deal at €25 including wine and dessert.
reviewed
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Cantine Stevenson
Like some ill-advised transplant of Scottish décor onto a Sicilian island, Cantine Stevenson is, visually, sorely out of place. But take a tipple in James Stevenson's wine cellars and you'll be thanking the Scotsman who bought most of Vulcano in the 19th century with a view to exploiting its natural resources. He also planted the first vineyards.
reviewed
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Le Macine
This Slow Food-awarded restaurant is located outside Lipari just as you enter Pianoconte. Creative Aeolian cooking includes fish in ghiotta sauce: a blend of olive oil, capers, tomatoes, garlic and basil. Lobster-filled ravioli or the fresh grilled swordfish are great too. The presentation is nicely low-key, but the portions could be bigger.
reviewed
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Cucinotta Rita
Salina's best restaurant is this small place at the end of Via Risorgimento. Sit at one of the elegantly set tables alfresco, while the attentive waiters serve fantastic food such as stuffed squid, grilled swordfish sprinkled with parsley, and hearty chocolate cake desserts. You can also pop in here for breakfast - the croissants are freshly baked.
reviewed
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ZenZero
Set on the roof terrace of an old palazzo that overlooks a peaceful square off the main road, ZenZero is the young people's eating place of choice in Catania. It's a welcome change from the world of pasta, serving international dishes like tempura or Argentine steak. It's also a good place for an aperitivo, and the flower-laden terrace is divine.
reviewed
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C
Ai Lumi Trattoria
Right on the main street, where the passeggiata (stroll) unfolds before your dining table, Ai Lumi is a great opportunity to eat well in elegant surroundings, without having to pay a lot for the experience. The fish soup is a favourite here, and the fish and meat menus offer local delicacies. Enjoy some wine too and watch Ragusa stroll.
reviewed
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D
Solaria Vini & Liquori
The perfect place if you want to buy wine and taste it before you commit, or if you just want to have a bit of a snack and a good glass of wine. It's a small, rustic winery on the main street, with snacks of cheese, olives, prosciutto, anchovies, sardines and other Mediterranean delicacies, and the choice of wine is excellent and wide-ranging.
reviewed
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E
Casa del Brodo
This old-fashioned place is another Palermo classic, with bow-tied wait staff and elegant red and gold tablecloths. Founded in 1890, the restaurant is named after its heart-warming pots of brodo (broth), such as macco di fave e finocchietto (broad bean soup with fennel). There’s also a soul-satisfying antipasti spread (€9).
reviewed
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I Baccanti
This little-sister restaurant to Taverna Nicastro offers the chance to try all the delicious food served in the big restaurant, but at deflated prices. The fresh pasta is excellent, and you can get meaty dishes like rabbit here, as well as fish and seafood. Try some wine too, and if you can't choose for yourself, ask the friendly sommelier.
reviewed
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F
Massaro
Here's a true Palermo institution - it's a bit out of the way, but it's as traditional and loved by its regulars as it gets. It's excellent for breakfasts or snacks, but it's best for the vast variety of cakes, which range from pistachio balls to pine nut-encrusted rolls to creamy cannoli (pastry shells stuffed with sweet ricotta).
reviewed
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G
Orfeo
Another Ragusa Slow Food-championed restaurant, this time in the upper part of town. Orfeo goes for the simple Sicilian cuisine that sports seafood and fish, but also likes to offer lamb, veal and pork, and it serves some fabulous sausages with Nero D'Avola wine sauce. The climb up or down to the restaurant will certainly aid digestion.
reviewed
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Fattoria delle Torri
Worth going to only if you're wanting to splash out, this very upmarket restaurant offers food that is exquisite, but small of portion and high on eye-pleasing presentation. The seafood is gorgeous, wonderful when combined with a crisp, dry white wine such as Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and heart-warming broad-bean-and-ricotta ravioli.
reviewed
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Il Déhors
The restaurant of the Foresteria Baglio della Luna takes its lead from the monsù cooking of the 1800s when French influences began to reach the Sicilian dinner table. The menu includes sole, lobster and meats such as pheasant, lamb and kid. There are delicious pâtés and plenty of buttery sauces. Excellent.
reviewed
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Colicchia
The granita (flavoured crushed ice) here is the best in Trapani. Many flavours are available, including old favourites such as mandorla (almond), coffee and limone (lemon), but you should also try the seasonal delicacies, such as gelsi (mulberry), which is only eaten in from July to September.
reviewed
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Da Alfredo
The most atmospheric place on Salina for an affordable snack, Alfredo’s place has been renowned for decades for its granite (ices made with coffee, fresh fruit or locally grown pistachios and almonds) and pane cunzato (open-faced sandwiches piled high with tuna, ricotta, eggplant, tomatoes, capers and olives).
reviewed
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I
Kasbah
Choose the environment that suits you best: the sleek contemporary white banquettes in the interior dining room or the vine-covered, candlelit garden out back. The food is superb, including delicious pizzas and delicacies such as agnello stracotto in umido alla siciliana (stewed lamb with almonds and dates).
reviewed
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J
Taberna Sveva
This charming tavern has a cosy terrace on a peaceful cobblestoned square, down near the castle at Ortygia’s southern tip. Food is top-notch, all the way from primi -like gnocchi al pistacchio (with olive oil, parmesan, pepper, garlic and grated pistachios) to a delicious tiramisu to wrap things up
reviewed
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K
La Fontana
Right opposite the fountain on the little piazza, this little restaurant is run by an eccentric older couple who've decorated the place in a mixture of kitsch and art nouveau. Mostly frequented by tourists, it's friendly and the food is straightforward Sicilian fare. It has outdoor seating on the piazza in summer.
reviewed
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L
La Gazza Ladra
A favourite for students and young professionals, this place is as informal as they get, while still making such excellent food that it features in the Slow Food guide. Try the pasta alla siracusana (with anchovies, breadcrumbs and almonds), a local speciality, and tuck into the fresh fish of the day.
reviewed