Restaurants in Western Sicily
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Trattoria Favarotta
Trattoria Favarotta has an excellent reputation for tasty, local fare including spaghetti con pesto pantesco (spaghetti with a tomato, garlic, pepper and basil sauce), and roast hare.
reviewed
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A
Divino…Rosso
With outdoor tables on Marsala’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, this excellent restaurant and wine bar serves pizzas, over 150 different wines and an extensive menu of local dishes.
reviewed
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B
Cantina Siciliana
This little trattoria (informal restaurant) is a gastronomic paradise. You'll have to seek it out in the old Jewish ghetto, where scaffolding prevents the alley from collapsing in on itself, but you'll be discovering one of the finest places to eat in the whole of Sicily. It's no wonder it sports the Slow Food Movement badge of approval.
Just taste the sardine in breadcrumbs for starters, a plate of mind-blowing pasta alla Trapanese and the fish platter, followed by a warm cassatella (cream horn stuffed with sweet ricotta) or Italy's most famous muscat, the passito di Pantelleria. The restaurant runs the superb enoteca (wine bar or shop) next door.
reviewed
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C
Al Solito Posto
Tucked off at the end of Via Orlandini, this tiny trattoria is another deserved wearer of the Slow Food Movement badge. It's all about fish and seafood here, with an emphasis on the freshest picks of the morning catch. Start with the fish carpaccio (thinly sliced fish) and proceed to the delicious spaghetti con i ricci (spaghetti with sea urchin meat), which is perfectly followed by a tuna steak covered with sweet caramelised onions. If you can fit in a dessert, try the almond parfait or a creamy cannolo.
reviewed
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D
Tavernetta Ai Lumi
Converted from an 18th-century stable block, this tavern is rustic to the core. Exposed brickwork, heavy wooden furniture and huge arches lend the dining room great character, while the outside terrace, in the heart of historic Trapani, is delightful on summer evenings. The menu features plenty of fresh seafood along with superbly prepared local classics such as casarecce al pesto trapanese (pasta with a sauce of tomatoes, toasted almonds and garlic).
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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E
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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Il Gallo e l’Innamorata
Warm orange walls and arched stone doorways lend an artsy, convivial atmosphere to this Slow Food–acclaimed eatery. The menu is short and sweet, featuring a few well-chosen dishes each day, including the classic scaloppine (veal cooked with marsala wine and lemon).
reviewed
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Monte San Giuliano
Tucked behind Corso Vittorio Emanuele, this eatery is entered through a crumbling arch that leads onto a cool patio graced with drooping hydrangeas. The terrace has a canopy of green vines, and the pasta, fish and seafood are as delicious as the surroundings.
reviewed
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La Pentolaccia
This is a smart, atmospheric restaurant inside a former 16th-century monastery. It can get swamped by tour groups but the food is good, with pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines) and other favourites featuring on the menu.
reviewed
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F
Taverna Paradiso
This is Trapani’s best restaurant, where Dolce & Gabbana–clad women and bejewelled men gorge themselves on succulent seafood specialities from an encyclopaedic 24-page menu. Reservations are essential, as is donning the glad rags.
reviewed
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Ignazio Benivegna
An old-timer among Trapani's pasticcerie (pastry shops), this place has been providing tasty cannoli, cassate and other delicious cakes since 1939. It's a bit of a walk down towards the Erice funicular.
reviewed
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G
Osteria La Bettolaccia
An unwaveringly authentic, Slow Food–recommended restaurant, this is the perfect place to try cuscus con pesce a zuppa (couscous with mixed seafood in a spicy fish sauce flavoured with tomatoes, garlic and parsley).
reviewed
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Il Cappero
Wonderfully unpretentious, with excellent pasta and fish dishes. Try the local speciality, ravioli con menta e ricotta (ravioli with mint and ricotta cheese). Bookings recommended for Saturday.
reviewed
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Antica Pasticceria del Convento
One of the numerous pastry shops in town is Antica Pasticceria del Convento. Try the bellibrutti, dense marzipan concoctions bursting with the fragrance of almonds and lemons.
reviewed
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I Mulini
Located in a converted mill, this is one of Pantelleria's best restaurants. The most famous dish on the menu is the baci, a dessert composed of crispy layers of pastry stuffed with ricotta.
reviewed
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Caffeteria Grand Italia
This is one of the most popular cafés in Marsala, though its customers are mainly in the 80-plus age bracket. It has a good-value tavola calda (hot table) and some mean ice creams.
reviewed
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I
Trattoria Garibaldi
This reliable trattoria, a perennial favourite of the Slow Food judges, has a pleasant traditional dining space and serves hearty Sicilian fare, with an emphasis on seafood.
reviewed
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J
Angelino
On the waterfront near the hydrofoil docks, this is a convenient place to pick up Sicilian sweets, snacks, light meals or other provisions before heading off to the islands.
reviewed
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Habibi Club
Bookings are essential at this converted dammuso next to the Mursia Hotel. It only serves the famed fish couscous and it's all freshly prepared for you.
reviewed
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K
Amici Miei
On balmy evenings, locals throng the sidewalk tables at this lively pizzeria across from Trapani’s northern waterfront.
reviewed
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Market
Marsala's open-air fresh produce market is held on a square off Piazza dell'Addolorata, next to the municipal offices.
reviewed
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Osteria di Venere
This traditional, family-run tavern makes excellent regional food, with special emphasis on grilled meat and fish.
reviewed
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Pasticceria di Gianfranco Vivona
One of the better places for sweets and traditional cakes. The almond biscuits are perfect for taking home.
reviewed
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M
Ristorante da Peppe
Lots of stained glass, steaming pasta and fresh seafood. Try the tuna specialities from May to early July.
reviewed
