22 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

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.

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).

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.

Ideally located for people-watching on Noto's main thoroughfare, this place serves up jam-packed panini, with most of the ingredients (including meats) supplied by local producers, who also subscribe to the slow food movement. Once you've had your fill, you can head next door to their store to stock up on high-quality Sicilian gifts. 

Part concept store, part bar, and part fine gourmet dining experience, this unique eatery is built into a grotto underneath the Chiesa di San Carlo and specializes in deceptively simple grilled dishes and contemporary cocktails. There's live music on the weekends, but it's quite laid-back and unobtrusive.

This tiny café is located right in the square just below Castello di Sperlinga, and is an excellent place to grab a quick drink, panino, or light meal. The bar owner is also very helpful with visitors and acts as the unofficial tourist information office.

Throughout Sicily there are fierce arguments about who makes the best granita, and everyone has an opinion. But for many Messinese, the end of the discussion is Bar del Sud, a neighborhood favorite since 1968; their dairy-free granita is spectacularly creamy and resembles gelato in its consistency. Sit at one of the tables on the narrow sidewalk or order directly from the counter.

Stop here to sample every Sicilian sweet imaginable from freshly made cannoli and biscotti to marzipan confections and gelato. The pastry spot also serves up great coffee.

Even in the off-season, this little port café serves a reliable breakfast, with flaky croissants (often filled with marmalade) and good strong coffee. In the evenings, it becomes a gathering spot for aperitivo, where locals gather for a gin and tonic, Negroni, or spritz.  

Dive right into the hustle and bustle of Catania at Caffè del Duomo, which has handmade cookies and cakes and a great local atmosphere. The piazza-front location is the main draw, but the fantastic cannoli are another reason to stop for coffee and watch the world go by.

It's worth a visit for the sheer wow factor when you walk in and see the long pastry cases filled with every Sicilian delicacy you can imagine. Since 1962, they've been supplying the Catanesi with their daily raviola fritta (a fried pastry stuffed with sweetened ricotta) and short pulls of espresso. At aperitivo, order a drink and your table is instantly filled with a cornucopia of arancini, pizzette, potato croquettes, nuts, and chips.  

This gourmet delicatessen and bistro-café makes a trip to the island’s scruffy main town worth your while (and helpfully happens to be close to the gas station). The Emporio is a showcase for the many artisan pestos, pates, sauces, preserved vegetables, and jams produced and beautifully bottled by islanders, and also has a very good selection of local wines. And it's not just a shop: from May to October, it opens its outdoor terrace for breakfast, lunch, and aperitivi.

Following a Slow Food philosophy, this restaurant strives to be a typical Sicilian neighborhood destination in every sense. In the morning, you'll find just-from-the-oven breads, pastries, fresh-squeezed juice, and goat's milk yogurt at the front counter while the restaurant's main menu pays homage to the area's distinct culinary traditions, such as donkey steaks or donkey mortadella, pastas with anchovies and breadcrumbs, and macco soup from fava beans. There's also a small bodega (putia) that sells ingredients from the producers they use.

If you're stocking up for a day by the sea, stop in this bakery to fill your picnic basket. In addition to the freshly baked bread (whose scent wafts into the town's narrow alleyways), look for overstuffed sandwiches, arancini, and tender focaccia. And if you haven't already gotten your cannoli fix during your time in Sicily, their pistachio-dusted version is excellent.

One of the very few places to eat in Aidone, this is a simple bar just down the hill from the museum. The welcoming owner makes great coffee and fills cornetti to order with chocolate, custard cream, jam, or ricotta.

For the best granita and gelato in town, don't miss Bar Giulio. It's also an excellent place for coffee or a traditional sweet Sicilian breakfast of granita and sweet bread brioche. 

In Aci Castello, your granita go-to is Caffè & Dolcezza. Their pistachio flavor is exceptionally good, creamy and studded with bits of ground pistachio. They also serve a wide variety of local pasticceria specialties, both sweet and savory. Don't miss the crispelle di riso, the local version of zeppole, made with rice. They're fried to order and then drizzled with orange blossom honey.

A local favorite for over a century, Irrera is known for its cassata, pignolata (little balls of sweet fried dough held together by honey or chocolate), and filled-to-order cannoli. Grab a spot on the outside terrace to sate your sweet tooth and do a little people-watching. 

The lively Pasticceria Savia makes superlative arancini with ragù. Or you could choose cannoli, granita, or other snacks to munch on while you people-watch from one of the streetside tables.

In Sicily, tavola calda is its own food group. From arancini to filled savory pastries, this "fast food" option is the heart and soul of the Sicilian aperitivo experience (or lunch on the fly), and in Milo, your go-to is Putìa Lab. They also offer excellent pastries, sandwiches, and hot plates (like lasagna or roast chicken). But their sweet spot is the robust selection of excellent tavola calda.