38 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

This local pizza and BBQ grill offers the usual selection of local cuisine, but with an interesting location in the old grain stores of the Castello di Caccamo. The extensive menu includes antipasti, pasta, mains, and desserts all with a focus on the preparation of local meats and grills.

Feisty Concetta serves a set menu for lunch and dinner from her long terrace, located near the Chiesa San Bartolo. You can expect a large selection of antipasti (such as wild fennel, sautéed shrimp, and roasted eggplant), a pasta course, and some variety of roasted fish. It's true island home-cooking, done in abundance and served with incredible hospitality. 

There's no better (or easier) place on the island to watch its fiery explosions than from the terrace of Osservatorio. The diverse menu offers everything from pizza (dinner only) and locally caught fish to pastas and roasted meats. It's a lovely 45-minute passeggiata from the port (about 3 miles), winding up a flora-rich path, to this look-out point with prime views of the area's volcanic activity (in total, about 20 minutes from Piscità). Alternatively, if you call ahead, they can arrange a shuttle service for you. During the day, you'll see the plume of smoke emitting from the crater and get spectacular sea views. At night, it's all about the fireworks show.

Chef Danilo Conti started with a passion for wine and subsequently grew deeper respect for the soil of his home territory. The dishes at his osteria just steps from the port in Lipari are clean and balanced—the opposite of fussy—but primarily celebrate the fishing and agricultural traditions of the island; think lime-scented carpaccio of swordfish and pasta with anchovies, wild fennel, and orange zest. The dedication to his producer partners goes so deep that they are called out by name on the menu (a rarity in Italy). In addition to the osteria, Danilo operates a wine shop (San Bartolo Vineria e Dispensa) just a few doors down. There you'll find expressions of his own wines, plus a robust selection from natural wine producers around Sicily and a small (but excellent) selection of salumi and cheeses. 

This local institution, now located in the town's trendy port area, serves gourmet Italian classics. It's a little more pricey than other places in town, but it's worth it for the fresh seafood, exceptional wine list, and beautiful location.

The philosophy of this contemporary restaurant is to combine modern culinary techniques with the best seasonal products, and chef Salvo Campagna creates plates that are just that: modern, elegant, and fresh. The menu is strictly seasonal and includes a fascinating percorso, a seven-course tasting menu created by the chef from the best ingredients for €60.

This seaside pub focuses on craft and artisan beers alongside light meals like antipasto tasting plates, open-faced sandwiches, and gourmet panini. It's a very trendy place for a night out or a late-night drink.

This restaurant is located within a local vineyard between Patti and Tindari near the stunning Gulf of Patti, the lakes of Marinello, and  Santuario di Tindari. With its extensive terrace views over the vines and olive groves, this place is a beautiful place to stop and savor good food, great wine, and local hospitality.

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.

Located above the boat yard at the far end of the lungomare, this eatery's second floor dining room offers a unique perspective on Aci Trezza. Light permeates the room thanks to the open balcony at the front of the building, which gives an alfresco feel even though you're indoors (a nice compromise in the heat of August). Go for the pasta and grilled seafood; the grilled calamari is particularly good. 

For some of Taormina's best granita, with changing flavors depending on the season, try Bam Bar. It's so popular that it's likely you'll have to queue, but it's worth it.

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.

Just off the pier where the hydrofoils dock, this modest little café serves simple pastas, sandwiches, and fresh-from-the-oven sweets. At breakfast, look for warm brioche, granita, and freshly squeezed fruit juices while in the evening, it's a gathering place for aperitivo. Open even during the off-season, it's a lovely place to dine and watch the port traffic while soaking up the Mediterranean sun. 

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.

If you want to expereince Italian street food, Marsala-style, try this small shop named for the ropelike pasta that is typical in Trapani province, and offered here in cartons for consuming either at one of the tables in the piazza outside or as you walk along. Order the type you prefer ("classic," wholefood, or gluten-free), choose your sauce, which could be seafood, meat, or vegetarian, and order whatever additions take your fancy, maybe fresh breadcrumbs with garlic, Sicilian pecorino, toasted pine nuts, or baked ricotta. Wine, beer, and soft drinks are also available.

This rustic little family place offers a selection of basic Sicilian antipasti and pasta dishes. It is a perfect spot to taste the local cuisine and wine and soak up the atmosphere and hospitality.

Dedicated to the Slow Food movement, Casa & Putia puts the emphasis on their raw materials, with the idea that excellent ingredients need little fuss. The emphasis is on letting those ingredients shine through, such as with a flan made of artichokes and caciocavallo cheese. The word putia means bodega, and throughout the restaurant, there are displays of Sicilian products you can buy, from local herbs and jams to boutique amari.

A native of Naples, Ciro Aragione has called Stromboli home since the 1990s. From his home, he cooks lunch for visitors to the island, usually a set menu of pasta and fish he's bought straight off the boats that morning. In addition to the home restaurant, really a long table on his terrace flanked by lemon and mandarin trees, he can arrange catered picnics for your boat excursions or beach days, and will deliver to you.

This is a good spot for a substantial lunch or dinner in Mistretta. They specialize in regional Italian cuisine with a good selection of antipasti, pasta, and mains.

An intimate little spot a block from the port, I Ruggeri prides itself on a mix of tradition and experimentation. For example, you might find a savory Babà (typically a dessert pastry soaked in rum) made of pecorino romano. But even the standards are prepared well, such as pasta con le sarde, made with an abundance of wild fennel, toasted almonds, and breadcrumbs. 

The stone building that houses Il Borgo was built in 1942 in a style that reflects the neighboring medieval castle. The cool stone walls and wooden furnishings create a wonderfully warm atmosphere while the restaurant itself is focused on a delicious rotating seasonal menu.

This casual restaurant and B&B is located in a converted Norman castle. The restaurant offers a great menu of local Sicilian cuisine and a wood-fired pizza oven.

This family-run place cooks very rustic yet satisfying meals, including hearty pasta, filling antipasti, and wood-fire pizzas. It isn't a fancy place, but the service is amicable, prices are reasonable, and servings are generous.

For a taste of the best in local cuisine, come to this intimate, family-run spot with a nice little menu of selected pizzas, pasta dishes, and mains featuring the fresh seasonal ingredients you grow to expect in Sicilian restaurants. Service is warm, friendly, and very accommodating of children.

An acronym for "Pane, Mortadella, and Champagne," Pamocha indeed specializes in bubbles, masterful salumi plates, all the bruschetta, and raw seafood towers of oysters, sweet red shrimp, tuna, and caviar. Typically the portions at this glam-meets-rustic café are small, making it perfect for aperitivo or a late-night snack (it's open until 2 am)

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. 

This typical family-run Italian restaurant specializes in locally fished seafood and fine pizzas from the wood-fired oven. The staff are very accommodating and will prepare anything you require if there are specific dietary requirements, including gluten-free and vegetarian options.

This Castelbuono institution has been preparing dishes with the finest local ingredients for over 30 years. Chef Giuseppe Carollo is dedicated to the products found in and around Castelbuono, including wild mushrooms, vegetables, and the sweet manna from the local ash trees.

This eatery's varied menu shows off the best products and ingredients from Polizzi. Some dishes feature wild asparagus and mushrooms while various antipasti and side dishes include freshly foraged vegetables and greens.