126 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

A light nautical theme permeates this stone-walled restaurant, where the open kitchen provides theater and owner Peppe Giamboi takes the stage as a gustatory storyteller, roaming from table to table. The menu is constantly changing, but you'll find excellent work with vegetables (a rarity in Sicily) and really lovely preparations of local cod. In addition to a sublime rendition of stocco in ghiotto (cod in a Messinese sauce of tomatoes, olives, capers, and celery), it also might show up prepared under tender sheets of lardo in a light orange-lemon sauce with fried leeks. 

This intimate Michelin-starred restaurant is a fantastic option if you are staying in Modica overnight. Forget the usual starchy tablecloths and formal service, this place is all about the food, with the chef cooking his own personal takes on classic Sicilian dishes, including options like trucioli pasta with cheese fondue, lemon, capers, and coffee; grilled lettuce with pork cheek, caviar, and walnuts; and cannoli with ricotta cheese and cotton candy for dessert. The €120 tasting menu comes very highly recommended, but for something more affordable, stop in for lunch to have a similar experience for €50, or consider Accursio Radici (which means Accursio Roots, the cheaper sister restaurant) a few doors down.

This culinary beacon in Sicily's interior features ambitious—and successful—dishes with the creative flair of chef Angelo Treno, whose unforgettable pastas topped with truffles or caviar, for example, offer a decidedly different expression of traditional regional ingredients. The unassuming and elegant dining room is inside an old railway house and is the perfect place to enjoy a bottle from the 500-label wine list; in cold weather, you can cozy up to a fireplace, but the terrace is the place to be in summer.

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.

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.

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. 

Located right on the beach at Porto Palo, Da Vittorio is something of a local legend, highly regarded and much loved by everyone from wine and olive oil makers to celebrating families. The focus is on fresh fish and seafood, with pasta for the first course, and grilled fish for a second, all enhanced with traditional Sicilian flavors such as capers, almonds, and wild fennel. The spot dates back to the 1960s when Vittorio, a young cook from Bergamo, fell in love with a Sicilian girl and opened a small restaurant in a beach shack. These days, there’s a smart glass conservatory and cream damask table linens, along with a terrace for alfresco dining, and—a real mark of Vittorio’s success—a local following strong enough to keep the restaurant open all year, a real rarity in these parts.

A gracious series of delicately arched rooms at this beloved local eatery are lined with wine bottles and sepia-tone images of the old town. À la carte preparations bring together fresh seafood and inspired creativity: sample, for instance, the sublime spaghetti delle Sirene (with sea urchin and shrimp in butter) or cod with saffron from the Ibleian hills with a courgette puree. If you want, you can put yourself in the hands of the chef and opt for one of the exquisite tasting menus, which start at €75 excluding wine. The wine list is, in a word, extraordinary, and allows you to choose from the best wines in Italy and beyond.

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.

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.

You might not expect to find an ultramodern—even hip—place to dine within a few minutes' drive of Agrigento's ancient temples, yet Il Re di Girgenti offers up pleasing versions of Sicilian classics in a trendy, country-chic atmosphere (think funky black-and-white tile floors mixed with shelves lined with old-fashioned crockery) popular with young locals. The thoughtful wine list offers good prices on both local wines and those from throughout Sicily. Weather permitting, be sure to dine on the terrace for outstanding temple views.

Centrally located on the main piazza in Ustica town, this trattoria's outdoor terrace is a marvelous spot for feeling like you're in the thick of local life while enjoying first-class food. Seafood is the main feature, of course, on a menu that combines traditional dishes, such as prawn ravioli, with more adventurous juxtapositions, like the antipasto of grilled octopus with lentil purée. Service is warm and willing, and there's a good wine list.

In the back of a butcher shop that's been operating since 1968, the Pennisi family opened this meat-focused 30-seat restaurant in December 2017. In the front, you'll find cases full of dry-aged beef; house-made sausages, guanciale, lardo, pancetta, and headcheese; whole chickens; beef liver and veal tongue; and skewers of hand-rolled involtini. You choose your meat from the cases, and they prepare it over a live-fire grill in the back, which you can watch through the plate-glass wall.    

With its dining room set in a cave above the harbor of Santa Maria La Scala, this rustic trattoria specializes in seafood. Try the insalata di mare (a selection of delicately boiled fish served with lemon and olive oil), pasta with clams or cuttlefish ink, or fish grilled over charcoal. The menu is small and simple, but expertly prepared.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Inside this rustic osteria, where there's not an inch of wall space spared from decor, the larger-than-life Grasso Rosario holds court as he bounces from table to table offering opinions and insight on his Slow Food--focused menu. Drawing upon the abundance of the region, the menu highlights the black hog from the Nebrodi mountains, a local cultivar of kohlrabi (in arancini and as a pasta), porcini mushrooms, and perfectly grilled and roasted meats (think pork knuckle, ribs, veal, and lamb). The Sicily-heavy wine list is a sommelier's dream.

Palazzolo Acreide has become a bit of a food town in recent years, and this blink-and-you-miss-it spot, housed in an ancient grotto off the main street, is a big part of that. The family-run restaurant offers house antipasti big enough to share (like the unique Mortadella mousse) and a short menu of high-quality entrées including a black lentil risotto. For dessert, don't miss the grape granita: two frozen berries and a lemon semifreddo.

Considered by many as one of Noto's best restaurants, getting to Crocifisso is a bit of a hike as it's in the upper town. Most walking routes involve long flights of steps, although you could also take a car or taxi up around the edge of town. It is one of the Baroque town's finest restaurants, serving traditional dishes presented in a contemporary style in a beautiful modern dining room. With a wonderful wine list that includes many Sicilian natural wines, a meal here is truly one to remember.

The plain exterior here gives no hint of the sleek, cool design inside this welcoming restaurant just off of Noto's main street where all of the dishes—from fresh pastas to creative seafood and exceptional daily specials—shine a light on local premium ingredients. Although the small outdoor patio allows for great people-watching, it's inside that the restaurant really shines; the chic multilevel dining area highlights modern art, a stylish complement to the restaurant's thoroughly modern food.

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.