26 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

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.

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.

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.

In the heart of the fish market, you'll find the best fritto misto in the area. Walk up to the little counter on the stone balcony overlooking the action and place your order for a paper cone of fried seafood made with the lightest and crispiest batter. They even offer the choice of an all-vegetable option or "no spines" (senza spine) if you prefer your order not to have the small whole fried fish. Give them your name and find a spot at one of the nearby standing tables while you wait.

Just behind the public beach in Mazzarò Bay, this intimate little terrace restaurant is shrouded by an enormous old grapevine and looks out onto postcard-perfect views of paradise. Since 1981, the family-owned trattoria has been serving pristine seafood to discerning locals and in-the-know tourists.   

In a town where life still has a small town village feel, locals fill the outside tables of this trattoria in the central piazza at the base of the castle. The menu is full of seafood specialties—all excellent—but your best best is to ask the server what the chef is suggesting that day. They'll guide you to the best fish brought in that morning. 

This restaurant in Favignana's main square is a must for seafood-lovers. The short, daily changing menu is constructed around the catch of the day, from the grand portions of antipasti to the main courses, and all ingredients are strictly seasonal. The choices may vary, but the kitchen's approach to such dishes as polpette alla ricciola (roulades of amberjack) and calamaro ripieno (stuffed squid) is always creative and original. Choose between dining within the wood-covered interior space or in the terrace garden, which backs onto the town's church. You might finish off your meal with a glass of alloro (laurel) liqueur. The restaurant's name recalls the chant of fishermen during the annual Mattanza tuna catch.

This little gem of a seafood restaurant right on the coast serves wonderfully fresh seafood. It is a very informal dining experience, with friendly staff and excellent prices.

For a quick lunch, stop by this eatery right off the port. They specialize in sandwiches, fish burgers, and five different options for fritto misto. 

With views of the sea and Calabria in the distance, this bright dining room framed by plate glass windows serves picture-perfect plates of composed antipasti, fresh pastas dressed with every sea creature possible, and showstopping secondi, such as lobster from the Messina Strait and fish cooked to perfection. During the summer season, they often set up alfresco tables directly along the water.

In his humble kitchen, Silvio, a rosy-cheeked fisherman, cooks for his guests as they sit around the table. You might have a simple pasta with tomato sauce, eggplant from his garden, olives cured from his trees, simmered wild greens gathered from the hillsides, and a fish dish (roasted, fried, or sautéed). The menu really depends on what's in season, and more importantly, what Silvio caught that morning from his little wooden fishing boat. You'll eat well, but the food is almost beside the point.   

Open since 1979, this family-owned restaurant is now helmed by son Gaetano Nani whose cooking relies on the offerings of the sea. There is no regular menu—instead, he works with area fishermen to select the freshest fish and frutti di mare from the waters of the Panarea coast, which then informs that night's dishes. Expect fine dining tasting portions that showcase maximum territoriality. Oenophiles will revel in the wine list, which has over 1,000 different labels.

Seafood is the cuisine of choice in Mondello, though the quality on offer at many of the seafront restaurants can be patchy, to say the least, but you'll find no complaints at this family-run trattoria. With a smart, modern interior and an outdoor terrace, it has an upbeat ambience and a helpful English-speaking staff. Don't get too distracted by the long list of antipasti, good as they are, for there are many choices to choose from for your main. If available, you can't go wrong with the fettuccine with pistachio cream and prawns, or perhaps a steaming pile of spaghetti with clams and mussels, followed by the catch of the day (which really has been caught on the day). A good choice of Sicilian wines is also offered.

Just off Via Costantino Patricio, by the far side of the Cappuccini arch, lies this diminutive restaurant. Outdoor seating and an upstairs kitchen help make room for a few extra tables—a necessity, as locals are well aware that neither the price nor the quality is equaled elsewhere in town. Indulge in the veal cutlet with Etna mushrooms, pasta con le sarde, or a simple slice of grilled pesce spada (swordfish). Reservations are usually essential for more than two people.

Sheltered from the city's hustle and bustle, this elegant little eatery exudes a mood of relaxed sophistication, serving classic dishes such as linguine with clams and fresh grilled fish in a cozy courtyard. The outdoor tables are the best place to enjoy the food and the friendly, informal service, but there is also a modest white-walled dining room.

If it's seafood you're looking for, you'll feel at home at this harborside fish restaurant, where the day's catch is displayed in a chiller at the front. Couscous features among the starters, as does the outstanding busiate con gambero, pistacchio e bottarga (pasta with prawns, chopped pistachios, and tuna roe); mains change daily, but tuna cooked in citrus and the grilled swordfish are usually on the menu. The interior is modern, with small tables and a large glass front, and there's also a terrace for eating al fresco by the water.

Located on the spit of land between Ganzirri Lake and the sea, this earnest little trattoria serves the freshest fish possible. A young chef, Gaetano Borgosano, has taken over the 60-year-old restaurant and has smartly kept its iconic dishes, such as fried mussels (stuffed with breadcrumbs and fried on the half shell) and fish meatballs in a Messinese ghiotto (sauce of tomatoes, capers, and celery) while introducing his own updates such as swordfish agrodolce. The menu is merely a guide, as the waiter will bring a platter of fresh fish to your table so you can choose from the daily catch.

Restaurants line the Aci Trezza seafront, and you honestly can't do wrong with any of them, but Graziano's osteria is especially known for its excellent selection of fresh seafood. The pastas are quite good, as are the whole fish preparations (you can see the available catch on ice in the corner of the dining room), but the stand-out here is the mixed antipasti selections of both raw and cooked seafood. The abundant crudo platter—piled with oysters, razor clams, sea urchin, scampi, and gamberi rossi—feels like the centerpiece of a Bacchanal feast.

One of Agrigento’s most popular restaurants, Osteria Ex Panificio is housed in a former bakery on the main street of the old town. Typical Sicilian fish and seafood dishes dominate, and there is a terrace for outside dining in summer, and a cozy interior decorated with bakery equipment and hand-written bread recipes.

Dine right on the water's edge at this local seafood favorite on the Isola Bella beach. Seafood reigns supreme, and in early mornings you might even see fishermen pulling their boats directly up to the restaurant to make fresh deliveries. It's a perfect addition to a beach day as you can dine on the terrace in your cover-up, no questions asked. 

Located near the seaside in Castel di Tusa, Le Lampare has a standard Sicilian-style menu. It specializes in seafood, with plenty of other excellent antipasti and pasta.

Linger on the sunny seaside deck as you get your fill of fresh seafood along the scogliera outside Aci Castello. While the pasta and secondi are all very well done, you could easily make a meal by ordering a shared selection of antipasti as the portions are quite ample. Favorites include sautéed mussels and clams, fried baby calamari, and a raw seafood platter full of oysters, sea urchin, and scampi. They also do a good burger and serve pizzas at night.

Part of a hotel, this restaurant relies on its 180-degree views of the sea to pull in diners, but foodies won't be disappointed either. The emphasis is on fresh fish and local ingredients, and the seafood choices are always beautifully prepared and presented, like the spaghetti cozze e vongole (with mussels and clams) and tuna dishes. The service is cordial and attentive, too. Sitting on the tranquil terrace overlooking the tonnara di Scopello is an undeniably romantic experience—just make sure you specify a table outside on the terrace when you book.

Owner Franco Maniaci might be one of the most welcoming people in all of the islands, with his gentle laugh and accommodating attitude. His little restaurant (named for his parents) in the southern town of Gelso relies on the seasons and the day's fresh catch to dictate the menu. The vegetable fritto misto often includes wild fennel while the rosy tuna echoes the hues of freshly sun-kissed diners. And his fried or grilled totano will make you realize that every bite of calamari you've eaten until now ultimately had no flavor. 

Locals flock to this elegant, modern restaurant down by the port, whose white walls are embellished with the colorful ceramics for which Sciacca is renowned. Seafood is the top choice (you'll see what's available as you enter), served in basically every form, from zuppa di cozze (mussel soup) to squid ink pasta, grilled calamari, and red prawns from Mazara served on the skewer. There are fixed-price menus and a long list of reasonably priced wines.