The Best Restaurants in Sicily

This seafront restaurant, Scjabica | Cuoco Pescatore, offers a unique dining experience with a holiday-like atmosphere. The menu features traditional Sicilian seafood dishes, prepared with the utmost attention to detail and quality. The chef, a fisherman himself, brings the flavors of the sea to the table, using only the freshest ingredients and traditional Sicilian culinary techniques.

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Edoardo Celadon

Founder, Most of Italy – Firenze , Italy

Imagine a beautiful seafront cuisine and a holiday-like atmosphere, with an unbeatable quality. One of Sicily’s musts.

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Overlooking the sea, Ristorante Punta Lena offers an elegant yet casual dining experience. The restaurant is known for its excellent seafood and pasta dishes. The terrace seating is recommended for the best views, and the service is noted as being top-notch.

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Maisie Wilhelm

Global Culinary Concierge – NYC, USA

Seaside. Request terrace. Great seafood. Pasta. Elegant and splurge for the casual island. Best service and fanciest dinner you will find.

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This intimate Sicilian restaurant, Vineria Modì, is tucked away in a narrow street, run by a creative young couple who take pride in using local ingredients. The menu showcases the innovative work of a chef who once worked with Amador and Enrico Crippa, offering dishes like red shrimp carpaccio with burrata, orange and bitter cocoa, and pasta mista with seafood and fish stock. The restaurant also features an impressive wine list, including selections from Sicily and other Italian regions.

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Mika Ihamuotila

Foodie – Helsinki, Finland

Charming creative Sicilian quality restaurant in a narrow street of Taormina Excellent Sicilian small restaurant driven by a creative young couple. Appreciation to local ingredients. Very good wine list of both Sicilian wines as well as other Italian regions.

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At Duomo Ristorante, Chef Ciccio Sultano offers a unique culinary experience that challenges the traditional notions of fine dining. The menu is heavily seafood and plant-based, with dishes inspired by both the rural and aristocratic traditions of Sicily, transforming common ingredients into luxurious delicacies. Each dish tells a story of the island's diverse history and culture, such as a vegetable lasagna with no pasta, and a warm ricotta, prawn, and aromatic herbs plate uplifted by caviar.

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Kaja Sajovic

Food Writer – Ljubljana, Slovenia

Chef Ciccio Sultano doesn't like to be put in boxes. The only thing he will attest to is that, yes, he is first and foremost a Sicilian chef, then Italian. But when it comes to his style, he challenges the notions of fine dining - even though he runs a 2-star restaurant - , and instead gives you a fascinating take on history and the mix of different nations, cultures & political systems that have shaped and formed Sicily, and how some ingredients we perceive as luxurious used to be no more than peasant food. "Take truffles - they were fodder for pigs. Now they are this expensive delicacy. Fish roe was discarded, now it's considered fine dining," he ponders, sitting on the terrace of his Duomo restaurant overlooking the wild untamed nature of southern Sicily on one side and majestic baroque dome of San Giorgio's church on the other. One reviewer, trying to shoehorn Ciccio, described his cooking as baroque, probably inspired by all the ornamented balconies, intricated stucco details and curvy bell towers of Ragusa Ibla, town that was completely destroyed in the 1693 earthquake before it was rebuilt in Baroque style. Sultano builds his cuisine on Sicilian family meal traditions - but, as he emphasizes, it's both rural and aristocratic, taking something from every period Sicily went through, transforming a lasagna into a vegetable one with no pasta used, and serving lovely, completely gluten free "buttons" made of chickpeas in a rich thick sauce of anchovies and broccoli. There's caviar as well, serving as a little lift-me-up to warm ricotta, prawn and aromatic herbs plate that stems from a very basic snack they would eat at the seaside. It's a heavily seafood/plant-based menu, playing with acidity be it from different kinds of island citrus or the coastal herbs, paying homage to Sicily which, as I have been reminded several times, is Italy's biggest and incredibly diverse region where finding incredible produce is no stretch. At Sultano's places (Duomo & his casual bakery/trattoria Ibanchi), they work with old Sicilian grains, and even though Ciccio is a Krug ambassador, for me the true gems were lesser known Sicilian organic wines, a treasure chest of beautiful deep minerality.

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This restaurant is a long-standing institution known for its exceptional granita, cannoli, savarin, crème brioche, and almond cake. Caffè Sicilia is not just a simple bar, it's a hub of activity led by Corrado Assenza, offering a unique dining experience. The philosophy of this place is deeply rooted in its history, reflecting a commitment to culinary excellence and tradition.

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Gennady Jozefavichus

Food Writer – Ulcinj , Montenegro

Sicily’s institution. Caffè Sicilia is famous for its granita, cannoli, savarin, crème brioche, almond cake, gin and tonic, atmosphere and long standing opposition to criticism. It’s a century and half old institution so these guys know how to cook, to serve and to react. And yes, granita (my choice is “figs and peperonchino”) is exceptional!

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Featuring the typical Sicilian breakfast, Caffè dell'Arte is a destination for those who enjoy a delightful morning meal. Their Granita and brioche are notable, with the seasonal granita di gelsi (mulberry) being a must-try. Their cannoli also come highly recommended for their exceptional taste.

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Tobias Hauswurz

Journalist – Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Great for breakfast and coffee. This is a great place for the typical Sicilian breakfast: Granita and brioche. When in season, you should definitely try the granita di gelsi (mulberry). The cannoli are also very good.

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This restaurant, Gagini, is a Michelin-starred establishment located in the heart of Vucciria. It offers a contemporary culinary experience with a strong focus on Sicilian ingredients and traditions. The cuisine is extemporaneous, creating while researching, embracing the local area while studying the matter, essentially a journey through the daily products of the territory, a "hic et nunc" in pure Sicilian style.

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Edoardo Celadon

Founder, Most of Italy – Firenze , Italy

Unmissable when in Palermo. A chef full of courage, preparing the most delicious Sicilian ingredients and giving them new life, without getting too far from traditions.

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The restaurant, Ristorante Balìce, is named after a traditional local technique for preserving fish. The owner-chef, Giacomo Caravello, offers a menu that includes unique dishes such as spaghetti with black pork lard and cockles, sweet and sour rabbit ravioli with candied ginger & anchovy, and rice pudding with orange & licorice. The restaurant's atmosphere is light and modern, with a relaxed seating area for guests to enjoy an aperitif or after-dinner cocktail, and a glass-walled kitchen where guests can watch the creation of each dish.

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David J Constable

Writer & Underwear Model – London, UK

In the heart of Milazzo city, this restaurant is named after an old local technique (balìce) for preserving fish A proud native of Milazzo, young owner-chef Giacomo Caravello (previously of Hotel Signum on the island of Salina) has opened his own restaurant in the city and named it after an old local technique (balìce) for preserving fish such as tuna and sardines. A few highlights from my dinner included spaghetti and black pork lard with cookles; sweet and sour rabbit ravioli with candied ginger & anchovy; and rice pudding, orange & licorice.

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Nestled in a quaint square facing a monastery, Ristorante San Giorgio e il Drago offers a blend of simplicity and tradition. The menu consists of classic Sicilian dishes, such as maccheroni alla norma and rabbit, complemented by an impressive selection of wines from local producers. Established in 1998, this small restaurant continues to serve typical Sicilian cuisine, aiming to satisfy every palate.

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Christian F. Puglisi

Chef-restaurateur – Copenhagen, Denmark

I had a fantastic experience here. It’s a very small restaurant in Randazzo, Sicily. Located on a square facing a monastery, it offers an impressive wine list with local producers. The food is simple. Super traditional Sicilian dishes like maccheroni alla norma and rabbit.

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VITIS VINERIA is a unique spot that presents itself as a wine bar offering cold cuts, but surprises with a remarkable dining experience. The menu features a variety of dishes, including a standout focaccia and a special veal tongue kebab, as well as a cacio e pepe style pasta filled with local cheese. The ambiance of the place, combined with its selection of typical products and wines, provides a memorable culinary journey.

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Laszlo Aczel

Food Writer – Budapest, Hungary

This place markets itself as a wine bar with cold cuts but is an amazing restaurant in disguise. The focaccia is to die for as well as the veal tongue kebab special that day, the cacio e pepe style home pasta filled with local cheese. Really amazing find.

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