Aug 228 min read

City Food Guide: Sicily

Sicily, how special you are, and how different to the rest of Italy.

I cannot recommend it enough, and will definitely go back, so let’s get straight into it.

Facts of the trip to note: we did the East coast only, with Catania being our main city nearby. We did not have a car, and all places are therefore easily accessible by train, short taxi ride or walking.

Vermut, Catania

No place came as highly recommended as Vermut. The place is such a gem and the food so good while simple, that we went back several times and could still not get enough. I would fly back just to have lunch here again.

The concept is ‘food from a salumeria’, so imagine your favorite deli also serving you food. With this in mind go in on the fresh cut meats and cheeses, open face sandwiches with said meats and cheeses, the sausages are also divine, and the potatoe salad combo’s. Meatballs were suggested to me here, however they did not have on the menu when I was there – try your luck and keep me posted!

A good trick is that lunch is calmer atmosphere than the dinner madness.

Al Vicolo Pizza, Catania

When in Italy, you have to have good pizza. Therefore, one of our first stops was the famous Al Vicolo, which also came recommended. The pizza’s were very good, and enormous! If you can’t finish it all like us they will let you take a box home, which was super convenient for a late midnight snack. Be warned the pizza’s are on the pricier side, but worth it!

There seems to be a sister wine bar next door, which would be worth a visit next time!

Granita, Granita, Granita

When I came back and people asked me what my favorite part of Sicily was I said ‘Granita!’ And they ask ‘Where is that?’ With my response being, ‘It’s not a place, it’s a kind of shaved ice!’

The desserts in Sicily are first class and world renowned, granita being no exception. The classic way of having granita is for breakfast with some brioche. I ended up not being the biggest fan of the brioche combo, however the crispy flavors of a cold cup of granita on a warm day is irreplaceable. It got to such a level where I would skip my iconic cup of warm coffee in the mornings to have a coffee granita.

Each place will have their own flavors, and Prestipino in Catania (by Piazza del Duomo) has an incredible fig version that was out of this world! One of the initial fears of granita is that flavors would taste watered down, and not have too much taste, however the freshness of the cold temperature, the little granules of figs and overall flavor were delicious. All their other sweets also look delectable, but was too focused on my granita to try!

Try every granita you can.

On the weekends near this café you will also find an antique market which is not to be missed!

Etna Urban Winery & Wine in general

We booked onto the Etna Urban Winery tour (link here), for the practical reason that they offered a shuttle service from central Catania. This is a vineyard within a city, relatively new (therefore don’t expect too many vintages at this stage), with an interesting story. Learning about the process of bringing to life the idea to re-discover their grandparents vineyard, the grandchildren sourced the money from crowdfunding and little by little are planting the vines and making wine. A story that brings joy and hope in this digital age of what can happen with internet power.

Our tour came with a tasting. The food portions are small, but then again one is there for the wine. The meal is paired with other Etna wines, which is a great introduction to this wine region. Etna is the volcano near Catania, that Sicily is iconic for. Due to the volcano the vines grow on, the wines are super minerally and crisp. This became an obsession throughout the trip, from which we almost exclusively started drinking Etna wines only.

An aspect learned on the tour, that I was not aware of before, was that unlike this vineyard in the city, the other Etna vineyards are on the actual volcano its self at high altitudes. Next time, I would definitely book to see a vineyard on the volcano to see how they make this magical version of my favorite beverage.

Taormina

Overall Taormina was honestly not our favorite. The beach at the bottom of the bottom of the cliff was great, however the city itself (up a steep cliff, or with a cable car option) was very crowded and full of tourists. We had some great ice cream and average pasta in random places throughout, however the whole thing felt more like a big tourist trap.

We did try and visit (the now thanks to White Lotus famous) Four Seasons for a drink, however were unable to get in. If you do want to try that reserve at the bar ahead, and note it is a minimum spend of 50EUR per person (about 2 cocktails).

Overall in Magical Ortigia

Probably our favorite city throughout the trip ended up being Ortigia on the edge of Syracuse. It is very easily located and accessible by train which was highly convenient. The town is medieval in style and overall very dreamy being surrounded by water with a castle at its point. In true Italian summer style one can also go into the clear blue water, directly on the edge of the castle walls and city.

On the way to these beautiful beach alcoves, we stumbled across a street (Via Emmanuele de Benedictis) that had fish market vibes with lots of restaurant and drink options (to note we later found out only open for lunch times). There are so many to choose from, however on the salumeria vibe we had a quick bite in La Salumeria. We got a ‘taste of Italy’ board, which had more salads and dips than expected. Next time would definatly get a sandwich to go while walking to the beach, as these looked even better. An aspect of La Salumeria I wish I had taken more advantage of was the deli aspect to take foods back home.

The best aspect of this street is we found a wine shop, focusing on natural Italian wines that we bought several bottles from to drink throughout. This was a gem of a place, with so much to choose from! It’s linked to the restaurant Carnezzeria, but is it’s own shop called Antica Bottega del Mercato. Not on google maps at the moment, however one of the first stores one the right where Via del Mercato and Via Emmanuele del Benedictis meet. It is here where I got a bottle of Pet Nat from Etna, that we later had by the sea that tasted like heaven, and was one of the best bottles I ever had: Meaterra. If you know where I can get more, let me know please!

Fried fish also looked amazing on this street, and I wish we had tried from the street cart on the end of the street. We ended up having some in a nearby fried fish café closer to the bridge on our way home one day.

Two other aspects we did more on the Syracuse side of the city and not Oritigia, was a fun little pasta to go shop with Arancini and the supermarket of our dreams.

The pasta place is a great find for quick, cheap, delicious bites that travel especially well. It’s called Pasta Run on Corsto Umberto I, and such a steal for what it is. Have it in, take it to the beach, eat it later – all options are perfect.

The supermarket of our dreams was big, and had everything we could imagine of bringing back home. Also conveniently located behind the train station we took full advantage. It’s the Maxistore Deco Gruppo Arena on C. so Gelone. To note, closed for lunch break, which I found out the hard way when I wanted to get ice for my beach drink.

A’ Surgiva – Champagneria Bistrot

This hidden gem in Ortigia ended up being my favorite restaurant during the whole trip and therefore deserves its own little paragraph. This was a random find on the day, completely unplanned, and reminds me that being spontaneous and trying a random little place while travelling should not be undervalued and encouraged!

This place, unlike the other ones we were looking at that day, is not in the shadows of the streets, but places you on the edge of the port overlooking boats and smelling the salt air. Best bit? It’s a champagne bar so the wine list is divine.

The focaccia with cheese and shrimp was so good, with the seafood being so fresh we ordered an extra shrimp dish. This ended up being the freshest sashimi style shrimp with Gin spray. Devine!

The mains were the cherry on top of the cake. I ordered potatoes & octopus. This ended being the most perfectly cooked octopus with so much flavor, and perfectly seasoned potatoes. To note this normally comes with a sauce, however I asked for it to be removed due to allergies ( the restaurant was very accommodating to my food restrictions). My travel partner ordered pasta with langoustines and it was so creamy and perfect with the taste of the sea. Kind of jealous he got more shrimps though.

The staff were also so good and professional, besides the good food it was also the best service we received on our trip.

If you are going to go to one place that I recommend in Sicily, this is the one!

A quick note on our hotels in Sicily:

Our hotel in Catania called Zahara, was recommended from a random website I found during research (linked here) and I booked it in a bit of a last minute booking rush pinch. I therefore did not think too much of it, especially when aesthetically it wasn’t the usual style I would go for, however let me tell you, the gamble paid off and I was proven very wrong in the best way. The hotel room is perfectly set up, you have everything you could need (including the all important wine glasses and corkscrew). The best part of the hotel room besides the ideal location is the view from bed, and terrace. Enjoy a glass of Sicilian vino during golden hour on the terrace with the feel of warm salty air. The hotel is called Zahara (link here). The only downside is there is no reception, and therefore a charge for holding luggage.

The second hotel was more resort style, based in Brucoli – Mangia Brucoli.

Honestly, it wasn’t the best of experiences overall and the food was average (including my revered all time favorite breakfast buffet time). If I were to do again, I would book a hotel Ortigia or Catania with a pool, and not go here.