106 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

Located just off the fish market, in an alleyway covered by brightly colored parasols, Tantìkkia (which means "a little" in Sicilian dialect) serves little tastes of modern Sicily. Drawing on tradition, the updated twists show inspiration, yet steer far from precious. The lemon tagliolini is bright and fresh; the grilled octopus is softened with a potato mousse, peas, and leeks; and the saffron-scented arancini are stuffed with red mullet. This cozy little restaurant offers a great example of an updated Sicilian kitchen.

This buzzy spot is an ideal destination if you are looking to share a selection of Sicilian antpasti dishes in tapas style, in a relaxed, contemporary, stone-walled dining room. The magazine-style menu has info about the dishes, including Cefalú's favorite for All-Saints Day pasta a taianu, an earthenware platter heaped with oozing layers of rigatoni and a hearty meat, tomato, and eggplant sauce.

With a terrace by Ragusa Superiore's cathedral and a smart and slightly quirky coved-ceiling dining room, this restaurant serves largely simple, classic Sicilian dishes with a few modern touches. After a hearty pasta alla Norma (with eggplant, basil, tomato and gooey ricotta), consider a subtly experimental main like seared ricciola (amberjack) with herbs and crunchy fennel slices and foam.    

Steps from the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, you'll find this cozy trattoria serving traditional Sicilian fare. Be sure to start with a typical Sicilian antipasto—with grilled veggies, mini arancini, and cured meats. The owner's recommendations for the main course are spot-on, and even if you're not overly hungry, the delicious food will entice you to indulge. In the warmer months, dine outside for people-watching as you sip on a glass of Frapatto. 

Tucked away from the main tourist areas, this local favorite offers an authentic taste of the region with its fresh seafood and a fantastic selection of starters like grilled shrimp and octopus. Beyond the area's classic seafood dishes, local vegetables, including steamed artichoke, are also popular with regulars. The dining room is unpretentious, but the dishes are reasonably priced and packed with flavor. 

Along a road on the way up to Agrigento proper from the temple area, this vaulted family-run restaurant serves up tasty traditional food, namely daily house-made pasta specials and plenty of fresh fish dishes, all prepared with Sicilian flair. Your best bet is to ask the advice of brothers Giuseppe and Simone, the owners and chief orchestrators in the restaurant, who can also help select a Sicilian wine to pair with your meal. Reservations are recommended in high season.

The word "trattoria" usually suggests somewhere casual and even slapdash and while this place has an informal feel, there is nothing at all lacking in the level of service or the quality of the food. Dating back to 1963, the place has a classic feel, as reflected on an extensive menu that focuses on fish (there's a display of what's on offer as you come in), but also includes very acceptable versions of old favorites such as lasagna, couscous, escalopes in Marsala sauce, and, for dessert, cassata siciliana. Also noteworthy are the tasty busiate garibaldine, local pasta prepared with pistachio paste, red prawns from Mazara del Vallo, and burrata. Tables are distributed In a series of well-lit rooms with wooden beams, arched doorways, and white walls adorned with portraits of the hero of Italian independence to whom the place is dedicated. Locals come here in droves, often with families in tow.

Chef Luca Casablanca is like a character out of a Sicilian storybook. Full of personality and endlessly dedicated to the showcasing the food of his native land, he adheres to the Slow Food philosophy more than anyone else in Taormina. There are very few tables at this intimate little trattoria down a narrow staircase off Corso Umberto, so it's highly recommended to reserve ahead of time.

Specializing in regional Sicilian cooking, this intimate little trattoria focuses on meat with a wide selection of certified Angus, Sicilian, and Wagyu beef, donkey steaks, sausages, and meat involtini. You can shop the meat locker to choose your cut. Start the meal with the nduppa puttusu appetizer, which includes 10 different typical dishes, including parmigiana, caponata, arancini, chickpea salad, and sweet-and-sour yellow pumpkin.

An amicable beach bar-restaurant right on the harbor at Marinella di Selinunte, Tukè is ideal for a simple hearty lunch after seeing the temples. They have two daily fixed menus, comprising pasta (they do an excellent Norma), a main of grilled meat or fish, a salad, water, and coffee. If you want a lighter meal, the shared aperitivo platter of locally cured olives, salami, cheeses, and caponata is rather exceptional. In summer they rent umbrellas on the beach below.

This cool, relaxed café-bar-restaurant is the hub of Scauri life, and has very loyal local following since it stays open all year long. The menu—written on a chalkboard—is strictly seasonal, featuring a nice mixture of traditional Sicilian dishes and more creative dishes, all focusing on island and mainland Sicilian produce and served on blue-rimmed white enamel plates.

Run by the charming and dynamic Davide di Salvo, nephew of chef Giuseppe of nearby Nangalarrini fame, this rustic, convivial spot does tasty plates utilizing the best meat, vegetables, and seafood of the Madonie and coast. The name alludes to the Unione Volontari Alcolizzati, and the restaurant has a well-rounded wine cellar and ethos fit for relaxed dining and friendly chat.

Book a table on the cobbles by the empty river basin or in the sleek dining room and let talented chef Roberta's inventive seasonal dishes take you to new culinary places. The young, friendly staff are happy to talk you through the seasonal menu of exquisite pastas, fresh seafood, steaks, and imaginative veggie creations.  

The brainchild of La Madia chef Pino Cuttaio, Uovo di Seppia is a combination restaurant, cooking school, shop, and bar where you can buy exquisite fresh and stuffed pasta, handmade bottled sauces, biscuits, cakes, and other gastronomic goodies to take away. The chef hosts seasonal events---check their Instagram page for more details. 

Street food meets small plates at this ode to the flavors of Sicily. Located on a foot-traffic-only street, this compact, vaulted bistro serves chef-style iterations of the island's greatest "fast food" hits. And they make arguably the best arancini in the region: full of meaty ragù and saffron rice, fried to-order, with a crunchy crust that crackles as you break into it. There is also a good line in burgers.

This unassuming little spot tucked on a side street between Via Umberto and Piazza Verga consistently underpromises and overdelivers. It portends to be a little neighborhood eatery, but it's a destination in its own right with chef-owner Ivan Siringo serving classics like pasta with squid ink, roulades of stuffed chicken, and salmon carpaccio with tropical fruits. Every dish has a subtle elegance and ingenuity to it that transcends the plate as pure joy in your mouth.