Hotel Mazzurco

Choose from four tasting menus at this restaurant, including one which changes depending on the chef’s inspiration and another which focuses on fish and seafood, all of which feature dishes that can also be chosen à la carte style. We particularly enjoyed the creamy Provola cheese risotto with lemon, wild herbs and black truffles, and the lemon dessert which made a fitting conclusion to our memorable dinner.

Although the view from this restaurant takes in the sea and the mountains alike, it’s the latter that inspires the menu. It features inland specialities cooked with the best local ingredients. Suckling pig is a particular favourite, appearing in a number of different guises, including cured ham and meat sauces. The restaurant also offers new, welcoming guestrooms.

Once through the entrance gate, make your way through an orchard planted with citrus trees to get to this restaurant occupying a charming, carefully restored 19C “palmento” (a building once used for fermenting wine) that has retained its magical and romantic atmosphere. Here, Giuseppe Raciti’s top-quality cuisine is showcased on themed tasting menus from which dishes can also be chosen à la carte. His dishes put Sicily centre stage, as does the excellent wine list, with specialities which the chef reinterprets in impressive, modern style. For us, the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked

The Pennisi family business started in this butcher’s shop, which over time has expanded to include a restaurant serving excellent cuisine to guests who sit at small tables facing a counter where a fine selection of meat, salumi and cheeses is displayed. The menu features grilled meat options alongside filled rolls and hamburgers, as well as delicious cooked dishes that are both generous and substantial. We suggest asking staff for recommendations, as we did – we were not disappointed!

Having left its previous premises in Caltagirone, this old acquaintance of the Michelin guide has now opened in Catania, right in the city centre between period palazzi and avenues planted with oleander. In a simple yet elegant setting enhanced by works of art by Nunzio Fisichella (a painter devoted to depicting Etna and its many moods), the delicate cuisine continues to focus on Italy with occasional Sicilian influences in its ingredients, sauces, style of cooking and flavouring – nothing here is forced. Special mention should be made of the grilled quail, which is perfectly cooked in Sicilia

With its old chandeliers, chairs and tables, this original and attractive restaurant offers its guests a feel of traditional Sicily. The cuisine focuses on typical Sicilian specialities, as well as offering a simpler, less expensive bistro menu. There’s also a shop selling food produce and a cocktail bar, which is open non-stop from 11. 30am until the early hours of the morning.

Situated in the town centre, this restaurant can be accessed by car despite its location perched above the town. It takes its name from an old boundary stone that is still partially visible and which once separated the Arab and Norman sections of town (the word comes from the curious Gallo-Italian dialect spoken in parts of Sicily, which has more in common with the Lombardy dialect than those of the island itself). Meat takes centre stage, including the aged meats on display, although the menu also features generous, colourful classic dishes with a creative twist. There’s also an outdoor space