10 Best Restaurants
Sicily’s cities and landscapes shift dramatically across the island: Palermo has street markets and the mosaics of the Palatine Chapel, while Taormina looks towards Etna from above the sea. Syracuse pairs ancient remains with Ortigia’s waterfront lanes; Noto brings honey-coloured Baroque streets, and Agrigento’s temples rise along a southern ridge. Palermo and the eastern coast work as separate bases, with substantial journeys between them. Rural estates and coastal resorts often require a car for exploring nearby towns.
Duomo
Ragusa Ibla, Italy
Ciccio Sultano turns Sicilian ingredients and culinary history into a deeply personal dining experience at Duomo. Set in a former apartment within Palazzo La Rocca, near Ragusa Ibla’s cathedral, the restaurant has an intimate sequence of rooms that suits an unhurried occasion. The kitchen connects influences from the island’s land and sea, while a substantial cellar offers Sicilian, Italian and international wines. Make dinner the centrepiece of an overnight stay in Ibla, with time to explore its streets beforehand.
An ambitious exploration of Sicilian identity
La Madia
Licata, Italy
La Madia makes Licata a worthwhile stop for travellers interested in contemporary Sicilian cooking. Pino Cuttaia builds dishes around the character of individual ingredients and the memories they evoke, giving the meal a personal connection to the island. Two pared-back dining rooms keep attention on the food and service, while the wine selection offers another route into Sicily. Plan a dedicated visit with transport arranged, and allow enough time for the kitchen’s sequence rather than fitting dinner between long drives.
Ingredient-led creative Sicilian cooking
Crocifisso
Noto, Italy
Crocifisso has evolved from a family trattoria into a compact destination restaurant in the upper part of Noto. Marco Baglieri’s cooking brings a contemporary perspective to local ingredients, served in restrained rooms that offer a quieter counterpoint to the city’s elaborate architecture. The wine list gives particular scope for exploring a pairing with the meal. Choose it for an evening devoted to the table, and check the menu format when booking: the operator specifies a minimum of two courses per person for à la carte orders.
Contemporary cooking in upper Noto
I Pupi
Bagheria, Italy
I Pupi gives Bagheria a compelling gastronomic address, with Tony Lo Coco interpreting Sicilian flavours through both seafood and meat. Its current home is at Vicolo Cavallotti, below Villa Palagonia, following the restaurant’s move in 2025. Tasting menus and à la carte choices provide different ways into the kitchen’s ideas, while the small chef’s table offers a closer view for those who arrange it. Check the exact address when reserving, particularly if you have visited the restaurant’s previous premises.
Inventive Sicilian cooking near Villa Palagonia
Sapio
Catania, Italy
Sapio offers a contemporary expression of the Etna region in central Catania. Alessandro Ingiulla’s kitchen draws on produce from its own cultivation, including vegetables and olive oil, while the restaurant’s restored warehouse setting introduces art and modern design into the experience. The current address is Piazza Antonino Gandolfo, following a move from Via Messina in 2023. Ask about the dining arrangement that best suits your visit, since the main room, chef’s table and cellar settings create different ways to experience the restaurant.
Creative cooking rooted in the Etna region
MEC Restaurant
Palermo, Italy
MEC brings an unusual combination of historic architecture, technology collecting and ambitious cooking to Palermo. Within Palazzo Castrone, chef Carmelo Trentacosti’s restaurant shares its identity with a collection associated with Apple’s history. The setting gives dinner a distinctive visual backdrop, while the kitchen works with ingredients connected to the surrounding region. Its address on Via Vittorio Emanuele makes it easy to build an evening around the historic centre, but book the restaurant specifically rather than assuming museum admission includes a meal.
Contemporary dining in a historic palazzo
Cortile Spirito Santo
Ortigia, Syracuse, Italy
Cortile Spirito Santo occupies Palazzo Salomone in Ortigia, with an intimate courtyard looking towards the church that gives the restaurant its name. Giuseppe Torrisi’s cooking follows the seasons and market, drawing on local fish, meat and produce from the wider region. It is a fitting place to slow down after exploring Syracuse’s island centre, with a meal that connects the architecture outside to contemporary Sicilian flavours. Request your preferred setting when booking, since courtyard dining depends on weather and availability.
A courtyard tasting dinner
La Capinera
Spisone, Taormina, Italy
La Capinera brings Pietro D’Agostino’s cooking to Taormina’s seafront, in Spisone rather than the hilltop centre. The terrace is part of the attraction in suitable weather, with the Ionian Sea providing a natural backdrop. Fish, vegetables and Sicilian ingredients underpin a menu that interprets regional traditions with contemporary technique. Choose it for an evening focused on food and setting, and plan the journey between the coast and town in advance rather than treating the two locations as interchangeable.
A seaside dinner beyond the hilltop crowds
Il Bavaglino
Terrasini, Italy
Il Bavaglino is Giuseppe Costa’s fine-dining restaurant in Terrasini, with an arched interior and an outdoor space oriented towards the coastal rock formations. The kitchen remains visible through glass, reinforcing the connection between the dining room and the work behind each dish. Costa’s contemporary Sicilian cooking accommodates both land and sea, with a vegetarian tasting route among the choices. Confirm that you are booking Il Bavaglino itself, since the wider Giuseppe Costa operation also includes the separate Salotto sul Mare bistrot.
Creative cooking with a coastal setting
Radici – L’Osteria di Accursio
Modica, Italy
Radici brings Accursio Craparo’s cooking back towards the familiar pleasures of an osteria, in Modica’s historic centre near San Pietro. Family recipes, seasonal vegetables and produce from the restaurant’s own farm shape an approachable menu, with local suppliers supporting the wider range. The appeal lies in recognising Sicilian flavours while discovering the chef’s individual treatment of them. It is a rewarding choice for a relaxed meal during a stay in town, with vegetarian possibilities worth discussing as the seasonal menu changes.
A contemporary osteria rooted in family recipes