A big part of the fun of traveling in Sicily is the good food at affordable prices. The wealth of quality produce grown, farmed and fished on and around the island itself means that ingredients are fresh and so the simplest preparation is going to be the best way to highlight the flavours. The following is a small list of some good, casual and reasonably priced eateries that I would go back to again and again. They are dotted around the island.

Solicchiatta (Mt Etna area) – Cave Ox

Cave Ox is wine bar well known for having some really good pizza but this is only served at dinner. For lunch, the pasta was really good too. They have their house version of baked eggplant in fresh tomato sauce – super. Lunch with wine came up to around EUR 18 per person. And because Cave Ox is located in Solicchiatta, where some really good Sicilian wines are produced, it has a nice selection of vino. I highly recommend the Pietra Dolce Etna Rosso and if you can find it, particularly their V.Bargagali range. It’s best to make a reservation if you have a large group as the restaurant can get busy. Website link.

 

Randazzo (Mt Etna area) – Ristorante Veneziano

Around 10 minutes drive west of Cave Ox is Ristorante Veneziano, which is slightly more upscale from Cave Ox, but still exemplifies good quality home cooking with excellent pasta. Veneziano also does a nice selection of grilled meat – I think they did this better than Cave Ox. They are also well known for having some great mushroom dishes – huge porcini from the area. Website link.

 

Ortigia – Caseificio Borderi

This deli in Ortigia, the historical island off Siracusa, well deserves its accolades. Seating is limited but the staff make an effort to seat everyone. This is tight cramped space and quite touristy but still worth the effort of waiting for a spot. The cheese is homemade and the team are happy to share a sample platter of cold cuts, sandwiches and cheeses. Essentially, they make it easy to order so you don’t have to think. Website link.

 

Palermo – Vitina Cucina & Pizza

I loved this place, where we had dinner on arrival on our first trip to Palermo, but it is not in central Palermo and is in the Cinisi area near the airport. It’s a real neighbourhood eatery with no other tourists the night we were there, so we spoiled that for them. The good thing then is that it’s convenient if you’re going to or coming from the airport and parking is easy. The grilled seafood – squid was super fresh – was excellent and the mixed fried seafood (frito misto), and pizza are good too. This is topped off by possibly the best ricotta cake I’ve ever had. I’m sure that there are other good places to eat in Palermo but this one was simple and convenient for us. There is no website but the address is: Via Pio la Torre and they close on Tuesdays.

 

Trapani – Amici Miei

My hotel recommended this because the other pizza place I wanted to try was closed and I am so glad we came here. This is astounding gluten free pizza. On top of this, we had the most amazing fried octopus – incredibly tender and served with just a squeeze of lemon. The restaurant was very busy with locals – large family groups – but is conveniently located on Trapani’s waterfront, the Lungomare Dante Alighieri, so just a short walk from the Piazza Mercato del Pesce. The drawback is that the wine choices here are limited and not particularly good. Beer may be safer. There is no website but reservations can be made on the TheFork.it.  It appears to be open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner.

 

Marsala – Quimera

After visiting the salt pans, we dropped by for lunch before embarking on our drive down to Menfi. Quimera is a simple deli serving sandwiches, salads and cold cuts with a nice selection of beer. They actually refer to themselves as a Gastropub, which it may be in the evening but for lunch, it was more like a deli. And because we were expecting a simple deli, we were amazed at how nicely presented everything was. They certainly take pride in the quality of their produce and in how everything is laid out. As Quimera is located in a restricted zone, we parked nearby and made the short 5-10 minute walk to the deli. No website but they have a Facebook page.

 

For even faster food – there’s Arancini

This list is by no means exhaustive as there are many other places to find good food but is a small sample of places I’ve been to that I particularly liked. I tried others but wouldn’t necessarily go again due sometimes to inconvenience. In addition, the food markets in Palermo and Catania provide opportunities to try some street food, and the Sicilian stuffed rice ball, arancini, is commonly found. The arancini in Sicily is unlike that found in most other places in the world. The fillings are ample and so it’s not just rice so I highly recommend grabbing some arancini if time is short. We did this in Erice where there is a La Tonda arancini takeaway just near the carpark at the main entry, Porta Trapani, to Erice. We sat on the ramparts overlooking Trapani and ate our arancini. Super!