Local Guide to Catania’s Best Restaurants
In Sicily, eating is serious business. And it doesn’t get any better than in Catania, my city. And with food this good, knowing where and what to eat during your trip is an absolute must.
To help you navigate the dining scene here, and so that you can discover some of the city’s best culinary secrets, I’ve shared a mix of my favorite local restaurants.
In addition to my recommended restaurants, I’ve also included some must-try dishes at each of them. The list is mostly hidden gems and favorite local spots, but I’ve also included one or two high-end places for a special occasion.
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Table of contents
Introduction to food and dining in Catania
Mirco’s favorite Catania restaurants
‘A Putia do’ Calabrisi – Sit shoulder to shoulder with locals while eating good, honest Sicilian food
Palinuro – Seafood, seafood, seafood
Vermut – For a quick bite, the sandwiches and starters are fantastic
La Terrazza del Barone – If you’re feeling adventurous, try the horse meat
Trattoria de Fiore – Pasta alla Norma is Catania’s signature dish, and this restaurant is my ultimate recommendation for where to try it
Trattoria Tumminello – Tiny, intimate, and with the warmth of a truly family-run establishment
Il Sale – For a night of fine dining and a little bit of luxury, this is my favorite
Le Quinte – Probably the best pizza in Catania
Guided tours of Catania with Mirco
If you want to see Catania through the eyes of a local, reach out to our favorite guide, Mirco!
Originally from Northern Italy, Mirco moved to Catania to reconnect with his Sicilian routes and has been showing visitors around his city and region ever since.
With a focus on tours that get off the beaten path, Mirco is a great bet if you want to see a slice of authentic Sicily.
An introduction to eating in Catania
Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for reading and thank you for coming to my fabulous city, Catania! I might be a little biased, but I think my city offers some of the best dining experiences anywhere in Sicily.
Also, while Catania receives many tourists now, it’s still a big city and most restaurants here cater to locals, not tourists. This is good for you as it means you’ll get terrific authentic food at reasonable prices.
When eating in Catania and when traveling around Sicily, I always look for local, authentic, rustic and family owned restaurants, (trattorie as we call them). In my opinion, these are the best places to try typical food and experience our cuisine like a local.
But, you’ll be here on vacation so it also makes sense that you might want to try some higher-end places or have some options for special occasions.
So, for this list I’ve included a mix of rustic local spots (hole in the wall is not really the right term, but it gives you the idea) and fantastic mid to high-end restaurants too.
Know before you go
Before we get into the list, I wanted to share three important pieces of information related to dining at restaurants in Sicily.
1. A trattoria is a category of restaurant in Italy. They are usually family-owned, casual neighborhood restaurants that serve typical local food. They are my favorites.
2. An osteria (putia in Sicilian) traditionally was a small wine bar that also served some snacks (to let you keep drinking more wine!). Over the centuries, osterias evolved to serve full, if simple, meals. In the hierarchy of restaurants, an osteria is usually simpler than a trattoria. Many won’t even have a menu as what’s served depends on what was purchased that morning at the market.
While you’ll see osteria written in restaurant names, if we’re honest, it’s very hard in Sicily to actually find one in the original sense. Nonetheless, when you see osteria on a restaurant sign, know that it’s likely to be simpler food than what you would find at a trattoria or a ristorante.
3. A ristorante (restaurant) is of course a term to refer to any type of restaurant, but it’s also a specific type in our hierarchy of Italian eating establishments. It is the fanciest of the 3 categories of restaurant and you can can usually expect white table cloths, porcelain plates, and an elegant setting.
If when you picture Italian restaurants scenes of waiters in white dress shirts and black vests carrying large silver trays laden with food come to mind, this is the type of place you’re imagining. The food will usually be more intricate, and often less local, than at an osteria or trattoria.
1. ‘A Putia do Calabrisi
‘A Putia do Calabrisi is simply a Catania institution. One of the most famed casual restaurants of the city, it’s been a favorite spot of local residents for decades. And thankfully, over those decades almost nothing here has changed.
Located in an old district that’s a bit of a hike from the city center and not the most photogenic, the restaurant preserves Catania food tradition as if it were a museum. In a time when so many restaurants are tripping over themselves to be trendy and modern, the timelessness and anti-trendiness of this place is a relief..
Here there is no menu and everything is oral. But if you don’t speak Italian, don’t worry; the waiter (who is usually Santa, the owner’s nephew) will get the job done through a mix of broken English and sign language that only an Italian could produce.
The atmosphere is rustic, cozy, and like something out of a movie from the 50’s. If you’re up for meeting some locals, this is the spot to do it, as you’ll almost certainly share your table with other diners!
Normally, the move here is to go for a set menu with a fixed price (around 10€). You’ll be served a starter, a primo piatto, and then a secondo. Each dish follows the Sicilian tradition (spicy olives, caponata, pasta alla norma, etc.) and the appetizer and primo will be chosen for you. For the second course, you’ll get to choose between meat or fish.
As I mentioned earlier, a Putia (as in the restaurant name here) is a sort of simple wine bar. And, true to its name, the first thing you’ll see when you enter the restaurant are the many barrels of wine. All local, it will be served at your table in glass pitchers.
‘A Putia do Calabrisi is a testimony to restaurants of bygone days and eating here is like stepping into a portal to the past. Indulge the nostalgia and come take a walk down memory lane!
2. Palinuro
If you’re looking to try some great fish while here, go to Palinuro!
Located in Via Pacini, close to the Fiera Market and Catania’s elegant main street, Via Etnea, the specialty here is fish and that’s what you should plan on ordering. The restaurant is squarely in the middle in terms of price, neither cheap nor expensive, but it’s a bargain considering the quality.
The ambience is clean and simple; nothing to write home about, but perfectly pleasant. In addition to expertly prepared fresh fish, the wine is quite good and features a selection of local wineries.
For a unique meal, try the carbonara with tuna. Don’t tell anyone in Rome that you had a carbonara with fish though or they might have a heart attack over the sacrilege!
Get off the beaten path and see an authentic side of Catania on tour with local guide Mirco! From urban hikes, night tours, and visits to Etna and stunning natural places, Mirco is your man in East Sicily!
3. Vermut
If ‘A Putia do Calabrisi is the past, Vermuth is the future. It unapologetically breaks from the past and disregards tradition. If Putia do Calabrisi is a haven for nostalgic people who believe there will be no more restaurants like it in the future (and I am one of them), Vermuth represents that feared future!
Opened 8 years ago on an entirely unfrequented street near to to Via Etnea and the Fiera Market, the bet has paid off so well that the entire street has changed. Via Gemmellaro is now a bustling area with a bounty of eating and drinking options.
Why? Vermuth’s success has been so resounding that other restaurateurs took notice and rushed to open up their own joints all around it, hoping to piggyback on its momentum.
The result is a street with more than 10 bars and osterie competing to serve aperitivos and aperi-cena. In under a decade this completely ignored stretch of pavement now practically resembles a central pub street.
So, what is it about Vermuth that has sparked such interest and fervor? On the surface, it follows Sicilian tradition and resembles a typical osteria. But the style, and the food, is something completely different.
First of all, it’s a sort of hip delicatessen, with a great selection of Sicilian cheeses and cured meats to accompany your wine or cocktails. For sandwich lovers, you can also head straight up to the bar/counter and create your own fantastic panino with their plethora of ingredients.
It’s also excellent for wine, but the real attraction are the hundreds of always-changing starters (small plates - sort of like tapas) that they do every day. My favourite ones are the tostadas and papasadas.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, plan on coming in the early evening for an aperitivo and pre-dinner snack. The people watching is almsot as good as the food.
4. La Terrazza del Barone
Not far from the Roman amphitheater and smack in the middle of Via Plebiscito’s many barbecues, La Terrazza del Barone is a good trattoria that, unusual for Italy, has an appetizer buffet. While there is the physical trattoria, they also have a sort food cart right on the street.
There are options here for everyone, but the main reason to come is to try their grilled horse meat. I know that some readers will be aghast at the idea of eating horse, but it’s quite common in Catania and Via Plebiscito street is full of restaurants with barbecues directly on the sidewalk where they’re out grilling horse meat every hour of the day.
For a more leisurely experience, you can grab a table and sit, but if you’re in Catania street food mode, you should hop in line, order up a horse sandwich, and then take off for a walk, sandwich in hand, like the locals all around you.
For a “soft” introduction to horse meat, try the hamburger. To up the ante, order it with pistachio cream inside!
5. Trattoria de Fiore
Located very close to Piazza Teatro Massimo square and its incredible theater (the most important of Catania), this stalwart restaurant dates back to 1962; they just celebrated their 60-year anniversary.
For locals, the restaurant has a host of different names: Trattoria de Fiore, Nuova Trattoria del Forestiero, Mamma Rosanna… The last last one is probably the most popular, and it’s a safe bet to use because the owner, Mamma Rosanna herself, will certainly approve.
Now 70 years old, she’s still in the kitchen every day preparing her signature homemade maccheroni.
The ambience here is cozy and relaxed and the decorations hanging on the walls tell us a bit about the long history. Still genuinely family run and with welcoming waiters and great prices, you feel at home as soon as you sit down.
The menu is true to tradition and you’ll find items like caponata, parmigiana, pasta with pistachio pesto (amazing), and the restaurant’s star dish: Pasta alla Norma, which is also the iconic dish of Catania.
6. Trattoria Tumminello
Near Catania’s train station (AKA quite far from the center), you might look at Trattoria Tumminello’s location on the map and immediately write off this great trattoria. You shouldn’t. While it might be a longer walk than you want, you can easily hop on the metro and get there with no fuss. Just make sure to get off at the Giovanni XXIII stop.
In the heart of the old San Berillo district, Trattoria Tumminello is probably the most family-run restaurant in Catania. Consisting of just two small rooms with space for no more than 10 people, the atmosphere inside is friendly and familiar. When you enter you are welcomed by the owner Carmela’s son, who will also probably be your waiter.
The menu is constantly changing and will be shown to you on a piece of paper, written by hand. The food is simple, but delicious, and the wine is exceptional. My personal suggestion is to try the pasta with the cuttlefish ink (al nero di seppia), which is outstanding.
7. Il Sale
On Via Santa Filomena, a nice street full of restaurants, Il Sale is the best of the bunch.
Unlike many of the other options on this list, this is fine dining with prices to match. We’ve covered lots of rustic and local joints so far, but for a splurge or a special occasion, something a little fancier might be in order.
But high-end doesn’t need to be stuffy or pretentious and there’s none of that here. The service is warm and relaxed while also being efficient. Practically everything on the menu is homemade - even the bread – and all the dishes are cooked with ingredients of the highest quality.
If you’re not sure what to order, I always like the Calamarata alla Catanese and, for dessert, the pistachio lava cake.
8. Le Quinte
In Italian “Dietro le Quinte” means “Behind the scenes”, and this is the meaning of Le Quinte, because we are close to Piazza Teatro Massimo square where you can admire the Teatro Bellini. The restaurant, just behind the scenes, awaits hungry theater goers.
At Le Quinte you’ll only find one thing: pizza. This is a true pizzeria so don’t bother asking for anything else. There’s no reason to, as here they do pizza extraordinarily well.
The pizza options on the menu each allude to a famous opera and you’ll see choices like Norma, Rigoletto, Primavera, Estate, etc. I think it’s a cute idea! Not stuck in tradition, the pizzaiolo (pizza chef) here is flexible and you can try everything from classic to gourmet.
I don’t have any favorite here, but I almost always ask for them to add pistachio pesto to whatever I order. You may have noticed that I’ve mentioned pistachio in some form numerous times throughout this guide. It’s not just because I like pistachio (though I clearly do!) - it’s that it’s a specialty of the island and we’re the only region of Italy that grows them.
The location is new and the interior is done with an interesting minimalist aesthetic. The prices are a bit higher than other neighborhood pizzerias, but it's worth it - this is hands down the best pizza in the center of Catania.
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