5 Best Restaurants in Sicily, Italy

Here's a novelty for Palermo in the form of a superb modern restaurant located within a museum dedicated to Steve Jobs and Apple products, a surprisingly successful combination; you not only have the ability to revisit ancient IT devices and learn about the history of the tech company, but the food is pretty excellent. Each of the dishes is a revelation, from the pumpkin with miso and fermented black garlic to the ravioli with stewed veal cheek and pigeon with red-wine scented quince. Vegetarian options are as good as any that Palermo has to offer—best sampled in a set tasting menu. The elevated prices are commensurate with the sophisticated cuisine . The venue is also extraordinary as the restaurant is housed within the Palazzo Castrone, one of the city's finest old palaces, just steps away from the Cathedral and entered through a beautiful courtyard.

For fine dining in Mondello, you can't go wrong with Charleston, a local institution where the dishes are of the highest quality and the white-gloved waiters offer impeccable service. Partly hidden behind a low white wall directly opposite the beach, the restaurant is an odd combination of the traditional and the contemporary, as the setting is stately and refined while the menu has the minimalist yet adventurous quality of cutting-edge cuisine. Despite the elegant setting, the mood is relaxed and authentic. The dishes, which use the finest ingredients to give a modern twist to Sicilian culinary traditions, are best sampled on one of the set-price menus, which include a multi-course tasting menu (€75). The involtini di pesce spada (swordfish wrapped with cheese, sultanas, and pine nuts) is a stand-out.

A native of Naples, Ciro Aragione has called Stromboli home since the 1990s. From his home, he cooks lunch for visitors to the island, usually a set menu of pasta and fish he's bought straight off the boats that morning. In addition to the home restaurant, really a long table on his terrace flanked by lemon and mandarin trees, he can arrange catered picnics for your boat excursions or beach days, and will deliver to you.

It's worth the short drive or inexpensive taxi ride from Monreale to reach this restaurant, which is famous for well-prepared local specialties (just keep in mind it has limited open hours, so call before you come). Seafood dishes might include bavette don Carmelo, a version of tagliatelle with a sauce of swordfish, squid, shrimp, and pine nuts while other favorites include involtini alla siciliana (meat roulades) and grilled beef fillet. Local wines make a tasty accompaniment.

Locals flock to this elegant, modern restaurant down by the port, whose white walls are embellished with the colorful ceramics for which Sciacca is renowned. Seafood is the top choice (you'll see what's available as you enter), served in basically every form, from zuppa di cozze (mussel soup) to squid ink pasta, grilled calamari, and red prawns from Mazara served on the skewer. There are fixed-price menus and a long list of reasonably priced wines.