Restaurants in Taormina
I selected three restaurants in Taormina. Two of them I visited more recently with Adara, my best friend from college, while she was on a honeymoon with her wonderful longtime partner Matt. They had two weeks in Sicily, so I popped down from Rome for a brief sojourn. Adara and I jive on many things—music, fashion, Sacha Baron Cohen, but good food has always been a special and shared joy. We delight applying our research skills (developed at our beloved undergraduate alma mater Wheaton College) to finding restaurants and treating each other. She chose the first two restaurants for my ‘honeymoon crashing’. The food is divine and the memories of dining in Sicily together are so precious.
Tischi Toschi
Address- Vico Cuscona-Paladini
Phone- +39 339 364 2088
Website- https://www.tischitoschitaormina.com/
Hours- Open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner and only dinner on Monday
Price- Medium range
Reservations- By phone or online form
Feeling blissful during a meal in the courtyard at Tischi Toschi; you can get a peek into the intimate interior of the restaurant as well
Michelin and Gambero Rosso (the Italian equivalent) recommended, Tischi Toschi is a family run restaurant that was originally located in Messina Italy and moved to the center of Taormina. As noted in this food blog, the chef, Luca Casablanca, trained to be a jeweler, so you will see beautiful ceramic pieces hanging on the wall. We ate in the interior courtyard on a pleasant June evening. Highlights of the menu are the freshest seafood prepared in traditional Sicilian recipes. As stated on their website ‘it is the seasons that ‘decide’ the menu', and the restaurant has also been recognized as an official ‘slow food’ restaurant.
Recommended Dishes
As mentioned above, the chef Luca Casablanca explains on the menu section of the website that his dishes are always original but in line with traditional Sicilian recipes. He starts with high quality products from the local markets and then innovates from there. I do remember for a primo piatto we tried the pasta con le sarde, a popular local dish with sardines with raisins, pine nuts and breadcrumbs. Flavors of oil, blood orange, caper, pine nut, raisin on top of eggplant, sardine and fresh fish populate the menu. Explore this post on Stefan’s Gourmet Blog to see his whole meal documented by pictures that make me want to get back there immediately!
Ristorante Nettuno da Siciliano
UPDATE: It seems that this delightful restaurant has now closed. I will wait a few months to see if there is a resurrection, then sadly, remove from this page.
I had a perfect lazy Saturday afternoon lunch at this elegant restaurant that is tucked away (or tucked up rather), as you need to take the Salita Santippo to reach it. ‘Salita’ in Italian always implies that it is a street with an ‘ascent’. We sat inside but the restaurant opened up onto a lovely courtyard, so we had a nice breeze to accompany our dry Sicilian rose.
Address- Salita Santippo, 5
Phone- +39 0942 626023
Website- https://it-it.facebook.com/nettunodasicilianotaormina/
Hours- Hours not currently updated on Google
Price- Middle range
Reservations- Book a table through Quandoo on their website here.
Recommended Dishes
Happy with fresh burrata
Antipasto- A delicious but simple burrata salad with tomato and rucola (arugula)
Primo-Maccheroni di casa tirati al ferretto alla Norma (a fresh maccheroni with eggplant, a rich red sauce and salty ricotta on top)
Secondo- Tonno in crosta di Cous Cous su insalata di zucchine grigliate con cipolla rossa di Tropea (Tuna encrusted with Cous Cous over grilled zucchini and pickled red onions from Tropea)
Granduca Taormina
This restaurant has a view. It is a beautiful view of the coast, and you should eat at at least one restaurant with a view during your stay in Taormina. However, to be perfectly honest, this restaurant walks the line between tourist trap and quality. Let me explain. It is located on the main street, Corso Umberto I, in a very large space; thus, we did not need to book for lunch during a day trip to Taormina. (We visited during Christmas time, so it was not peak tourist season.) We wanted a more flexible lunch plan and did not want to be tied to a reservation at a certain time, and Granduca was perfect. The restaurant is located in a 15th century villa that has been restored, so the space is quite elegant. You might notice the subtle contradiction, however, between this context and the fact that it is called a ‘ristorante pizzeria’. Pizzerie in Italy are most often casual.
These peculiarities aside, the food was very good. You will see on Google that the restaurant is rated 4.4 stars, and in fact, I can vouch for a positive experience despite these aforementioned warning signs. Prices are indeed ‘high’ for a ‘pizzeria’ but you do pay up a bit for the atmosphere and the view. In recommending restaurants, my taste is usually rather intimate, niche, special, but sometimes restaurant needs are different, thus Granduca is a solid option, especially if you have not booked a table. If you want a Michelin star restaurant experience with a view, book a table at Otto Geleng, but be prepared to pay the price. Granduca offers a good compromise for a meal with a sweeping view which is not too involved.
Address- Corso Umberto I, 172
Phone- +39 0942 24983
Website- https://www.ristorantegranduca.it/en
Hours- Open every day for lunch and dinner
Price- Middle range
Reservations- You can book a table through the website
Recommended Dishes
Opt for a selection from the Menu Regionale
Bonus-Osteria RossoDiVino
Adara told me that this restaurant, Osteria RossoDiVino, was perfectly ‘divine’. I couldn’t resist the pun because the name of the restaurant ‘DiVino’ means ‘of wine’ but also ‘divine’ in Italian. I haven’t had the chance to experience it myself, but I wanted to include the information (from a most trusted authority, hehe) in case you make it there before I do!
Osteria RossoDiVino
Address- Vico De Spuches, 8
Phone- +39 0942 628653
Website- https://osteriarossodivinotaormina.com/?lang=en
Hours- Open every day for lunch and dinner except closed on Tuesday
Price- Middle range
Reservations- By phone or email: osteriarossodivino@hotmail.it