Sicily Food Guide: What to Eat, Where to Eat, and the Best Markets

Sicilian food is its own culinary universe - Arab, Greek, Norman, and Spanish influences layered over 3,000 years of occupation, producing a cuisine that’s distinct from mainland Italian cooking in both technique and flavour. This guide covers what to eat, where to buy it, and named restaurants worth visiting in the main cities.

The Essential Dishes

Arancini / Arancine

The debate over the name maps neatly onto geography: in Catania they’re arancini (masculine, referring to little oranges for their shape); in Palermo they’re arancine (feminine). Either way, they’re deep-fried rice balls - the classic filling is meat ragù with peas and mozzarella, but variants include spinach and ricotta, or pistachio cream (a specialty of Bronte, the pistachio capital of the island).

The best arancini are eaten fresh from the fryer, not reheated. Buy from a rosticceria (a shop selling fried snacks) rather than a tourist cafe.

Where to eat them: Antico Chiosco near the Palermo train station - approximately €2.50 each. In Catania, Savia on Via Etnea 302 has been making arancini since 1897 (from approximately €2 each).

Pasta con le Sarde

One of Sicily’s most distinctive pasta dishes - bucatini or spaghetti with fresh sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts, sultanas, and saffron. The sweet-savoury combination is Arab in origin, and the wild fennel is essential - the dried version doesn’t give the same result. It’s predominantly a Palermo dish and harder to find well-made in eastern Sicily.

Where to eat it: Trattoria Ai Cascinari in Palermo’s La Cala harbour area (Via d’Ossuna 43) does a reliably good version. Expect to pay approximately €12–15 for a pasta main course.

Pasta alla Norma

Catania’s signature pasta - rigatoni or penne with fried aubergine, tomato sauce, ricotta salata (salted dried ricotta), and basil. Named after Bellini’s opera Norma, composed by the Catanese composer Vincenzo Bellini. The ricotta salata is not negotiable - without it the dish is just pasta with aubergine.

Where to eat it: Osteria Antica Marina in Catania’s fish market (Piazza Duomo area, approximately €14–16 for pasta). Or Trattoria de Fiore in Catania (Via Coppola 24, approximately €12–14).

Granita and Brioche

Sicily’s version of granita is not the grainy ice you find elsewhere - it’s a finely churned semi-frozen dessert served with a soft brioche col tuppo (the round bun with a topknot). Eating granita with brioche for breakfast is a Sicilian institution in summer. Flavours: almond (mandorla), lemon, coffee, and pistachio are the classics. Mulberry (gelsi) appears briefly in early summer.

Where to eat it: Bar Stancampiano in Palermo (Piazza Don Bosco) - the almond granita is exceptional. In Catania, Caffè del Duomo on Piazza Duomo does a good coffee granita. Budget approximately €3–5 for granita with brioche.

Cannoli

The pastry is fried, the filling is fresh sheep’s milk ricotta sweetened with sugar - never custard or cream. The shell must be filled to order; pre-filled cannoli go soggy. Genuine Sicilian ricotta has a different texture to the mass-market version sold elsewhere, which is why the real thing doesn’t transport.

Where to buy them: In Palermo, Pasticceria Fratelli Magri (Via Isidoro La Lumia 25) and Pasticceria Costa (Via Mariano Stabile 191) are well-regarded. In Catania, Pasticceria Savia. Expect to pay €2–3 per cannolo.

The Markets

La Pescheria, Catania

Catania’s fish market operates Monday to Saturday from around 7am to 1pm in the square behind the cathedral (Piazza Pardo). It’s one of the great theatre markets of southern Europe - vendors shout the prices, swordfish and tuna are cut to order, sea urchins are sold by the tray, and every type of Mediterranean catch is piled on crushed ice.

It’s primarily a retail market for local buyers, but the atmosphere is the point. Vendors expect to sell - don’t browse without buying if you want to photograph a stall up close. A portion of sea urchins (ricci di mare) to eat raw on the spot costs approximately €5–8.

Ballarò Market, Palermo

The Ballarò in the Albergheria quarter (south of the cathedral, roughly between Via Ballarò and Via Porta di Castro) is Palermo’s most vibrant daily food market. It runs 7am to 2pm most days, with some vendors continuing into the afternoon.

Beyond the produce stalls, look for:

• Stigghiola: grilled lamb intestines wound around spring onions (approximately €3–5 per portion)
• Sfincione: thick Palermitan pizza sold in rectangular slabs, topped with tomato, onion, anchovies, and caciocavallo cheese
• Pane con la milza: the notorious spleen sandwich - beef spleen and lung cooked in lard, served in a sesame bread roll. Fondly loved by some, avoided by others.

Restaurants: Palermo

Trattoria Ai Cascinari (Via d’Ossuna 43) - An old-school trattoria near the Capo market, mostly visited by locals. Reliable pasta con le sarde, involtini di pesce spada (swordfish rolls), and caponata. Dinner for two with wine approximately €45–60. Closed Sunday.

Osteria dei Vespri (Piazza Croce dei Vespri 6) - Set in a 17th-century palazzo, this is one of Palermo’s better formal options. Sicilian-focused menu with seasonal fish and good local wine list. Dinner mains approximately €22–32.

Bisso Bistrot (Via Maqueda 172) - More casual, good for lunch. Excellent arancini, panino options, and local wines by the glass. Budget-friendly at €10–15 for lunch.

Restaurants: Catania

Osteria Antica Marina (Via Pardo 29) - Directly adjacent to the fish market, so the seafood is as fresh as it gets. The frittura di pesce (mixed fried fish) and the pasta al nero di seppia (squid ink pasta) are the things to order. Lunch approximately €20–30 per person; dinner €30–45.

Trattoria de Fiore (Via Coppola 24) - Reliable, unpretentious, and priced for locals. The pasta alla Norma is excellent, as is the caponata as a starter. Budget €20–30 per person for dinner.

Etnea (Via Etnea 116) - Modern Catanian cooking that uses Etna DOC wines and local producers. Slightly more ambitious than a trattoria - good for a longer meal. Dinner mains approximately €20–28.

Wine Regions

Etna DOC

The slopes of Mount Etna produce wines on black volcanic soil at elevations between 400m and 1,000m. The reds (Nerello Mascalese) are lighter than typical southern Italian reds - often compared structurally to Burgundy or Barolo, with high acidity and floral aromatics. The whites (Carricante) are mineral and saline. Producers to look for: Benanti, Passopisciaro, and Cornelissen (a natural wine producer using minimal intervention).

Wine tastings at Etna can be arranged through most agritourism estates on the mountain. Expect to pay approximately €20–40 for a tasting of 4–6 wines.

Marsala DOC (Trapani Province)

Marsala is a fortified wine made in the port town of the same name. The famous cooking version (fine semi-sweet Marsala) isn’t what the local producers drink - the quality is in the Vergine and Soleras styles, aged for a minimum of 5 years, with nutty, complex oxidative character. Visit the Florio estate (Lungomare Florio 1, Marsala) for guided tastings, approximately €10–15.

Nero d’Avola (South-East)

The variety is grown across much of southern Sicily but the best expressions come from around Avola, Pachino, and Noto in the south-east. Planeta and Donnafugata are the two best-known export producers; smaller estates like Gulfi and COS make more characterful versions. A good bottle in a restaurant should cost approximately €20–35.

For Your Stay in Sicily

For accommodation options across the island, see our where to stay in Sicily guide, which covers hotels from Palermo to Syracuse and options near the Etna wine region.

For wine tours and cooking classes, browse Sicily food and wine tours - Etna winery visits and Palermo street food walking tours are consistently the most-booked options.