Did not realize that the restaurant was not in the main part of town when we made the reservation…read morenor did we realize that we would be trekking twenty minutes up into the mountain. At one point on our journey up to dinner we noticed a building outlined in lights up near the mountain top and sure enough that beacon was our destination. We were rewarded for our adventurousness - the location was spectacular, the staff was warm and welcoming, the food was delicious, and the final bill was extremely reasonable. Reservations are a must - especially with our party of 12 - as it appeared they only have one seating. For Americans, like us, please note that they serve the meal traditionally so if some guests order pizza and others order primi or secondi plates your meals will not be served at the same time. Most of us had pizza - they had many varieties to choose from. The mixed grilled meats was delicious, too - especially the chicken. And, as per trip advisor, we tried the pistachio (and chocolate flan) - wonderful! (Though not flan in the traditional sense - more like an American "lava cake" with a thin, cake like shell and a warm liquid center). The coffee choices were disappointing and they did not serve tea but all in all one of the more memorable meals during our stay in Sicily.

This restaurant is actually linked to the hotel I stayed in recently - Atelier Sul Mare, but it's…read moreso amazing, I felt that it deserved it's own review. I actually arrived before my boyfriend the day we got here, and had a lovely few hours just sitting, staring at the view drinking beer and reading a book. Of course, as lovely as the view was, I was going to get hungry. I knew that the boy was going to get there later than planned - the hotel do underestimate the time taken to reach them, so he ws going to be an hour later than planned. This meant that I had a long, slow dinner, and they didn't bat an eyelid. I wasn't rushed and they were lovely and chatted to me despite my awful Italian. My meal was fine - although I somehow managed to accidentally eat veal, and I'm not sure how I feel about that - I don't think I liked it very much. They insisted that they would stay open until my boyfriend arrived. He didn't arrive until 11.45. They prepared him some cold antipasti and would hear of us going anywhere until he'd eaten. The next morning we were late for breakfast, but the did let us drink coffee before we dissappeared into the Sicilian coast for the day. The gave it to us for free as well which was lovely of them. It wasn't until much later, after driving around cute towns and exploring and obviously having a splash in the sea, that we sat down to dinner. It was amazing. We had such a great night. Although let it be said, I'm never eating oysters again. I'm pleased I tried one though. I also learnt that steak is generally served in Sicily very rare, but it was yummy so I didn't mind this. I still find the four course thing strange, but hey, I got to eat rissotto AND steak. No room for dessert, but plenty for wine and wine and wine. Oh, and grappa. Which nearly killed me. The other half drank the rest of mine and talked silly mafia rubbish for the rest of the evening :-) A three/four course meal with wine and beer for two will set you back about EUR100 - sure it's not cheap, but you've got a gorgeous view, some great staff and you're about ten foot from the beach. Who cares how much it costs?

Our family took us to this restaurant. The owner was absolutely charming and outgoing. The views…read morealong the pedestrian walkway allows you to see for miles. We say and watched the sun set into the ocean while watching the World Cup. The food was freshly prepared. Whatever was caught in the morning is served up in the evening. Wine choices were perfect for the meal. Service was excellent and very attentive. If you are near Santo Stefano make sure to check this place out.

Salvatore, the chef at Al Cantuccio, is an artist and a gentleman. In fact, it seems truly as…read morethough there is some kind of vendetta against him going on among the Italian reviewers on TripAdvisor, several of whom have given him one-star reviews that are a complete fiction - misquoting prices, claiming that the actual appetizer menu isn't precisely the same as the poster nearby on the seaside street, and other such such inventions. The vast majority of the Italian reviews are like this one - fabulous and extremely complimentary! This is a traditional restaurant, but the quality is simply superb. The fact that, in eating a simple dish like the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, I started asking myself if I had ever enjoyed anything more (and I've traveled the world and the USA as a food-lover for decades) is telling. It seemed as though everyone at the table was having similar thoughts. Possibly because we were early and the place wasn't very full, we were offered several different bruschetti, all excellent, as well as the possibility to modify the dishes on the handwritten Italian menu (the menus are indeed not precisely the same due to being handwritten, one of the bogus complaints from the nasty Italian reviewers). While I speak a little Italian, none of the rest of our party do, and the servers (and chef) were perfectly competent to answer all the questions in English that we had. The pasta is all made in house (and on display by the chef at our table before we ordered), as is the bread. Again, probably because it was early on a weeknight, and perhaps because we were appreciating the food, the chef came to our table with a special extra dessert of tiny muscal grapes in a glass of must from the wine of the same grapes, mixed with prosecco. It was totally amazing. He did not put it on the bill. The chef is a serious man, and only seems to have responded directly to one of the stupid Italian reviews, but perhaps this kind of man will always provoke some hatred simply due to his seriousness and devotion. But listen to the enthusiastic Italians and to this review, and do not miss this place when you are nearby. Of course we left a gigantic tip, given his amazing creativity and generosity (and the quite small bill!) - you will too!

We found this gem on a rainy but warm sunday afternoon on Salina Island where much was closed. We…read morehad been there for a few days and knew some general places to try getting lunch, and this one is sort of in an alley off of two main streets. Luckily, they were open and had a covered patio so we could eat outside with the nice breeze, but without getting wet. It was a great meal! We started with an incredible mixed greens and capers salad - capers are a big thing in the Aeolian islands and they are truly delicious here. We were hungry so we also got a delicious antipasto of local meats and cheeses. We were recommended a great wine recommendation that somehow paired with everything. Finally, the pièce de resistance was a wonderful penne pasta - also with capers - that was 100% gluten free and 150% delicious. If you're ever on Salina, I sincerely hope you'll come here for one of your meals! You won't regret it.