Looking for an experience of authentic Sicilian culture? You'll find it here. Authentic, old…read moreworld, charming and delicious. It is slow food, at it's finest. Dishes that other won serve, because they require time, love and attention. Lots of seafood, freashly caught and you can taste the difference. Amazing vegetarian pasta. Lots of dishes to select from. Too many. You could dine here for a week and still not explore it all. Go! You will be delighted!

We arrived at the restaurant and was told there were no tables available for the evening and was…read moreturned away. I then informed them I had made reservations to celebrate my wife's birthday and was promptly seated. The highlight was the bread and the olive from Mt Etna, amazing splash of olive oil!. Then things went down hill from there. Service was mediocre, the food was not as expected. I had Spatola and had to search for bits and pieces of fish. The taste was off and I elected not to finish my meal. I assume they were having an off-night but after seeing some of the reviews, I don't think so. I traveled throughout Italy, Sicily and Sardinia and must say this was not enjoyable. I would not recommend this place of business until they re-evaluate their menus and staff.

Very special location. Excellent menu. Great portions and quality. Romantic and ideal for a special…read moreoccasion.

Oh my goodness. This place was amazing…read more I'm not sure where to start, so let's start with the view. The pictures uploaded by others show the view from the restaurant, and it doesn't matter where you're seated--floor to ceiling glass windows give diners an unobstructed view of the shimmering Mediterranean sea. (I'll try to upload a photo as well.) I was there for lunch in August with a few friends (most of whom were locals). We ordered a number of seafood appetizers to share, including raw shrimp and other fish. Presentation was beautiful, and everything was fresh. For the main course, I had spaghetti with sea urchin. Simple, right? Yes, simple done right. The pasta was cooked al dente and smoothly mixed with the sea urchin. Every bite delivered a heady mix of perfectly cooked pasta flavored with the slight brininess from the sea urchin. I finished off my plate fast and looked hopefully at my friends' plates, hoping they weren't able to finish theirs so I could have more. Alas, they seemed to like the pasta just as much as I did as their plates were empty as well. A few others ordered a variety of cooked seafood, including swordfish. Their orders were presented on a heated tile of pink Himalyan salt, which I found fascinating. Yes, I'm easily impressed. :D I tried a bit of swordfish, and though I'm typically not a fan of this particular fish, it was amazing. We finished off our meal with some espressos (passed on dessert as we were all so full). Amazing lunch. The price was more than reasonable too, considering the breathtaking view, the warm and friendly service, and the quality and freshness of the food.

After our Messina tour, we wanted to have lunch so this spot was nearby and recommended. Also…read morefound out they have locations all over the world. Arrived around 12:30 on a Thursday and we sat outside. Empty inside but filled up by the time we were done. Good mix of menu options from salad, pasta, pizza, main entrees including burgers. . We started with the Ruoto di Bufalo- a good mix of fried veggies, Arancini, fried cheese and dough. All delicious except the fried dough was a bit bland and that was the biggest portion. For main, Spaghetti alla Nerano with fried Zucchini and cheese was tasty and enjoyed. Based on recommendation, also ordered pizza fritta-a monstrous calzone that is fried and filled with tasty buffalo ricotta and pork cracklings-enough for two. A Naples dish and they did it right. We finished with a couple of Macchiatos which hit the spot. Service was attentive and friendly. They have been ranked top 50 artisanal pizzerias in the world for the last 5 years. Close to the port and definitely worth a visit.

Outside of the tourist areas, in a working class city, this is what Sicilian cooking is. Very…read moredelicious food, and good service. The pizza and everything we had was very good.

OMG. There are no words to describe the delight when we visited this place. It was SOOOOOO good…read more The service was impeccable and they all went out of their way to make a special day for one of our guests even more special (she got a tee-shirt & they sang happy birthday)! The owner is truly amazing and always engaging with visitors. The traditional arancini was by far our favorite. We will have this embedded in our memory until we can get back there again - and we sure hope that's soon... don't let the outside fool you - stop here and give them a try, you will NOT be disappointed!!! It's truly a memorable & delightful stop if you're in Messina Sicily... (they serve local beer too - and it's quite tasty accompaniment to the very large Arancini).

OMG. This place is a MUST if you're looking to try arancini. Large menu selection, you can order…read moreit to eat there or to go. They have microwaves there; I highly recommend you get it warmed, as it tastes so much better. I loved the four cheese. Fast efficient, no frills service. Minimal English spoken. Very popular with the locals, so you know it's legitimately good!

Holy heck, what a find! It was just about the only good choice in the little town of Spadafora, a…read moregreat place (my grandfather is from there so that's why we were visiting) and worth a stop if you have a few hours. The name has apparently changed several times and the current chef/owner is in the wrong place (but right for us)! He belongs in an upscale restaurant in a big city, his cuisine is that good. We had the chef's tasting menu, 13! courses in all, which was absurdly cheap (about 20 euros if I remember right) and maybe 8 more for a great bottle of local "viagnier" (OK they can't spell that well, but I do mean great, we are wine snobs). So for antipasti we got 7 (that's right, seven) little gems that were absolutely exquisite, Almost all seafood, insanely fresh, creative and perfectly cooked. For the pasta we were treated to a great seafood risotto, but by that time my wife was stuffed, so I had the second course, a "sea bass" fillet done en Papillote (baked in parchment but he used what I think as a turkey bag, same principal), also with mussels and clams and fresh veggies. Even though I'm pretty sure it was branzino (everyone likes to call their fish sea bass these days) it was cooked perfectly. Dessert was just OK, an obviously homemade strawberry ice cream that was frozen too hard but otherwise tasty. Brush up on your desserts and I would say you are ready for the big time. he came out to see what we thought and I told him he just about killed me with his food, he thought that was very funny. I said his was the freshest seafood we had in Italy and he pointed towards the sea, and said "from there". Probably caught the same day. His sole waiter was friendly, he had been to NYC so he was pretty good at English. The owner's family was eating a couple of his Sicilian pizzas next to us and I almost asked them for a taste, it looked that good. We joked with his brother about getting free food and he said he'd pay for it anyway (as would I if he offered it to me for free)! PS. if you want the real "Stromboli" stuffed pizza (not a calzone!) as far as I know you have to be within sight of the famous volcano offshore from Milazzo. Spadafora was the only place I have seen it outside of a very few "true" US Italian restaurants, and it was delicioso at a little pizzeria we picked at random for lunch.

10 years later and this place is still Amazing! We were not sure what to expect, since it has been…read moreover 10 years since the last time we ate here. Usually places aren't as magical the second time around. However, this place was even more charming, aging like a fine wine. Which they have a wonderful selection of to pair with local delicacies. They had a new server that spoke English and he was an entertaining guide through the menu options. We ordered a variety of dishes to try different things from the menu and all of them were expertly prepared and seasoned to perfection. It was great to see that the owner still took pride in their work and maintaining the high standard for every person that is fortunate enough to make it to their restaurant and have this experience. We absolutely love Savoca, but we would travel anywhere to eat at this restaurant. We made the journey from Hawaii this time around, and it was worth it! We just hope that we will be back soon and not have to wait another 10 years.

Food and service are great. Nice location at the marina with a covered outdoor terrace. Great wine…read morelist

Lovely restaurant with outside seating and views of the marina. They have a good selection of…read morepasta, fish and an option of veal. Almost all items are fish based (obviously for the area). The waitstaff was all very friendly. Everything is in Italian/ Sicilian so English speakers bring your phone to help translate!

It's not hard to find a cool restaurant by the water in a place like Messina, but when it's a…read moreThursday night and everywhere is absolutely packed and you get lucky enough to fit a group of 12 into a place like Pizzeria 38º15' Grecale, it's a dang miracle. We showed up here around 9:00PM on Thursday night expecting to get turned away for not having space like some of the other places we tried, but luckily a large group just left and we were able to get a large table on the outside patio. The focus of this trip was to order a ton of pizzas to split and that's exactly what we did. During this trip to manage to try some of them Margherita pizza, the Americano pizza, the Buffalo mozzarella pizza, and even a slice of arugula pizza (It was my last night in Italy, don't judge me for eating so much). Margherita Pizza- A simple slice covered in delicious sauce that was sadly the last of the slices I tried. Americano Pizza- The fact that Italy has pizza covered in french fries and hot dogs is both a curse and a blessing. The pizza itself is absolutely delicious and somehow my favourite of the bunch. Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza- This is basically a basic cheese pizza with extra cheese on it (and Buffalo of course). I would say this was the pizza I ate the most of, and also the cheese I enjoyed the most as well. Arugula Pizza- I am not a huge fan of arugula pizza but when someone hands me a slice and says "eat" I give it a go. The slice itself was not bad and tasted pretty good, although it definitely wouldn't be something I would personally order. Overall, I had a really good time and a really good meal at Pizzeria 38º15' Grecale. I would of rather of enjoyed some actual Sicilian Pizza while visiting but when I'm not the one choosing the place, I can only eat where I'm told too. This place is an amazing set up, great staff, and an absolutely stunning view from the outside patio. If you are looking for a beautiful night out in Messina, this is definitely somewhere you should check out.