Osteria da Rita lives up to the reviews (a 4.5 rating for me)- delicious, traditional Sicilian…read morecuisine, welcoming and efficient staff, good energy. We had lunch there two days in a row and the meals were consistently good and the best we had in our two days in Taormina. There seems to be a good social media buzz about the place.
Let's start with seating. As all the reviews convey, there are no reservations; first come first served and always a line to get in. For lunch, when we arrived at 11:45 for the line, we were able to get an inside seat when they opened at 12 noon. In the second day we arrived at 11:40 and were able to get a prized outside seat. My observation for lunch is that if you arrive between 11:50 and 12:00 you may risk not getting in the first seating and I heard the staff communicate it would be up to an hour or 90 minutes before the second round of seating.
For the food, on the first day we ordered bruschetta (a single piece is complimentary on the house but if you want more should order off the appetizer menu): fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil. One of the best bruschetta's I have had. We also ordered caponata which had whole garlic cloves and traditional elements; would also recommend. Ordered a bottle of the house white which was solid. We both had the braciola (rolled meat) because my wife had a recipe for it from her grandmother and we wanted to compare; it was a good portion and hearty for lunch. We shared a tiramisu for dessert, very rich and creamy and we like that the lady finger cookies still had a bit of a crunch. Next to us a couple from California had the grilled sardines and tuna which they said they really enjoyed.
On the second day, we both ordered spritzes (Aperol and Limoncello) and started with the fried calamari; it had a good taste and was very lightly battered and fried. I was expecting something with a bit more batter and maybe more crunchy but glad we tried it. We also ordered a fennel and orange salad which was the highlight of the lunch - so refreshing and a perfect balance. For entrees, I had the spinach and ricotta ravioli which I would absolutely recommend and my spouse had the pasta with a ragu sauce - equally delicious. We decided to hold on dessert and save room for granita later in the afternoon.
While sitting outside, many passers by commented to their companions that "this is the place to eat in Taormina". From our experiences there, we would certainly agree.
