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.

Cute little place right across from the port. We had a view of our ship…read more I had the swordfish pasta with eggplant that was very tasty. The pasta is Al dente. Hubby had the shellfish risotto. The risotto was too Al dente the seafood, except for the shrimp and clams tasted old and rubbery. The shrimp and clams were excellent. I had a glass of Messina wine, Malvasia, which was delicious. A bit on the sweet side. Hubby had biere Messina which was excellent as well. The cannoli, which originated in Sicily, was delicious. The shell was a bit thick, but the filling was creamy deliciousness.

Found this place after a tour and Wow they were amazing the service was great the menu was great…read moreand we all enjoyed our meal. Would definitely recommend if you are in Messina

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.

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.

When we were in Taormina on vacation recently, we had Osteria da Rita dal 1991 on our list of…read moreplaces we absolutely had to dine at for dinner. One thing to note is that Osteria da Rita dal 1991 does NOT take reservations under any circumstance and is walk in only. I tried to go through the local 5 star hotel concierge at our resort and they didn't have access, and I also tried to secure reservations myself (I work for a high end travel/concierge company) and also was unsuccessful myself. But now, I understand why after going there. When you walk up, try to go towards the start of their dinner hours to get in line for a standby table. As tables "turn" the next table in the line is seated, that way everyone at the restaurant is treated fairly and is seated as tables are available. There were people in line with us that had dined there 2 or 3 times for dinner during their vacation, so we knew we were in for a treat because dining in Taormina is absolutely outstanding! Right across from the line queue, there in a gelato shop with a takeaway bar that sells wine, beer, and alcoholic drinks that you can take into the line while you wait for your table. At the time of our visit in June 2025, we were able to get a bottle of wine for 15 Euros that we drank while waiting on our table for about an hour to an hour and a half. When we were seated, we were greeted warmly by restaurant staff and they brought over the menus and complimentary bread and bruschetta. We also ordered the bottle of house wine to start as well and it was really good! For starters, we ordered the Spaghetti da Za Rita (15 Euros) and the Lasagna al Ragu (15 Euros). Both had homemade pasta and the quality was out of this world, everything was super fresh. For the entree we ordered the Lemon Flavored Meatballs (16 Euros) and these were out of this world, also very fresh and an amazing main course to share! We were full by the time we got through with dinner, so we didn't order any dessert but all of the desserts looked amazing! They did bring over a complimentary shot of limoncello to close the meal which was also greatly appreciated as well! It's truly an amazing restaurant and a must try spot if you're in Taormina!

What a lovely spot. Don't ask for butter with the bread lol…read moreComplementary bruschetta.

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.

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!

Five of us had dinner here and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their chosen dishes. I took a break from…read morepasta and had a grilled beef steak with roasted potatoes. It was perfectly prepared. The flavor of the steak was delicious, topped with olive oil. The roasted potatoes were also delicious. Simple meal that hit the spot! Two other friends had steak as well but with a Gorgonzola cheese sauce. They thought it was absolutely delicious. My hubby ordered the carbonara and it was one of the most outstanding versions ever. The carbonara sauce was amazing. The bacon was even crispy which is a rare sight! Service was friendly. The outside covered patio was beautiful, calm and a delightful place to have dinner. The inside of the restaurant was where the local diners were eating, sounded like a big party inside, while it was serene outside where we were. We had lots of pleasant dinner conversation without it being noisy! Wonderful dinner experience. Highly recommend!

Had an amazing experience with Anthony and Giuseppe! Such an authentic and beautiful experience…read morewith fantastic service and traditional dishes. You must have the ravioli with pistachio cream-- it is life changing. I hope to come back again before we leave!!

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.

Family run restaurant famous for pane cunzato. They make the bread which is basically a toasted…read moreslice of bread the size of a frisbee topped with a variety of ingredients depending on what you order. The servings are huge and are enough for 2 persons or get a half serving for one. I got the Eoliano which included fresh cherry tomatoes, capers, olives, onions, anchovies and pepper flakes. The saltiness and juicy tomatoes was perfect for a hot day. Only 6 euro for half a serving. They also make some of the best granites in Sicily. Located facing the waterfront and beach, it's a great location to relax and have a great lunch for a very reasonable price.

Following the trail of my ancestry, we visited Salina last month. We took the bus 3km from Santa…read moreMarina to Lingua for Da Alfred's famous pane cunsato, a sort of flatbread similar to focaccia, but better. Sitting at the water's edge on a lovely Mediterranean day, it was difficult to choose from the many toppings, but simple is always best in Italian cooking. So, it was the most glorious tuna with ruby red tomatoes, amazing creamy mozzarella and fresh basil, all in large chunks. We ordered a half, which was plenty to share. The whole ones are huge. Outstanding! We finished lunch with their other famous delight -- the most wonderful, flavorful granita siciliana. This is the real thing. I had the venerable pistachio, my daughter the coffee. My only regret is that I'm not there right now!