If you're staying in Ortigia, you owe it to yourself to walk 200 metres across the bridge at via Malta to Piano B.
We were attracted to this place because it serves meat, cheese and salad greens of particular provenance (for the parents), as well as pizza (for the kid).
The neighborhood appears to be going through a slight upward transition, as evidenced by Piano B and a couple other upscale restaurants. The decor is sort of friendly-warehouse-industrial, and the staff just this side of too-hip-to-care.
We sat by the door on the ground floor (Piano A, perhaps?), which proved not only to be a great spot to people-watch, but was right next to their stash of microbrewed Italian beer, something that had been sorely lacking from our Sicilian visit thus far.
Okay, I drank too much. There, I said it, and there were plenty of witnesses to back my story up. But after days of pleasant (but sleep-inducing) red wine and the occasional bottle of Moretti, I was ready for some interesting beer, and boy, did I get it! Baladin, Maltus Faber, 32 Via dei Birrai, Paul Bricus. . . things got a little fuzzy past that point.
But here's the other thing -- we actually came here for the food, and the food was well worth traveling for. The cured meat selection Number 2 was out of this world, and the pizzas were flavorful, yet light as air.
Siracusa has good restaurants that have made a coherent cuisine out of various influences over the past couple of millenia. Piano B's modern approach to the whole thing is refreshing and points to a food culture that is not yet finished evolving. read more
