Where to Eat in Sicily, According to Local Michelin-Starred Chef Roberto Toro

Including must-visit restaurants for first-time Sicily travelers. Plus, Sicily hotel recs from hotel queen, Happy Hoteling.

Welcome to The Relisher’s Sicily edition! This week, I met executive Chef Roberto Toro of Michelin-starred Otto Geleng, in Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel.

Chef Roberto opened Otto Geleng in 2018, and within just one year, it earned its first Michelin star. Today, the restaurant is celebrated as one of Sicily’s top fine dining destinations. Below, the native Sicilian chef shares his favorite spots on the island.

Courtesy of Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel

Top Favorite Restaurants in Sicily

My favorite restaurants are simple places where you can enjoy traditional Sicilian cuisine made with carefully selected, high-quality, and incredibly fresh ingredients. The below are places I regularly visit with my family.  

The first restaurant is Me Cumpari Turiddu, in Catania. Me Cumpari Turiddu offers a quintessential Sicilian experience with its warm, generous hospitality and incredibly delicious local cuisine, all set in a traditional Sicilian ambiance featuring antique chandeliers and rustic tables and chairs. Beyond these elements, the restaurant stands out for its focus on preserving Sicilian traditions by reviving many ancient recipes.

I recommend ordering the Baccalà alla Ghiotta, a traditional recipe from Messina, where much of the local fish is caught. This dish features cod cooked in a rich sauce of tomatoes, onions, olives, capers, and potatoes, and includes specialties from Sicily's smaller islands, like Aeolian olives and Salina-grown capers. In my opinion, the best place to experience this authentic dish on the entire island is at Me Cumpari Turiddu……………………………….

to discover all of Chef Roberto's Sicily recommendations, CLICK HERE.

Me Cumpari Turiddu photo credits: Sicilia Secrets (left image), and Me Cumpari Turiddu (right image)

Sicily Hotel Recommendations: Perfect Pairings for a Stay at Grand Hotel Timeo

As a hotel enthusiast, I can confidently say that no one knows hotels—especially in Italy—like

Marissa Klurstein

of

Happy Hoteling

. So, I asked her to share her top recommendations for Sicily, perfect for pairing with a stay at the Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel (our personal favorite for a stay in Taormina, Sicily). See her insights are below.

Taormina has a great location for exploring more of Sicily before or after, without making it a nightmare travel day. I think of pairing two hotels together similarly to how one pairs wine – the goal is to complement one another so that there is no comparison, but rather a deeper saturation of each experience. Nothing is worse than pitting two hotels against each other to battle for your best memories. On vacation, and in travel in general, contrasting experiences allow for much deeper understanding and appreciation of both. The following hotels are all different from the distinctive Belmond luxury of Grand Hotel Timeo - intentionally so! 

If you’re a maximalist aesthete who appreciates a small, family-run, inspiring hideaway, Palazzo Previtera in Linguaglossa is a no-brainer. It’s one part hotel, one part museum, built in 1649 by the same family who runs it today. As a hotel, it’s wholly, authentically Sicilian, and well-located on the slopes of Mt. Etna. Ideally, you would go here before Taormina, by rental car. This gives you the freedom to explore the towns of the area, the many wineries, and of course – the volcano.

Courtesy of Palazzo Previtera

Another undeniable perfect pairing with Taormina is the Aeolian Islands, off the West coast of Sicily. Because you reach them via a flight into Catania airport (the same as Taormina), it makes perfect sense to stay at Grand Hotel Timeo first, and then arrange a private transfer to take you 1.5 hours to Milazzo to the ferry port. In this instance, we’re going to the island of Salina. 

This is an island that’s quite jam-packed with great hotels. But, Capofaro is the reigning luxury queen of the island. It’s set among world-class vineyards and the white-washed architecture and bright magenta bougainvillea make quite the setting above the ocean blues. 

Courtesy of Capofaro

Back on the Sicilian mainland, the region of Siracusa (Syracuse) is a place to consider before or after Taormina. For the sake of not trying to compare beaches, let’s head inland in this instance, into the Val di Noto, a UNESCO-listed Baroque region dotted with beautiful, historic towns. Rent a car, so you have the freedom to base yourself anywhere in the region and make day trips. 

It’s also a hotel-rich area, but one of the most cinematic is in the countryside, Dimora delle Balze. It’s set in a noble home from the 1880s, wonderfully restored to breathe light into both the past and present of Sicily. It’s sprawling and simply…cool. It’s a fantastic place to go before you remodel your home, inspiration is everywhere.

Courtesy of Dimora delle Balze

But perhaps you want to be smack dab in the heart of one of these UNESCO-listed towns. While it’s undoubtedly the most on the tourist track, Noto is a gem. Q92 Noto has an A+ location and truly dreamy rooms. It’s small in size, but grand in feeling.

Courtesy of Q92 Noto

Choosing where to go before or after Grand Hotel Timeo is a very lovely decision to have. Happy Hoteling! 

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