Where to eat in Palermo and the islands
At the table
WHERE TO EAT
The tables we recommend, stop by stop: awarded by the 2026 guides, or institutions worth the journey in themselves. ⚓ = reached from the anchorage, by tender or on foot from the quay; 🚗 = requires an excursion inland. The hostess books for you.
Palermo and its coast
| Table | Where | Why | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mec ★ Michelin | Palermo, facing the Cathedral | Carmelo Trentacosti: caponata with Modica chocolate velouté, in a 16th-century palazzo | 🚗 15 min |
| Gagini · Michelin, Identità Golose | Palermo, la Cala (Antonello Gagini's workshop) | Marco Massaia, contemporary research cuisine | ⚓ Marina della Cala, 3 min |
| Buatta Cucina Popolana · Bib Gourmand, Tre Gamberi | Palermo, corso Vittorio Emanuele | Pasta con le sarde and panelle in an Art Nouveau dining room: the best trattoria in western Sicily | 🚗 10 min |
| Corona Trattoria · Slow Food, 50 Top Italy | Palermo, Politeama | The catch of the day and the Corona family's crudo | 🚗 5 min |
| Bye Bye Blues · Due Forchette | Mondello | Patrizia Di Benedetto, the first woman chef to earn a star in Sicily | ⚓ Mondello bay |
| Trattoria Il Delfino · institution | Sferracavallo | A set fish menu for fifty years: eight antipasti, three pasta courses, two mains, wine included | ⚓ small harbour, 3 min |
| Il Bavaglino ★ and Salotto sul Mare Bib Gourmand | Terrasini | Giuseppe Costa: the star and, upstairs, his bistro over the gulf | ⚓ Terrasini harbour, 2 min |
| I Pupi ★ · Līmū ★ · Trattoria Don Ciccio (1943) | Bagheria | The town of the villas: Tony Lo Coco at Villa Palagonia, Nino Ferreri in a tower of 1565, the historic trattoria | 🚗 from Aspra, 10 min |
| Ciambra · Michelin | Monreale, by the Cathedral | After the mosaics, Marco Sorrentino's fish | 🚗 30 min |
| Cortile Pepe · Qualia · Michelin | Cefalù | The Norman cathedral and two modern kitchens five minutes from the harbour | ⚓ Cefalù bay |
| Antico Caffè Spinnato (1860) · Cappadonia · Tre Coni | Palermo | Cannolo and cassata; pistachio gelato | 🚗 |
Aeolian Islands
| Table | Where | Why | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Tenerumi ★★ · Tre Forchette | Vulcano, Therasia Resort | Davide Guidara, two stars in 2026: a surprise plant-based tasting menu, dinner only | ⚓ Vulcanello bay |
| Il Cappero ★ | Vulcano, Therasia Resort | The Aeolians' first star: a twenty-cover terrace over the sea | ⚓ Vulcanello bay |
| Filippino · Michelin (since 1910) | Lipari, piazza Municipio | The "Nonno Filippino" fish soup, for over a century | ⚓ Marina Corta, 5 min |
| E Pulera · Le Macine Slow Food | Lipari | Dinner in the citrus grove; the mill osteria with its kitchen garden | ⚓ / 🚗 15 min |
| Signum ★ and Green Star · Tre Forchette | Salina, Malfa | Martina Caruso, ten years with a star; "Sigillo" and "Oltremare" menus | ⚓ Malfa, 10 min on foot |
| Nni Lausta · Michelin | Salina, Santa Marina | Aeolian seafood with flair, terrace over the harbour | ⚓ 3 min from the quay |
| Da Alfredo (1968) · institution | Salina, Lingua | Pane cunzato and mulberry granita beside the salt lagoon | ⚓ Lingua bay |
| Hycesia · Michelin | Panarea, San Pietro | Fish and one of the finest wine cellars in the islands | ⚓ San Pietro harbour |
| Punta Lena · Michelin (since 1988) | Stromboli, Ficogrande | Crudo and dry-aged fish under the pergola, facing Strombolicchio | ⚓ Ficogrande bay |
| La Sirena and Filicrudi · institution | Filicudi, Pecorini a Mare | The catch of the day ten metres from the water, Aeolian crudo | ⚓ land right in front |
| Ericusa · institution | Alicudi, at the harbour | The only real table on the island without roads | ⚓ 10 m from the quay |
Egadi Islands and the Trapani coast
| Table | Where | Why | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trattoria Il Veliero · institution | Marettimo, on the quay | The fishermen cook the lobster and the soup of the day | ⚓ on the harbour |
| Albergo Paradiso · institution | Levanzo | Terrace over the little harbour, fish | ⚓ on the harbour |
| Sotto Sale | Favignana, town centre | Egadi tuna, the osteria and its garden; and the Tonnara Florio to visit beside the harbour | ⚓ 5 min |
| Profumi di Cous Cous · Michelin · Gnà Sara | San Vito Lo Capo | Fish cous cous in the citrus courtyard; hand-made busiate | ⚓ harbour, 5 min |
| Cantina Siciliana (1958) · Caupona · Slow Food | Trapani, la Giudecca | Cous cous and busiate with pesto trapanese, Slow Food Presidia produce | ⚓ Marina di Trapani, 10 min |
| Osteria Il Moro · Michelin, Golosario | Trapani, town centre | Nicola Bandi, the gourmet of the territory | ⚓ 5 min |
| La Bettolaccia · institution | Trapani | Thirty covers and, for many, the best cous cous in Sicily | ⚓ 10 min |
| Tenute Plaia · Michelin | Scopello | Estate cooking with the sea stacks in front of you | ⚓ tonnara bay + 10 min |
| Monte San Giuliano · Maria Grammatico (1963) | Erice | Cous cous on the terrace at 750 metres; genovesi and the convent's almond sweets | 🚗 cable car from Trapani |
| Cantine Florio (1833) · Il Gallo e l'Innamorata · Ciacco | Marsala | A tasting of the four Marsalas; the busiate osteria; the natural-wine bistro | ⚓ Marina di Marsala, 10 min |
Awards from the 2026 guides (Michelin, Gambero Rosso, Slow Food Osterie d'Italia, 50 Top Italy, Identità Golose). No stars in the Egadi: what you get is the authenticity of the fishermen — and that is exactly what you came for.
Keep reading
- What to see in Palermo arriving by sea
- Palermo in the age of the Florio family
- Aeolian Islands charter
- Egadi boat charter
- Where Christopher Nolan filmed The Odyssey in Sicily
- Sicilian dishes you should not miss
- Sicilian wines
- Sicilian desserts, from the Arabs to the convents
- The Bali 4.6 catamaran
- How much a catamaran charter in Sicily costs