My Gourmet Guide to Catania
I’ve recently returned from my first trip to Sicily. Flying into Catania, I was struck by how much larger Sicily is than I thought it might be. Catania is very accessible from the airport, and I based myself within an hour of Catania on this trip.
Sicily has fascinated me for some time with its rich tapestry of culinary influences, sitting between east and west, Europe and North Africa. The combination of its fertile soil and the introduction of exotic fruit and vegetables mean that this island produces such an exciting and diverse array of ingredients, including olives, citrus fruit, almonds and pistachios, wheat and grapes, plus wonderful fresh seafood.
This rich tapestry extends to Sicily’s history too, which is complex and has involved occupations from occupiers from France, Spain, the Normans, Greeks, Moors and Visigoths.
I couldn’t wait to see and taste as much as I could. My first stop was Catania city centre.
Where to eat
Heading into Catania – Sicily’s second largest city – my first stop was Piazza del Duomo for coffee at Caffè del Duomo, taken at the bar, and a good look at all the beautiful cakes and sweets in display cabinets.
The next stop was the open-air fish market, just down a few steps past the Fontana dell’Amenano. By mid-morning, it was heaving and there was a really fascinating array of fish for sale, which was prepared for the customer on the stall, and there was plenty of squid, prawns, langoustines, anchovies, octopi, cuttlefish, sea bream for sale. If I were self-catering, I’d stock up here. There was a huge choice of fruit and vegetables on sale too, including freshly smoked artichokes, blood oranges, juiced freshly for you, and enormous cauliflowers, lemons, friarelli, scarole, nuts, cheeses and dried pulses.
The next stop was Savia, on Via Etnea, which I recommend heartily. It is a lovely old café-bar, and a brilliant spot to try a range of treats. The arancini are a speciality and come hot or cold in a range of flavours. My favourite was the excellent spinach flavour, with a well-seasoned, spinach-heavy risotto and enough cheese to give a soft texture and plenty of flavour, without over-doing it. We also tried the famous Sicilian brioche. These are large, individual brioche, shaped into a round with a little ‘tuppe’ or ball on top. The crumb is citrus-scented, soft in texture and pretty heavy on egg. They can often be bought on their own, but the best way to try them is in a brioche sandwich, perhaps filled with espresso granita or pistachio gelato. They were great, and I’m so glad to have tried them. We also tried some excellent pistachio cannoli filled with ricotta and a cassata.
Walking around Catania, it’s easy to find good places to eat, and I have a list for next time, including Osteria Acqualavica.
The very best meal for me was at La Locandiera in San Gregorio di Catania, which is a little way out of the city. It was absolutely outstanding, serving a wide range of fresh fish in simple but totally delicious ways. Their seafood pasta was sublime, and mandarin sorbet and freshly filled cannoli to finish were just wonderful. I cannot recommend a trip here more highly.
Where to stay
On this trip, we stayed out of town at the Hotel Paradise, which is a well-run, independently owned small hotel near Mount Etna. It was old-fashioned, but very clean and the food was very nice.
I have it on good authority that the Palazzo Marletta hotel in Catania is good.
What to see and do
Catania is a brilliant city to spend at least a day visiting. The centre is compact, so it’s pretty easy to walk around, but there is loads to see and do. The Roman amphitheatre, Villa Bellini and Duomo are all worth your time as is taking a good walk along the water front.
Staying closer to Mount Etna meant that we had the chance to head inland, which is completely beautiful, full of olive groves, orange plantations and fichi d’india. I’d take the train around Mount Etna next time.
I enjoyed the trip so much, I am looking at returning soon. I will bring you more if that happens!
Full Disclosure: I travelled to Italy as a guest of I love Fruit and Veg from Europe. I was their guest at some establishments, and some I paid for myself. I always only mention my own genuine recommendations in my posts.