5 Best Restaurants in Aci Castello, Sicily

In a town where life still has a small town village feel, locals fill the outside tables of this trattoria in the central piazza at the base of the castle. The menu is full of seafood specialties—all excellent—but your best best is to ask the server what the chef is suggesting that day. They'll guide you to the best fish brought in that morning. 

Pick up lunch or dinner to go from Al Castello, perfect for a seaside picnic or a meal at your Airbnb. They roast whole chickens daily (rotisserie-style) and have an impressive line of baked pastas, roasted potatoes, sautéed or grilled vegetables, and involtini stuffed with cheese, bacon, or pistachios. The storefront is tiny (there's no on-site dining), and it's best reached by foot; Via Re Martino is the main artery of Aci Castello and has extremely limited parking.

In Aci Castello, your granita go-to is Caffè & Dolcezza. Their pistachio flavor is exceptionally good, creamy and studded with bits of ground pistachio. They also serve a wide variety of local pasticceria specialties, both sweet and savory. Don't miss the crispelle di riso, the local version of zeppole, made with rice. They're fried to order and then drizzled with orange blossom honey.

For a casual night out with a tremendous backdrop, stop by for a pizza at Blanca, which sits on the terrace directly under the Norman castle with views of Aci Trezza in the distance. You'll see neighborhood kids kicking soccer balls in the piazza and couples out for their evening passeggiata as you dine on excellent pizza under the stars.  

Linger on the sunny seaside deck as you get your fill of fresh seafood along the scogliera outside Aci Castello. While the pasta and secondi are all very well done, you could easily make a meal by ordering a shared selection of antipasti as the portions are quite ample. Favorites include sautéed mussels and clams, fried baby calamari, and a raw seafood platter full of oysters, sea urchin, and scampi. They also do a good burger and serve pizzas at night.