8 Best Restaurants in Mount Etna, Sicily

What Americans know as Sicilian pizza quite frankly doesn't exist in Sicily, but at this historic café and pizzeria that's been around since the 1800s, you'll find the real pizza siciliana. Though you can find the dish throughout the area, especially in Viagrande and Zaefferana, Urna is said to be its inventor: they stuff tender calzone pastry with Tuma cheese, anchovies, and black peppercorns, and then deep fry the half-moon delicacy. The result is a gooey, savory, flaky delight. Eat it in the outside garden or get it to go.

In the back of a butcher shop that's been operating since 1968, the Pennisi family opened this meat-focused 30-seat restaurant in December 2017. In the front, you'll find cases full of dry-aged beef; house-made sausages, guanciale, lardo, pancetta, and headcheese; whole chickens; beef liver and veal tongue; and skewers of hand-rolled involtini. You choose your meat from the cases, and they prepare it over a live-fire grill in the back, which you can watch through the plate-glass wall.    

In the picture-perfect medieval town of Randazzo, high on the northern side of Etna, this generations-old bakery sits at the foot of the basilica in Piazza Santa Maria. Now run by Giovanna, the daughter of Santo, the pasticceria is especially known for its exceptional gelato and granita, which are made with all natural products, with no artificial bases, colors, or flavorings. Look for an upgrade to the tastes you already know and love, such as rich and creamy pistachio gelato studded with orange zest and candied pistachios. Or try a seasonal granita with flavors informed by the wares of local farmers, such as wild mulberry, yellow raspberry, apricot, or prickly pear.

Inside this rustic osteria, where there's not an inch of wall space spared from decor, the larger-than-life Grasso Rosario holds court as he bounces from table to table offering opinions and insight on his Slow Food--focused menu. Drawing upon the abundance of the region, the menu highlights the black hog from the Nebrodi mountains, a local cultivar of kohlrabi (in arancini and as a pasta), porcini mushrooms, and perfectly grilled and roasted meats (think pork knuckle, ribs, veal, and lamb). The Sicily-heavy wine list is a sommelier's dream.

Bronte is the land of pistachio, and the best place to get your fix is here at Luca. You'll find perfect pistachio gelato (notably more gray than green, which means it's made with real pistachios) and every type of pastry that's possible to top with crushed pistachios or fill with pistachio cream (imagine Nutella, but made of pistachios). There's also a small display case that's stocked with things you can buy to take home, from whole shelled pistachios and pistachio flour to pistachio pesto and spreadable cream.

For really big plates of meat and a wine cellar full of red wine, head to this little "wolf's lair" that looks exactly how you want a Sicilian steakhouse to look (stone walls, exposed wooden rafters, and arched alcoves packed with wine). The portions are ample, so it's best to go with a group and share.

In Sicily, tavola calda is its own food group. From arancini to filled savory pastries, this "fast food" option is the heart and soul of the Sicilian aperitivo experience (or lunch on the fly), and in Milo, your go-to is Putìa Lab. They also offer excellent pastries, sandwiches, and hot plates (like lasagna or roast chicken). But their sweet spot is the robust selection of excellent tavola calda.

You come upon this rustic little restaurant by navigating the small country roads between vineyards, and don't be surprised if you whip past it and have to turn around. The restaurant is divided into an interior dining room and an outside covered patio, and they're known for taking inspiration from the seasonal bounty of Etna. Look for dishes such as wild fennel pesto over pasta with toasted almonds, mushroom cotolette (cutlets), fresh ricotta with tomatoes, and grilled local pork. And, of course, the wine list is no joke.