This was on our list of "to do" restaurants as recommended by the wise and helpful TA (Trip Advisor) forum member, vagabonda, and I am so glad we found it. The food is really lovely, the service gracious, the restaurant itself is very charming. It was the best restaurant we visited in Sicily by a mile. If you are visiting Western Sicily, please take my advice and eat there. You will eat one of the most delicious Italian meals of your life.
Tucked away In a side street adjascent to a church on a tiny piazza (we would never have found it if I hadn't been given directions) you are welcomed into a intimate space painted in a sunny yellow. Rather smarter than some of the seafood restarants we ate at, it definately has a town rather than a beach vibe, but not so formal that you would ever feel uncomfortable. On the contrary we received the warmest welcome from a very handsome and charming young man, and the service was great.
Between us - his basic English and our phrase book Italian - we decided on a meal of meat rather than fish (we were totally fished out by this point !)
In the traditional Italian way we ate antipasti - divine marinated, baked and pickled vegetables, parma ham wrapped around a smoky mozzarella, a delightful stuffed mushroom and a little baked radicchio stuffed with rice. Then tagliatelli with the addition of almost meaty porcini mushrooms (my husband thinks it was the best pasta he has ever had !) and then a meat course of two baby lamb cutlets, served alongside layers of ham stuffed with cheese and walnuts, crumbed and baked alongside onion and pepper. It was just the most delicous meal. Seemingly simple, but really complex and extraordinary subtle flavours than made our taste buds burst. I love the way Sicilians use fennel - just barely there but it transforms some of their food.
Finished our meal off with a semi frozen lemon mousse, on the lightest flan, which was topped with a heavenly lemon granita. That pudding is one of the most memorable I have ever eaten.
We eschewed our normal Planeta (delicious Sicilian wine from the region) and drank a simple vino di tavoleh which was 10 Euros and nicer than many of the "smarter" wines we had been buying on our trip.
I can't recommend this little restaurant highly enough - a real taste of Sicily, a warm welcome from our hosts (the lovely chef kept popping out of the kitchen, delighted to see how much we were enjoying his food).
87 Euros for 2 inc tax and wine. We pay 3 times that in some of the UK's smart restaurants which are often style over substance. This was stylish, more than satisfying, yet still remarkably traditional.
Ristorante superbo !
Lu Disiu
Via XXIV Maggio, 14
91022 Castelvetrano (TP)
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