Messina Restaurants

You can`t stay in Messina and taste the rustici. They are any kind of fried or oven cooked ``arancini`` (riceballs), pidoni (filled up with cheese, spinaci...) mozzarella in carrozza (mozzarella covered with breadcrumb and fried) and etc yummy lekker high calories food.
Very cheap, around 1-2 Euros a piece, it fills you up for the all day!

Tunny, sword-fish, molluscs, lobsters and vintage wines are the basis of the gastronomy all around Mesina and neighbourhoods.
the 'ghiotta' is very famous, made of sword-fish or stockfish, prepared with tomatoes, onions,
olives, celery, and capers, flavoured with oil of olives.

It is very tradional also as for sweets: the white and the black 'pignolata' made with sugar
and almonds, the 'cannoli' stuffed with buttermilk curd,
the nougat and the 'cassata'

Favorite Dish: ARANCINI

Ingredients

500gr of rice, 100gr butter, 100gr parmesan cheese, nutmeg, parsley, meat stock, 1 chopped onion, 100gr chopped ham, 100gr peas, 1 glass white wine, flour, 1 beaten egg, grated bread, olive oil for frying, salt and pepper.

Making it

Prepare a risotto with the stock, butter, nutmeg and grated parmesan cheese. Cook until 'al dente' and let cool.

In another pan add the onions, ham, peas, salt and pepper to taste, wine, touch of flour and water. Cook on a moderate heat until the mixture is dense. Allow to cool.

Take the risotto and form an orange sized ball in the hand. Make a little hole with the finger and fill it with the meat and pea sauce. Close the rice over the hole. Roll the ball in the flour, the beaten egg, then grated bread.

In a pan of boiling olive oil drop the ball carefully to fry. Remove when it is a golden color and crispy. Dry off the oil and eat immediately.

With the exception of a few small restaurants near the port - finally, it was hard to find one open and hunger was becoming more and more intense - you'll have to venture farther into the city to find most of Messina's pizzerias and larger restaurants. On the menu... sisilian pizza of course :-)!



Throughout the Middle Ages, Messina was the most important port of departure for European knights on their way to the Crusades. Such a Crusade prompted the visit of Richard the Lionheart and King Philip II of France in 1190.

Antica Pasticceria Irrera
Sicilian cakes and biscuit..

Favorite Dish: Cannoli alla ricotta, cassate.... frutta martorana....
Help..it's impossible not eat pie and biscuits and cakes...and do not forget the wonderful Granita al limone!!

Very interesting area for fresh food restaurants, around the shores of the Ganzirri pond. There are lots of good restaurants and one cannot mistake!