Taormina, Sicily
Some people like vacations where you “do something”. These self-styled adventurers want to walk around a European city in the boiling sun, bike 30 miles down French highways, or run out of water 3/4 of the way through a hike in Colorado. These people are also either a) insane or b) have lives that don’t challenge themselves enough day-to-day.
My ideal vacations are just that: vacations. I like places that are relaxing, with nice weather, good food, and ideally near the ocean. With this in mind, I semi-randomly chose Taormina for a 4-day vacation. The following is the culinary round-up of the city.
To say Taormina is an awful town isn’t fair. It has the criteria above, and the good hotels are amazing (especially San Domenico Palace, where I stayed and was one of the nicest hotels I’ve been to yet). But there is a common thread among European coastal summer vacation towns built into a hillside: they are un walkable, relentlessly touristy, and have very low-quality restaurants with menus translated into 5 languages on a boardwalk, complete with free outdoor dining umbrellas sponsored by some local alcohol. Taormina, while not as bad as (say) Positano or Ibiza town, has all these things. The first night, we ventured out to a nearby local trattoria to experience the city rather than just stay in our nearly-perfect hotel for four days:
Trattoria Tiramisu
Grade: B-
I was initially skeptical of this because of 1) the silly name and 2) the translated menu into both English and German. But the reviews are really positive, including professional publications, and the team behind it seemed well established. This was a mistake. We got a raw fish starter, and it was okay; a B- I’d say. Maybe I’m spoiled by eating too much nigiri week to week, but the fish didn’t taste super fresh, was very expensive, and in no way reflected the proximity to the ocean. We shared two pastas, the lobster linguini (inexplicably on the “specials” menu despite being a pretty common Sicilian dish), and a very hyped up cuttlefish ravioli topped with seared tuna steaks. I was skeptical of this because of the combination of fish and cheese, but apparently this is actually not uncommon in Sicily, and it was hyped up as designed specifically by the chef, and who’s had handmade cuttlefish noodles before? I was right to be skeptical. The flavors clashed in the worst way, with tuna steak directly topped with grated Parmesan cheese, all on top of a thinly-filled ravioli with just mozzarella in it with a slightly smoky taste. I would give this a C. The lobster linguini was okay; the noodles were cooked correctly (al dente), and the lobster had a clean taste, but was in small, crumbly pieces, and it didn’t seem like a whole lobster had gone into this. I’d give the lobster linguini a B+. Finally, we finished with the tiramisu (obviously). Credit where it’s due here—this was fantastic, light and delicious without being too sweet. Though every table was full, the restaurant had a very touristy vibe and I would never go back.
Ristorante Timeo
Grade: B+
This is the Belmond Grand Timeo’s non-fine dining restaurant. This was the runner-up when I was choosing hotels, and it’s definitely nice, but there’s a standard of excellence that San Domenico Palace met that is missing. It’s palpable in the service, cocktails, and ultimately the food. We shared a pasta, an entree, and an appetizer. The local raw fish platter was, while definitely better than Trattoria Tiramisu’s equivalent, was just not good enough to justify a 45 EUR price tag, with a notably fishy taste to some of the tartars. The lobster linguini was solid, and the lobster itself was fresh and delicious, but the pasta was undercooked well beyond al dente. The sea bass fillet was, again, solid but nothing to write home about. The best part of this restaurant was the view, which is a bit higher up than the San Domenico Palace and gives a direct line of sight to Mount Etna. A frequent theme of this trip was us eating at 7:30 PM (normal for Americans) and getting our pick of the best seats in the house, and this was the best view we got all trip. Overall, it was okay; not a negative experience, but not somewhere I’d go back to.
Principe Cerami
Grade: A-
Principe Cerami is San Domenico Palace’s fine dining restaurant. I don’t have any real bones to pick with our meal, it was too inventive for my personal taste. Our pastas were a mixed rockfish pasta, which when shared was a tiny portion of a few noodles and some pretty good rockfish in a clear fish broth, and the “Luca Crimi” jazzed up tomato/cheese/breadcrumb concoction that is supposedly a local dish, made up to look like a volcano in the spirit of Mt Etna. This was after a pre-meal of very fancy small bites, that were just okay, and some delicious freshly baked sourdough. To finish, we shared a their take on tiramisu, which they make with a scoop of gelato and based in artichoke-derived liqueur. All of it was pretty good and enjoyable, and the sommelier is very knowledgeable and helpful. After dessert, we were presented with the post-dessert, which was hit or miss: some artistically molded marshmallows that were nothing special taste wise, though a peanut crafted out of peanut-infused white chocolate was truly delicious. All told, if you’re into visually compelling dishes that are put together in a unique and artistic way, this place is worth going to (though it’s not cheap, even by London or New York standards). As someone who is 95% there for the taste of the food and 5% there for everything else, it’s an A-.
One last thing—the hotel’s breakfast, which is served in the same room as Principe Cerami, is phenomenal and not included in this review.
Anciovi
Grade: A+
Anciovi is San Domenico Palace’s poolside, outdoor-only more casual restaurant. This was by far the best place we ate at on the trip, eating there for every lunch and one dinner. It’s a beautiful picturesque location, overlooking the glittering ocean dotted with boats. The food is, unlike perhaps every other place mentioned above, designed for people who like to eat. It’s all traditional Italian food, prepared to a very high standard of excellence, with great service and a perfect location. The spaghetti vongole was the best version of this dish I’ve ever had in a restaurant. In my experience, New York and London Italian restaurants tend to make two mistakes: they overdo the creaminess of the sauce, and the clams are not fresh and taste briny. This was perfect in every way: very fresh clams, perfectly al dente pasta, flavorful cherry tomatoes and a sauce with only a touch of thickness to it. The lobster linguini was similarly elite—perfectly cooked noodles and a very solid lobster. The margherita pizza we had on the last night, which doesn’t look like much, but every part of it is delicious—the cheese, the sauce, and the fresh-out-of-oven crust. For dessert, the traditional tiramisu doused in hot coffee was perfect, light and not too sweet. I would go to this restaurant multiple times a month if it existed in London. If I had to give a complaint, I would say the bread is nothing special (this is not uncommon among the good restaurants I’ve been to in Italy) and during the day there are occasionally bees that harass the tables overlooking the ocean. But ultimately, this was a solid A+.
San Domenico Palace Hotel - Other
The breakfast at the hotel was incredible. The menu features American and Sicilian classic options (I particularly liked the stewed egg), but the highlight is the buffet, which offers world-class pastries, fresh fruit, meats, cheeses, and much more. We went every day without considering going elsewhere or skipping it.
The best bar within the hotel (there are three) is the courtyard cocktail selection. You sit among a courtyard filled with antique ruins and sprawling plants, and the signature cocktail list is filled with hits (our favorite being the “Lover”).
If there’s one piece of advice that I can use to sum up this review of Taormina, it’s that there is really no reason to leave the San Domenico Palace hotel. I would consider coming back to the hotel and not leaving, but have little to no interest in revisiting the rest of Taormina. Summer travel in Europe continues to be a minefield of tourist traps, and Taormina is no different, but the culinary options at this specific hotel blow the rest of the town out of the water.