Ken S.
Yelp
KenScale: 8.0/10
Visit: June 2023
Last year, my wife Jun and I spent a summer vacation in Sicily. Sicily had long been on our travel wish list, and the recent White Lotus TV show only heightened that desire to check out this beautiful island. Just like the characters in White Lotus, our main base was in the resort town of Taormina (although we didn't stay at the exact same Four Seasons hotel, we were very happy with our choice of Hotel Villa Ducale with breathtaking views of the coastline and Mount Etna). It was truly a wonderful summer trip of beach club, wine tasting in Mount Etna and other stops in Noto, Siracusa and Ragusa following our stay in Taormina. On the other hand, maybe it was we were in mostly touristy areas or my faulty research but it is hard to say we had a truly memorable meal in some of the restaurants we had visited in Sicily. One restaurant we did like a lot (thanks to the recommendation of the hotel we were staying at) was Osteria RossoDiVino in Taormina. We visited the restaurant on our second day in Taormina after a full day at the beach club. The food was mostly delicious with one standout item that Jun and I can't stop thinking about.
The restaurant is located away from the touristy center of Taormina in a hidden alley. Just like a typical Sicilian restaurant, the menu is focused on seafood, and our server brought a giant plate of fish that were caught that day. If there is one item that you absolutely need to try at RossoDiVino, it is the fried anchovies with white mayonnaise. Jun doesn't even like anchovies that much but the ones at the restaurant were rather large and fried to perfection. We would've been perfectly happy eating just these without anything else for the rest of the night. We also opted to split one of the pasta specials on the blackboard, linguine all'astice with lobster. It was somewhat pricey at 40 euros (especially with a rather modest portion) but a pretty solid dish. Among the catch of the day options, we chose a bigeye fish cooked Sicilian stew style using tomato broth that was simple yet well-executed. Since we were in Sicily, we felt compelled to try some cannoli with ricotta cheese and RossoDiVino's dish was not disappointing, especially with a glass of fortified Sicilian wine of marsala.
The restaurant's outdoor space is not large so if you want to book for prime-time dinner during a busy touristy season, making a reservation in advance is highly recommended (the restaurant doesn't seem to have reservations available via one of the restaurant reservation websites but if you are staying at a hotel, you can ask them for help in securing a reservation by phone like we did). Sicily's wines have been getting worldwide recognition for a while and RossoDiVino's selection from a variety of regions in the island is excellent for exploring the versatile terroir of these wines. Thanks to the restaurant's location, we didn't feel like we were dining at a touristy trap and it was great to have a relaxing summer meal in a charming outdoor seating without all the noise coming from the main street of Corso Umberto. As beautiful as Taormina is as a vacation destination, its food scene may not be what you would the best from Sicily, but if there is one restaurant that is worth checking out, I would say RossoDiVino is one such place.