Kathleen D.
Yelp
I had only heard good things about Savia ahead of my Catania trip, so I knew I had to make a pit-stop for some sweets. It's even lauded in international, reputable magazines.
My experience, however, was pretty mediocre. If I was staying in Catania longer, I may have given it a second chance. Ah well, now I have a reason to visit my family over there!
But seriously, the gelato purchasing experience at first was pretty unsavory. Their flavors are hidden in steel bins, so I couldn't visually see what I was ordering. I asked what flavors they had, and the reply was mostly in Italian (surprise!) -- so I did my best to explain that I wanted anything OTHER than chocolate.
In turn, likely due to the language barrier, the guy gave me a chocolate cone. Yikes. I tried saying no and shaking my head as he was scooping, but he handed it to me anyway. Fortunately, my group decided to sit and had a server. I asked him to throw out the cone for me, and he replaced it at no cost, which was highly unexpected and nice.
The new gelato (vanilla) was just okay. It wasn't some award-winning gelato or anything, but it was nice on a 90-degree day in Sicily for sure. Their frozen coffee was also a nice pick-me-up.
Savia has a nice location across the street from the big park, Bellini, but I do wish I had given their competitor, Spinella, a shot too.