Ristorante la Madia

Amongst the most amazing gastronomic experiences of my life! The aesthetics of the decor is dramatically minimal; it results in a feeling of a rather surreal atmosphere if you have first walked through the industrial part of the city of Licata and then step in this 2* restaurant. All the dishes are marvellous, unique, extraordinary in their taste as well as their appearance. Simply stunning!

We went to this town only to go to this restaurant. It was worth it!! The chef came out before each course. The food was beautiful and delicious. The concept (memories) was well expressed. We do not speak Italian and so the chef asked his son to come and speak with us so we could understand more! It was a special night!

An absolutely splendid meal, with a "but". Everything is astonishing, lots of emotion, incredible products, and a very inventive cuisine overall. One could perhaps argue that it's quite surprising to have such a restaurant in the remote and un-touristic town of Licata, but it's the home of the chef and this should be respected. Pino Cuttaia is an artist of everything related to fish and seafood, and that's more than necessary to offset, by far, any petty doubts related to location. Some dishes made us shed a tear, and that is the memory that will remain. The only real issue we had is the dessert. It's... rather unremarkable. It seems there's a lack of attention to that part of the meal. It could be they haven't managed to work with a prestigious pastry chef, or at least that some of the sweets in the menu are meant to be classic Sicilian standards without putting particular thought into making surprising dishes out of them. With the incredibly high level of everything coming before that, it simply doesn't match the expectations the first two thirds of the menu built. We end up with a strange impression: one of the best meals we've had for most of the evening, ending up on a far less remarkable note, with pastries we could probably have found at reasonable prices elsewhere. It's a bit of a shame: we could have stopped before dessert and still have had one of our best meals in quite a while. It's also a shame because with a little bit more attention to that kind of detail, such an exceptional restaurant, packed with talent, filled with the chef's emotions and personality, could have all the perks to enter the club of the most critically acclaimed establishments in Europe - and easily so.

This in my view is one of the greatest restaurants in the world. Up there with L’Arpege. I greeted the chef, Pino Cuttaia, with the word “maestro!” He replied “non sono Maestro, sono cuoco “ He has humility but inventive creative genius where sublime dishes made from Sicilian ingredients are combined in surprising and delicious ways. The welcoming dish is an ethereal cloud of mozzarella and milk served on a crunch y substrate and bathed in a sauce made with datterini tomatoes. It is light, beautiful, surprising and exquisite. And so the meal continues with the wait between courses agonising as you know what comes next will be blissful. It is truly humbling to be in the presence of genius and I strongly recommend you visit La Madia for one of the greatest experiences our planet can offer.

To fly to Sicily and find such a wonderful restaurant like this is truly a culinary homerun. The service was impeccable, the reception was outstanding and no detail even minor was missed. We both selected the 8 course tasting menus along with a local bottle of a nice Sicilian white wine. The pictures of the dinner will all be attached. We both started with a cuttlefish pizza, from there we enjoyed a fresh mozzarella that was “airy” with a delightful tomato sauce. The next dish was an exquisitely prepared slightly cooked tuna tartare. We then continued with “popo” 2 ways, one with a cauliflower bed, and the other with a 2nd “popo” inside the first. Next I had a wonderful shrimp, spagetthi minestrone soup that was delicious while my wife had what looked like a beef like cannoli wrapped with a zucchini flower as well. The final savory dish for me was a perfectly cooked sea bass with pieces of orange while my wife had barecued meat. To cleanse the pallet we then had a dish of marinated cherries with apricots. Desert comprised of a cannelloni and a profiterole for my wife. The distance we had to travel was far and the time it took to plan it was intense, but it was so worth the trip. If you visit Sicily you don’t miss this special place!

We went to La Madia for dinner and they accommodated my vegetarian needs (FYI we did call in advance to make reservations, not sure if they can accommodate at the last minute). I think the courses were creative and flavors were quite good. Service was not stuffy at all. I liked all my course except the last savory course for vegetarian was not exciting...it was just potatoes with thyme oil. Cannoli was quite good and as you can see from pictures rest of the dishes were very nicely done. One big con I think is that they open at 8 and if your arrive early (we arrived at 7:50pm) and they wouldn't let us in...it is not an area were you can wander around either so it would have been nice to come in and sit at least.

All starters and first dishes are very dilicious and creative. True 2 stars. All second dishes are, in my personal feeling, so-so compare to brilliant starters and first dishes.

The food is good, nothing over whelming and a few good dishes. Overall as a two star restaurant, a little bit underwhelming. Service was good but not as refined as I would expect for a restaurant dining to be a 3 star candidate.

One of the best meals of our lives, truly. The chef made us an extraordinary vegetarian tasting menu that I expect never to forget. Each course was of course delicious, but more importantly magnetic and filled with moments of surprise -- borrowing the most useful skills of molecular gastronomy without overwhelming the meal itself. I would describe the dishes here but I don't want to ruin the thrill of your first experience. We ended up leaving Sicily with cases of both the white the sommelier recommended and the olive oil featured at La Madia! Any trip to Sicily would be remiss without a visit -- you won't regret it. We made a 4 hour detour to have this meal, spending the night in Licata while homebased in Pollina, and it was well, well worth it.

A two starred restaurant really worth a visit: Pino Cuttaia has created a cute restaurant serving superb food and wine in a peculiar surrounding, the suburbs of Licata. The pizza look alike appetizer, the shrimps made up with shrimp meat phillo dough, the soup and cannolo were absolutely amazing. We took the full tasting menu, one of us couldn't eat garlic but this did not represent a problem: Pino simply made 5 different servings for her. Our fault: we didn't mention while booking. Waiters and maitre were kind and polite, chef was charming, willing and helpful. You can't miss La madia if you visit southern sicily.

Truly enjoyed our dinner at La Madia (1 of only Michelin 2-Stars in Sicily) in Licata presented by Chef Pino Cuttaia. Quite an experience for this gourmet novice and professed Neanderthal when it comes to fine dining. I was totally blown away and The phrase "OMG" was fittingly overused by all adults at our table all evening long. If you are planning a culinary tour of Sicilian cuisine, there are none finer than Chef Pino. Highly recommended. We shall return.