Best Restaurants in Taormina
Five Michelin-starred tables above the Ionian Sea — the highest concentration of starred dining in Sicily, in the town that has been glamorous since the Greeks built their theatre here in the third century BC.
$$$ €80–150$$$$ Over €150 per person
Taormina’s Top 5 Restaurants
St. George by Heinz Beck
Two Michelin stars at the Ashbee Hotel, above the Ionian Sea with Mount Etna visible on the horizon. Heinz Beck, whose La Pergola in Rome held three stars for two decades, applies his Mediterranean haute cuisine philosophy to the finest Sicilian ingredients. The prawns from the Strait of Messina, the pistachios from Bronte, the almonds from the Etna slopes: all in the hands of one of Italy’s greatest living chefs.
La Capinera
One Michelin star directly above the Ionian Sea at Spisone, where Chef Pietro D’Agostino has built a kitchen around the immediate geography: fish that arrives from the water visible from the terrace, prepared with the lightness of touch that only a cook who has complete confidence in his ingredients can achieve. The swordfish, the sea urchin pasta, the deep-water prawns.
Otto Geleng
One Michelin star at the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, positioned opposite the ancient Greco-Roman theatre. Chef Roberto Toro’s short tasting menus are a lesson in restraint: four to six courses that justify every inclusion. The salted cod and the risotto with wild herbs and cuttlefish are among Sicily’s most technically accomplished dishes.
Vineria Modì
Taormina’s newest Michelin star — acquired in 2025. Dalila Grillo has built a cellar of over 1000 labels and a kitchen designed to serve the wine rather than compete with it. The minimalist lava stone interior, the 1000-label cellar, and a cooking style of sleek precision make Modì the most wine-literate restaurant in a town of Michelin stars.
Principe Cerami
One Michelin star inside the San Domenico Palace — a 15th-century Dominican monastery converted into one of Sicily’s most distinguished hotels. Chef Massimo Mantarro’s refined Sicilian kitchen celebrates the island’s extraordinary pantry: Etna citrus, Bronte pistachios, Pantelleria capers, Avola almonds. The most historically resonant dining room in Taormina.
Dining in Taormina — The Essential Guide
The Starred Capital of Sicily
Taormina has more Michelin stars per square kilometre than any other town in Sicily — a remarkable concentration in a place of fewer than 12,000 permanent residents that is attributable to a combination of exceptional setting, extraordinary local ingredients, and the financial resources of the international luxury tourism that has been visiting since the 19th-century grand tour.
The town perches on a ridge above the Ionian Sea, with Mount Etna visible to the south and the Straits of Messina to the north. The Greco-Roman theatre, built in the third century BC and enlarged by the Romans, is the most visually dramatic archaeological site in Sicily. Every serious restaurant in Taormina has incorporated this view — either literally, from a terrace above the sea, or as part of the cultural context in which dinner here is always conducted.
Sicily’s Extraordinary Larder
The five Michelin-starred restaurants of Taormina share a common ingredient vocabulary: the prawns and swordfish of the Strait of Messina, the swordfish from the open Mediterranean, the sea urchins of the Sicilian coast. From the land: pistachios from Bronte on the slopes of Etna, almonds from Avola, capers from Pantelleria, blood oranges from the Catania plain, artichokes from the volcanic soil around the mountain. The Etna wine appellation, producing reds from the Nerello Mascalese grape on volcanic soils at altitude, is one of Italy’s most exciting and fastest-developing appellations.
When to Visit
Taormina’s peak season runs from April through October, with August representing the absolute peak of tourist density. The Michelin restaurants are fully booked throughout this period and reservations must be made weeks or months in advance for summer visits. May, June, and September represent the ideal balance of weather and accessibility. The Taormina Film Festival in June brings additional demand. Winter visits, while quiet, have their own appeal: the restaurants are more accessible, the town returns to something approaching its permanent personality, and the views of Etna — more likely to be snow-capped — are arguably the most dramatic of the year.