La Capinera — Sicilian Seafood, Taormina
La Capinera sits below the hillside town of Taormina, directly on the Ionian coastline at Spisone, in a position that places the restaurant in immediate physical relationship with the sea that provides its best ingredients. Chef Pietro D’Agostino has built a kitchen around this geographical reality: the fish and shellfish arrive from the surrounding waters at the shortest possible interval between sea and table, and the cooking honours that proximity with a lightness of touch that preserves the quality of the material.
D’Agostino’s menu is an education in Sicilian seafood: swordfish from the Strait of Messina prepared in the cutting style that the fishermen have used for centuries, followed by a refinement that turns the tradition into fine dining without abandoning it; prawns of extraordinary sweetness from the deep water off the Sicilian coast; a pasta with sea urchin that demonstrates what happens when an exceptional ingredient receives the precise technique it deserves.
The terrace at La Capinera overlooks the Ionian Sea with an immediacy that the restaurants higher up the hill cannot achieve. Lunch on a clear day, with the blue of the sea in every direction and the smell of the water in the air, is the complete Sicilian coastal dining experience. Dinner under the stars is its evening equivalent.
La Capinera is consistently cited by food professionals who visit Taormina as the restaurant that best represents what Sicilian coastal cooking achieves at its finest level. The one Michelin star is the formal confirmation of a reputation that the restaurant had already built among those who know the island well.
Best Occasion: First Date
A Michelin-starred terrace above the Ionian Sea, food that is inherently sensory and celebratory, and a setting that provides the context for an evening that requires nothing additional to make it memorable. La Capinera is the first-date destination for those who want to demonstrate that they understand what Sicily is at its finest.
Best Occasion: Proposal
The terrace setting above the Ionian Sea, the extraordinary quality of D’Agostino’s cooking, and the natural romance of Sicily at the table combine to create the conditions for a proposal that has the sea as its backdrop and a Michelin-starred meal as its occasion. Contact the team in advance to arrange details.