Principe Cerami — Sicilian Fine Dining, Taormina
The San Domenico Palace has been receiving guests since it was converted from a 15th-century Dominican monastery into one of Sicily’s most celebrated hotels. The list of names who have dined and slept in this building — royalty, heads of state, Nobel laureates, figures from the history of European literature and art — is long enough to constitute a significant part of 20th-century cultural history. Principe Cerami, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, inherits this legacy and, under Chef Massimo Mantarro, has earned its own Michelin star rather than simply resting on the building’s authority.
Mantarro’s menu is a refined interpretation of Sicilian cuisine — a celebration, as the Michelin guide describes it, of the richness of local products. The island’s extraordinary pantry — the citrus orchards below Etna, the pistachio groves of Bronte, the capers of Pantelleria, the almonds of Avola, the saffron of San Gavino Monreale — appears in dishes that demonstrate the full range of what Sicilian fine dining can achieve when a technically accomplished chef takes the local larder with complete seriousness.
The dining room of the San Domenico Palace is among the most beautiful in Sicily: the former monastic cloisters and salons of the 15th-century building, restored with the care that a Four Seasons Hotel invests in its properties, provide a setting of genuine historical grandeur. Dinner here is as much an engagement with the building’s eight-century history as it is with the food.
Principe Cerami is the restaurant for visitors to Taormina who want the most complete expression of what the town can offer — the grandest setting, the most accomplished Sicilian kitchen, the service tradition of one of Europe’s most distinguished hotel groups. Book the terrace table in summer; arrange details with the hotel team for any significant occasion.
Best Occasion: Proposal
A former Dominican monastery that has been welcoming the world’s most distinguished guests since the 15th century, a Michelin-starred kitchen, and a terrace above the Sicilian landscape — Principe Cerami is the most historically resonant proposal setting in Taormina. The Four Seasons team is experienced in managing the evening with the discretion and care that the occasion requires.
Best Occasion: Impress Clients
The San Domenico Palace’s reputation, the building’s history, and the Michelin star combine to produce the most powerful client dinner address in Taormina. Clients who know Italian luxury hospitality will understand immediately what a dinner at Principe Cerami represents. The hotel can arrange transport, welcome arrangements, and private dining spaces for significant groups.