Walked by this restaurant directly on the beach on the way to another place that had many reviews…read more We decided to try it, even though it had no prior reviews, because it had a larger pasta menu and there were other people already seated. Great location with the lights of Taormina in the distance down the beach. Prices were very reasonable. Started out splitting a couple margarita pizzas. They were priced at only €5.00 and were large enough for 2 adults. All of the Ingredients were fresh and the crust was thin enough but not stiff nor doughy. We also had a caprese salad made up of fresh red ripe tomatoes and creamy mozzarella, also enough to split. Next we're a couple of pasta dishes. Spaghetti bolognese and pasty norma which was long thin penne type pasta with chunks of eggplant. All of the pasta was cooked just right (a little al dente) and contained generous amounts of meat and eggplant and the tomato sauce was flavorful, light and fresh tasting. People around us ordered some of the seafood pasta dishes that looked to contain generous amounts of mussels and clams. Despite there being only 1 waiter for all tables, service was polite and efficient.

Clean place with small plates but good taste. Bloody Mary had great flavor. Staff was very…read moreattentive and spoke English. Menu offered in English, which often means you're going to get your standard touristy restaurant offering pizza and pasta that isn't very good. However, the plates were very good. I got the beef in tuna sauce and the octopus and potatoes. The beef paired with the tuna sauce well. Neither overpowered the other. The octopus was very tender and cooked well, Often times you get it tough. It was grilled and gave it a bit of a BBQ flavor. The soft potato cream helped balance that. Definitely worth checking out for something different than pizza and pasta most restaurants are offering throughout Italy.

A pair of classics in their respective cities (1 of 2)…read more - - - - - What? Why aren't there more reviews for Caffe' Parisi? Caffe' Parisi has been around for at least 50 years and is in the Fontanarossa area right outside the Catania Airport property. It's to its east, just past the rental car agencies. You can walk there, although the sidewalk is rough and crusty, just like Catania itself. Caffe' Parisi has a counter to pick up things like pizza by the slice, arancini, desserts, and drinks. You can take them to go or you can move further in to the large eating area. If you do this at night, you can only go so far into this eating area. Then, upon once visiting it during daylight hours, I learned that you can go much further in and, there, they have a section for "gastronomia" (sort of like a "tavola calda" with trays). They do a good job with both the things up front and with the "gastronomia" toward the back. Items are fairly priced. The service is friendly enough and, on one occasion in the back, the guy started to speak to me in his marginal English (with extra vowels that don't exist) and I told him to knock it off. He did. It looks like this is a business that has been handed down and a woman who may be closer to the founders and its founding times is sometimes there. One time she was the cashier and, with me and everyone else in line, she went about her work with this sort of scowl. As I got up to the cash register, something got me to say, "Nun ce bisognu di esseri sgrevita." I was looking to get her to laugh, or at least be less uptight, but she did look a little surprised to hear that from a customer. You won't find this in Italian, because it's the local lingo and means "There's no need to be cranky." I think that covers it. I've mentioned Caffe' Parisi's food (including the lunch "gastronomia"), the large eating areas, the prices, and the service, which is "mostly" good. They see a lot of people - both locals for whom it's a hangout and people who do wander over from the airport. That means they've seen it all and the world weariness here is what makes this place humorous. You can find it right at the traffic circle that has a large metallic airplane in its center, where Santa Maria Goretti intersects with Giuseppe Alla Rena, which runs outside of and in front of the airport. There was a symmetrically placed traffic circle in front of the airport, and it used to be empty. In it, packs of stray dogs would just lie there all day. They have now spruced it up and put an airplane in that traffic circle, too. I asked some employees where the dogs went. One person told me they got moved, or moved themselves, to the streets around Caffe' Parisi. They were harmless, sort of timid, and have seen hordes of people since they came into this world. However, they could be goofy and, sadly, I didn't see them near Parisi. I'm giving Caffe' Parisi 4 stars instead of 5 stars because their pizza slices, which are too thick for my taste, weren't the tastiest and it's far from fine dining. If you have some time and need to eat something, especially during lunch, leave the airport and come here. I have on a few occasions. Also, the ownership and staff at Caffe' Parisi should gloss over my smart-alecky comments about them and their restaurant because, after all, I'm sending them customers!

The Bar del Porto is my favorite place to hang out in Panarea and the closest thing to a…read moreneighborhood café the island has to offer. The name of the place - The Port Café" in Italian - is no accident. Getting off the ferry or the hydrofoil it's the first place you run into morning or night, and usually my first cappuccino breakfast of my visits to Panarea I have right here, just after we hand our bags off to one of the golf-cart taxis owned and operated by Angela and her family. The cappuccinos and croissants are good, the sandwich selection good enough, they know how to do basic cocktails well and they service is usually very efficient. At cocktail hour (aperitivo) they bring out a decent spread and they leave the loud music to The Bridge and the other 1st floor patio bars nearby. Like every bar or café along the tiny port the view is gougeous: sail boats, yachts and the islands of Stromboli, Basiluzzo, Dattilo and Lisca Bianca.. My favorite thing they serve are are the granite - the original Sicilian slush puppies - either "al caffe" for a second breakfast or other flavors after dinner after a stroll through town. Their granite seven years ago inspired one of my first blog posts (http://carbonara.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/slush-puppy-heaven/ ) although the guy with the cinnamon no longer works there.

This is sort of like an Italian Biergarten. An Aperitivogiardino! Meraviglioso. Here, one can sit…read moreunder lemon trees for drinks or at a table for meals, among a pleasant outdoor ambience enriched by a fantastic collection of music. I tried their pasta with eggplant and ricotta: It was savory and hit the spot at a reasonable price point. Friendly staff. Occasional live music. A retreat from the touristic island bustle!

From the owner: Il Giardino di Lipari is a lovely oasis hidden in the narrow streets of the historic centre in…read moreLipari Island. Here good wine, cocktails and local food meet high-quality music, art and culture.

Had a wonderful dinner here! Staff is warm and welcoming. The menu was not in English but the staff…read morewas able to understand our NY accents. They showed us a great time - asked what we did not like than brought out 5 dishes to share some great local flavor!

If you're in the mood for a swanky high end spot, come here. It's tucked away down an alley so it…read morecan be tricky to find. We got there around 9 pm and the minimum spend was 30 euro pp. As the night gets later, the minimum spend goes up. We were sat in the beautiful garden area. Cocktails range on average 15-20 euro. Along with drinks, they served complimentary snacks to your table. They have dancing but it doesn't start until late and stays open until about 2:00 am. It's a must go to

We went to this place for New Year's Eve- The venue was…read moreextremely small and overcrowded -- we could barely move. It felt genuinely dangerous. The servers were walking around with bottles of champagne topped with sparkling candles, creating a serious fire hazard. If anything had gone wrong, there was absolutely no safe way to exit. We paid 80 dollars just to get in at 1 a.m., and once inside we couldn't dance or even enjoy a drink because the space was so cramped. I felt completely unsafe the entire time. We ended up standing and dancing near the door just so we wouldn't risk being trapped in case of an emergency. I do not recommend this place. A horrible experience with zero regard for safety.

Excellent service and great food as well as location. I recommend the chicken sandwich and…read morepistachio croissant!