In the beautiful Ionian coast of Sicily is a small & charming island called Ortigia – the historical city center of the stunningly handsome city of Syracuse.
Syracuse is a lovely town known for its ancient ruins namely the archaeological park Neapolis. It features the popular Roman Amphitheatre, the Teatro Greco and the Orecchio di Dionisio, a limestone cave shaped like a human ear whose name was given by the prominent painter Caravaggio.
It is always quite majestic traveling to time-honored places like these and feeling the magical ambiance that once was a playground for those that we consider nowadays to have contributed masterpieces in art and history. To have seen what they saw, what inspired them, and to realize that these things still exist today truly expounds on the great beauty and testament of our deeply profound existence.
Of course, with a schedule filled with adventures in Syracuse, I find it always necessary to do a bit of research as to which restaurants in the city are worth traveling for. I travel for food and if you’re reading this, most likely so do you. One such restaurant is named after the famous Orecchio di Dionisio called Ristorante D – Dioniso in Ortigia Island in Syracuse.
Style Details
Dress | c/o ROSEGAL
Bag | CHANEL
Shoes | GUCCI
Sunglasses | CELINE
Jewelry | c/o LILIES AND CROWN
Location | Ristorante Dioniso in Ortigia, Syracuse
As you walk along the water along the island and follow the path up a charming pathway, you will surely find an amiable restaurant called Ristorante Dioniso in Ortigia.
We were greeted by the delightful owner, Barbara, who was warm and indeed, a great communicator who spoke excellent English. We felt as though we are at home, comfortable and about to be ease into a wonderfully prepared meal in the heart of Sicily.
The menu selections could be viewed via an iPad paired with elegant photos. This was excellent as there’s no way there could be any loss in translation when ordering food. The restaurant was also kind to list the ingredients used in any event that a client has any allergies as it could be easily identified.
There was also a special wine list that consisted of Barbara’s favorites. We trusted Barbara’s pairing during our meal and it was marvelous. Barbara is from Milan but fell in love with Sicily after staying here for a couple of months on a holiday. Her cooking style is about 40% Sicilian and the rest is an innovative and pure creativity brought about by experimentation and constantly trying new things. We were very excited to enjoy the meal she has in store for us.
We were welcomed with two glasses of wine. The first – a white wine with unusual characteristics and ancient tradition called the Alessandro & Camporeale Grillo Vigna Di Mandranova, a 2017 Sicilia DOC which was grown locally in the lower part of Sicily. It is an Elegant Pride 2017 Sicilia Doc with plenty of flavor!
The next wine is an organic white wine from Mount Etna, a Carricante mineral grape, a A’mami Terre Sicilian Etna Bianco. This wine has such explosive aroma and interesting flavor and character caused by the rich minerals of Mount Etna, wonderful with seafood!
Ristorante D has a fascination for incredible starters. We tried the Crudo di gamberetti marinati con melone e pesca which was raw shrimp marinated in melon and peach. The shrimp were astonishingly soft. If fresh had a flavor, this is it! The beautiful bed of salad was also very fresh; an absolutely simple yet fantastic starter.
The second starter is a magnificent, stuffed pan fried anchovies with summertime pickles. The anchovies were slightly crispy and superb. The summertime pickles were very fresh and has that pleasing, firm initial crunch to it that was exquisite to the taste.
The third is a calamari in gratella su patata cunzata, a grilled squid on cunzata potatoes. There’s also enticing melon around that introduces a slight sweet flavor to the dish. The excellent potatoes tasted and felt so delicious – who would have thought that so much flavor can come from such a simple looking dish.
For the primi, we had the dazzling Sicilian Pad Thai Mediterranean which consisted of spicy linguine with basil pesto, shrimps, lemon zest and almonds. I really enjoy the gentle spice to the pasta. This is a flavorful dish with a wonderful surprise…. a pleasant chunk of pesto. The pasta was clearly handmade given its divine texture. It had that fullness and natural pasta flavor that we enjoy whenever we visit Italy.
Next was the sensational sea bream stew with capers, zucchini, tomato and basil. To no surprise, this dish just celebrates the delicate freshness of the sea bream. The greens taste like they just came from the garden.
The sea bream is so ideally fatty and resplendently delicious. The tomatoes and their flavors just burst in your palate. After living in the city for so long, I wonder why tomatoes aren’t always this flavorful. It’s essentially the same for the ingredients – sublime freshness. The soup is mouthwatering and gratifying.
With this fine and fresh seafood party concluding, we had a graceful dessert with Sicilian dessert wine – a bewitching Marsala Superiore Oro, Marco de Bartoli featuring 18.5% alcohol. This was such an absolutely pleasurable dessert wine. Honestly, it’s quite difficult to describe how beauteous this Marsala is. Simply, it’s just a solid conclusion to a wonderful meal paired with excellent desserts and pleasantries.
Since we’re in Sicily, we can’t help but have the Cannolata del D con scorza di verdello which was a crushed cannolo Ristorante D style with lemon zest – a wonderful Sicilian deconstructed cannoli.
The final dessert was a heavenly Sicilian cheese cake with summer fruit compote. The cheesecake is wonderful, it’s like eating a cheese cloud. It isn’t overly sweet, and the compote on top seems to be a combination of apricot and mango because it seems so gentle yet enticing. Its crust complements this incredibly gentle cheesecake.
I recommend you all to visit this ambrosial place if you fancy a palatable and mouthwatering meal in the heart of Syracuse, Sicily.
For home-style cooking tips and resources, click here to go to Village Bakery: https://www.village-bakery.com/
Thanks to Ristorante D – Dioniso in Ortigia | Via Claudio Maria Arezzo, 29, 96100 Siracusa SR, Italy | +39 0931 24679