The best restaurants in Pantelleria

One of the best parts of any holiday – and especially a holiday in Italy – is the food! We try to book at least 80% of our restaurants in advance of our holiday so that we aren’t disappointed if a restaurant is fully booked. We usually keep most lunches free and one night so that we can book a restaurant we’ve seen that’s caught our eye. Having been to Pantelleria twice, many of the restaurants featured here we’ve been to more than once and a couple were new to us. Read on to find out which are the best restaurants in Pantelleria.

Al Tramonto

The first time we visited Pantelleria we had lunch at Al Tramonto and it was so good that we booked it for dinner on our second visit to the island two years later. We were delighted to be given – what we thought – was the best table in the restaurant! And apparently it’s the only restaurant on the island where you can see the sun setting, face on.

I would describe the food at Al Tramonto as sophisticated and quite modern. My starter, for example, was sort of deconstructed and I needed to mix it myself, which was playful!

The menu focuses on local and seasonal produce, combined with tradition and a bit of imagination! The pasta dishes we both ordered were beautifully presented and tasted delicious. They were definitely one of our favourite pastas of the holiday.

For our second course we chose the fish of the day, which I think was orata (if I remember correctly). We had it baked in salt, which is one of our favourite ways to have fish and we ordered some roast potatoes as a side. The fish was exceptional. Beautifully moist! My only wish was that there had been some tomatoes and capers served with it, but otherwise it was faultless. And filleted to perfection – with a smile!

So that imagination I was talking about? My dessert was dammusi! I mean… you did need some imagination to see the chocolate ‘houses’ with their ice-cream domed roofs as dammusi. Super cute though and tasty.

If you’re looking for a sophisticated meal that’s a little bit different, with a lovely setting and excellent service, book a table at Al Tramonto!

Themà

Located within the luxury hotel, Sikelia, is Themà. If you’re looking for more of a fine dining experience in Pantelleria with a beautiful setting, excellent service and fantastic food, book a table! There are both tables outside and inside. Obviously, given the lovely weather we opted to sit outside but the inside of the restaurant is really gorgeous. Very modern and sleek.

Themà is the kind of restaurant where they serve you an amuse-bouche before your starter. To be honest, I can’t remember exactly what it was but it was a sort of soup with some raw fish inside and it was utterly yummy.

For one of our starters we had red prawns from Mazara, which was a bit ironic as after Pantelleria we stayed in Marsala and did a day trip to Mazara del Vallo, where these prawns are from. They are famous in Italy and for good reason!

For my pasta course I ordered the tagliatelle al ragù di coniglio (rabbit) with pine nuts, raisins and caper leaves. It was absolutely delicious and definitely one of my favourite pasta courses of the holiday.

We shared a second course of fried fish with squid and it was very generous – definitely big enough to share. The fish was perfectly cooked and so was the squid.

We booked Themà for our last meal in Pantelleria and we definitely ended the holiday on a high. Hats off to Executive Chef Fredrik Andersson and his team for a fantastic meal!

I Giardini dei Rodo

I Giardini dei Rodo is a gorgeous restaurant in Scauri that is set in like a sunken garden. I looked through my photos from two years ago when we were sat in the garden but they are terrible so I’ll spare you! Trust me when I say it’s gorgeous.

The second time we went, on our last visit to Pantelleria, it was very windy so they moved us all into a more covered part of the restaurant. At first I was annoyed that the garden wasn’t open but then it was actually really lovely so I got over it quickly!

We were delighted to see that they had Almerita sparkling wine on the wine list as the Tasca d’Almerita family who produces it own the vineyard hotel that we stayed at in Salina, called Capofaro Locanda & Malvesia. It’s a gorgeous wine and brought back lovely memories of Salina so of course we had to order it!

For our starter we ordered the crocchette di melanzane tomato velouté and cheese fondue and they were gorgeous! The ones we had for aperitivo at Sesiventi maybe just slightly had the edge – but only slightly. If you order them, you won’t be disappointed!

For our pasta courses we ordered the busiate all’aragosta (lobster) with tomato and sea fennel and the calamarata al ragù di coniglio (rabbit) with a bread crumble and passito reduction. They were both excellent pasta dishes although maybe a little bit on the small side, portion-wise.

We don’t do this often but we ordered a dessert each. I ordered the semifreddo al cappero di Pantelleria (yes, capers!) with a warm chocolate sauce and chocolate crumble. The capers were a great addition as salt and chocolate work so well together. My husband ordered the Passito with mascarpone cream on a cocoa soil with coffee sponge and chocolate and orange. Yummy! Dessert was definitely a decent portion.

If you’re looking for a gorgeous – dare I say, romantic – setting with fabulous food and excellent service, book a table at I Giardini dei Rodo.

Le Cale

We’ve been to Le Cale many times but only for lunch and aperitivo, never for dinner so I’m not sure what it’s like at night. Lunch, however, is absolutely fabulous! Especially if you get a table with the best view of Cala Levante.

We try to avoid having pasta at lunch, preferring to have it at dinner, but we make an exception for Le Cale because their pasta is just too good! What’s brilliant about this restaurant is that there is always a pasta and a fish special. On the day we went, the pasta special had fish and courgettes and was utterly divine.

We also chose the fish special to share, which was tuna. We opted to have it ‘pantesca’ style, with tomatoes and capers. The tuna literally melted in our mouths. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! I think it may have been part of the tuna belly because it was little fatty and just insanely good. If it’s on special, order it!

Trattoria Pantesca Runcune

Most of the restaurants in this blog post we went to on our first visit to Pantelleria and our second, however Runcune was new to us. One of the reasons we booked it was because it has a very pretty outside area with a view of the sea. However, unfortunately when we arrived for dinner that area was hosting a child’s birthday party – at 9pm…

We were still sat outside but in a different section than the area we would’ve liked to have sat in. So I’d really recommend checking when you book if they have an event on.

The restaurant was very busy as they were hosting an event, plus almost every table outside and inside was full. So sometimes the service was a bit on the slow side but nothing too bad. We started with a fish tartare, which was very well seasoned and very fresh. I then had the ravioli with prawns, which was delicious although slightly on the small side portion-wise. My husband had a pasta con le sarde, which he really enjoyed.

For the main we shared a rabbit dish (coniglio), which was cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, olives and oregano. It was very tasty and the rabbit was well cooked – not dry at all. I wish it had come with some potatoes though for a bit of carbs, although we could have ordered them as a side dish.

Despite it being very busy, and there being an event on, we did enjoy our meal at Runcune. I have no doubt it would’ve been even better had we been sat where we wanted to sit but such is life. As I said, maybe check there isn’t an event on the night you want to go!

Il Principe e il Pirata

Il Principe e il Pirata is located in Punta Karace, near Gadir. We’ve eaten here twice – once for dinner on our first visit to Pantelleria and once for lunch on our second visit. My preference was definitely lunch as it’s extremely popular at night and I remember having to wait a while for a table outside even though we had a reservation.

If you go for lunch, you can probably get a table without a reservation. We booked our table about 2 hours before arriving, just to be sure, but they weren’t full so we probably could’ve just turned up. At lunch you also have a lovely view of the sea, which I hadn’t noticed at dinner as it was so dark when we sat down to eat.

Being right by the sea (and on an island!), we ordered mainly seafood for lunch. We had the tuna tartare taco to start, which is a very modern way to serve it. And it was delicious! It also looked so pretty too.

We also ordered panelle, which is a Sicilian specialty. They are chickpea flour fritters seasoned with salt and pepper and then you squeeze lemon over them. Utterly yummy. I’m addicted! We also ordered prawns, which came with three different dipping sauces. It’s priced per prawn so you can order as many or as few as you like. At €9 a prawn though, I did think they were on the expensive side…

As we went for lunch, we didn’t have a pasta course however we did have pasta on our visit when we went for dinner and I remember it being excellent. For our main, we ordered the fish of the day, which came with tomatoes, olives, zucchini and potatoes. It was perfectly cooked.

The setting at Il Principe e il Pirata is lovely, they have a fantastic wine list and the service was excellent. It’s a family-run restaurant, which shows in their hospitality.

Coste Ghirlanda

Fancy dinner in a truly magical setting? Then book a table at Coste Ghirlanda, which is nestled in a stunning vineyard.

The restaurant is part of Sikelia, a luxury resort about 10 minutes drive down the road. You can also book aperitivo at Coste Ghirlanda, which is actually how we first discovered it. We’ve now been twice for dinner as the setting is just so incredibly beautiful.

The menu at Coste Ghirlanda is fairly small but the food is really good. I did feel it was better on our first visit two years ago – I remember then that their pasta was my favourite of the holiday. Whilst this wasn’t the case on our second visit, it was still a great meal.

Note that they only serve their own wine at Coste Ghirlanda and your choices are limited to red or white. It’s also pretty pricey at €40 – 55 a bottle of wine. Will you have the best food and wine of your holiday at Coste Ghirlanda? Perhaps not. Will you still have a fabulous evening? Yes! The setting is incredible, the service is excellent and the food is pretty good.

Acquamore

Now, I debated whether to include Acquamore in this post about the best restaurants in Pantelleria and I’ll explain why. Aquamore is the restaurant at Pantelleria Dream Resort in Kamma, which is where we stayed on our first holiday to Pantelleria.

It’s a lovely setting, with sweeping views over the Mediterranean Sea. And at night the lighting is really nice – intimate and not too bright.

On our first holiday we actually ate here twice, as it was so good. I remember everything being really delicious – especially the pasta courses.

On our second visit to Pantelleria we weren’t staying at the resort but we booked dinner at Aquamore, remembering how good it was on our last visit. Unfortunately this time the food – apart from the pasta – was quite average. The tuna starter was actually quite odd, and the flavours didn’t really work. As I said, both our pastas were good and then the fish course, which we shared afterwards, was decent but not anything special.

Dessert was good though. We had Baci panteschi or Baci di Pantelleria (Pantelleria kisses), which is a dessert you can get all over the island. It’s actually a symbol of the island! It has crispy pastry filled with sweet ricotta and it is delicious.

So if we didn’t have an amazing meal on our last holiday, why am I including it? Because only a couple of dishes weren’t great and everything else – the setting, the wine, the service and the pasta and dessert – were good. It’s still listed in the top five restaurants in Pantelleria on Tripadvisor so maybe we were just unlucky that night. I still think, given we had great food twice before, that it deserves a spot on this blog.

So I hope this blog post on the best restaurants in Pantelleria has been helpful with your planning!

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