Food in Trapani

Typical menu offering in Trapani - sample of starters

Lotus wouldn't be Lotus if she doesn't mention food at some point. Especially food that has gone into her stomach. Trapani has a few lovely restaurants and seafood figure prominently in most menus - and I have a soft spot for most fish and crustaceans.

However I must say that almost every dish we've eaten in Trapani was too salty (Trapani is famous for its salt pans) and at the end of the day we're still in Italy - every meal contained either pasta or risotto and we got pretty sick of it after a while.

Da Alfredo

Our first lunch was at a restaurant in San Vito Lo Capo, Da Alfredo, that was mentioned in the Michelin guide. It also had rooms to let, with a pool and lovely views of the surrounding mountains. Hub and I both had the Seafood Risotto (very rich in broth and seafood) and shared a Mixed Seafood Grill.

Seafood Risotto

That evening, we dined at the restaurant near our hotel, Gusto, where we tried our first Fish Couscous. For some reason we fantasized all of us about a couscous comprising of light fluffy couscous grains drenched in a light flavourful fish broth with floating pieces of fish in it. But Trapani's Fish Couscous is actually coarse couscous grains served with a bit of thick fish soup (thickened with their ubiquitous almonds?) and often topped with deep-fried seafood like squids. We nearly choked on our portions, too dry and heavy.

Fish Couscous

The next day we lunched at another Michelin-recommended restaurant in Erice - Monte San Giuliano. Everyone had Fiorentina beef this time round - we hadn't recovered from the Fish Couscous yet. And on our way back to Trapani, we spent 2 hours on the beach (sandy beach in the suburbs, not as nice as San Vito Lo Capo but not too bad if you do not go near the trash-ridden parts) and finished the day with pizza.

At Segesta, we drove for ages on a dirt track through vineyards and cactus fields to access an agriturismo. The food was simple but good and the portions were huge. That evening, we prepared our own dinner in our flat, telling ourselves that we should have done that more often since Trapani has lovely fresh produce in its markets and both Hub and myself we're not too bad in the kitchen.

Fresh tuna

Our last day : I ate at a Guide de Routard-recommended restaurant in Trapani, Antichi Sapori. The food was quite good but the owner was a little pushy and that put me off ordering more food. He walked around trying to make us order his tuna (Trapani is also famous for its bluefin tuna - great bloody massacres take place each year at nearby Isola Favignana) and that's precisely one of the many things that I don't ever eat.

Taverna Paradiso

Finally, we dined at a really good restaurant near our hotel fronting the sea - Taverna Paradiso. Excellent seafood dishes with an interesting variety to boot. Prices were steep but it's wonderful taking in the sea air as you dine and knowing that everything they served you was freshly caught that same day.

Squid Ink Pasta

Gnocco with Gorgonzola


Seafood Risotto

Gamberi Rossi (very fresh very expensive)

Ristorante Da Alfredo

Contrada Valanga 3, Sud.

San Vito Lo Capo.

Tel : +39 0923 972366

Ristorante Monte San Giuliano

Vicolo San Rocco 7

Erice

Tel : +39 0923 69595

http://www.montesangiuliao.it/

Taverna Paradiso

Lungomare Dante Aighieri 22

Trapani

Tel : +39 388 8176711

http://www.tavernaparadiso.com/