Siracusa is a Greek city on Sicily's southeast coast, and its old heart is Ortigia, a small island joined to the mainland by two bridges. The morning market runs along Via Emmanuele de Benedictis, and on its edge Caseificio Borderi builds the best sandwich we have eaten in Italy, to order, with a knife and a bit of theatre. Around it are raw red prawns and sea urchin, cone-shaped arancini, scacce from the old Jewish quarter, cannoli filled as you watch and almond granita by the Temple of Apollo. Cortile Spirito Santo holds the city's only Michelin star. April to June and September to October are the best months, and the market and Borderi close on Sunday.
Siracusa at a glance
What to eat
A Borderi chef's choice sandwich; Raw seafood and sea urchin; Seafood pasta; Arancino, scaccia and a cone of fried fish; Cannolo filled to order.
When to go
Best: May–June and September–October. Also good: April and November. Hardest: August.
Top tables
This guide lists 3 award-winning restaurants, starting with Cortile Spirito Santo, Piano B and Barcollo.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include Bistrot al Bagatto, Casa Ranieri, Chiodo and Pourquoi pas Bistrot.
3 award-winning10 local favorites4 hot right now1 markets7 walking tour stops10 chef's picks5 sandwich shops5 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots3 new openings18 dish spots
Going with a group?Give Chef your dates and hotel and he drafts every meal. Then send the group one link: they heart what they'd go to, add their own, and see the morning each table opens.
Start with Caseificio Borderi in the Ortigia market, before noon, then eat the island in short walks: scacce in the Giudecca, a cannolo filled to order, a granita by the Temple of Apollo. For dinner book Cortile Spirito Santo or Don Camillo ahead. The market and Borderi are closed on Sunday, and many Ortigia kitchens close one night a week, so check before you go.
From our stories
Caseificio Borderi
At the edge of the market
Order: The chef's choice sandwich. Then the cheese and salumi platter if you're two or more.
A cheese stall in Ortigia's market, a guy with a knife, and a line you should get in early.
Michelin 1 star (2026 guide)Sicilian, creative€€€€
Order: The tasting menu, with bonito and red prawn from Ortigia and the sausage and cauliflower ravioli
The only Michelin star in the city, and the first in its history. Young chef Giuseppe Torrisi cooks in a 17th-century palace courtyard, and the wine list is one of the island's best.
Best for: the long dinner · Reserve: book ahead · Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, lunch 12:30 to 14:00 and dinner 19:30 to 22:00; Sunday lunch only; closed Monday
Order: The sirens' spaghetti with prawns and sea urchin
Open since 1985 under Giovanni Guarneri, in a vaulted Catalan-style cellar of rooms. Gambero Rosso names it for deep knowledge of raw ingredients and a very good cellar.
Best for: a classic Ortigia dinner · Reserve: book ahead · Hours: Lunch 13:00 to 14:30 and dinner 20:00 to 22:30; closed Sunday and holidays
Order: A mixed tagliere of Sicilian cheese and salumi with an Etna Bianco, or a panino
The sit-down answer to Borderi, a few steps away. A salumeria since 1978, with barrels to sit at and a deep counter of pecorino, goat cheese, tricotta and bottarga.
Best for: a long market lunch · Reserve: go before the 13:00 rush · Hours: Monday to Saturday, morning to mid-afternoon (sources differ: closing between 15:30 and 16:00). Closed Sunday.
Order: Maccheroni alla Norma, homemade tagliatelle with veal shank ragu, and the cannolo cheesecake
A young bistro that opened in 2024 in the heart of Ortigia. Small seasonal menu, pasta made in house, local products only. It takes bookings until 20:00 and cannot cater to coeliacs.
Best for: a relaxed first dinner · Reserve: book · Hours: Check hours
Order: Pane cunzato and polpettine a'stimpirata, with natural wine
A showroom with a kitchen, like a Sicilian home with a communal table that was once a carpenter's bench. Breakfast with homemade cakes from 9, cocktails after dinner.
Best for: breakfast or a long lunch in a courtyard · Reserve: walk in · Hours: Check hours
Via Roma, 15, 96100 Siracusa
Worth confirming: hours and that it is still open.
Order: Aged beef, horse fillet with tenerumi, homemade pasta
Opened March 2019 by three friends. Meat is the queen: aged beef breeds, lamb, horse and venison, with an excellent European wine list. Menu changes about every 60 days. Gambero Rosso scores it 81/100.
Best for: a meat dinner when you've had enough fish · Reserve: book · Hours: Dinner Thursday to Tuesday 19:30 to 23:00, Sunday lunch 12:30 to 15:00; closed Wednesday
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in Siracusa
Five places chosen for the food, the room, the history or the local character. In no ranked order.
Pasticceria Artale
Via Landolina, near the Duomo
Order: A cannolo filled to order and a coffee
Cannoli since 1980 with local almonds, filled only when you ask.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
Borderi to Don Camillo: a market and island eating day
A Borderi sandwich, the market, a granita by the temple, a scaccia, a cannolo, a Negroni and a seafood dinner.
Start 9:30 at Caseificio Borderi, Via Emmanuele de Benedictis 6Time 11.5 hoursDistance about 1.9 milesBest days Tuesday to Saturday, April to June or September to October. The market and Borderi are open Monday to Saturday.
Ortigia is under a kilometre long, so the whole day is a stroll. Start at Borderi before the line, walk the market, then move south through the old Jewish quarter and the Duomo for sweets, and finish with an aperitivo and a seafood dinner.
Pacing: Share every stop. The Borderi sandwich alone can feed two.
Plan B: If Don Camillo is full, try Casa Ranieri on Piazza San Giuseppe for seafood, or A putia delle cose buone on Via Roma, which takes no bookings and closes Tuesday.
Avoid: Sunday, when the market, Borderi and Don Camillo are shut, and July and August midday, when the market is crowded and hot.
Bring: A hat and water, a bag for market cheese and tricotta, and cash for small stalls.
Skip it if: Skip the Giudecca stop if you are late, because the scacce sell out by about 13:00. Skip Sunday entirely and plan dinner at Cortile Spirito Santo, which opens for lunch only that day.
Ends at: Don Camillo, Via della Maestranza 96.
Walking times and distances are approximate, and opening hours change: confirm before you go.
Hot right now in Siracusa
What people are lining up for and posting about this month. Entries expire after about four months unless they are reported again.
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The Siracusa food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full Siracusa food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in Siracusa
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in Siracusa, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
A Borderi chef's choice sandwich
Fresh mozzarella, ricotta, salumi and grilled vegetables stacked by hand at the Ortigia market. Add tricotta, the baked ricotta, and the cheese and salumi platter.
April to June and September to October are warm without the crowds. Ortigia is busiest from June to September, so book dinners ahead and eat at the market early. The Greek Theatre season runs from May into early July.
In season
Blood orangesJan–Mar, DecPiled at market stalls in winter and squeezed into juice.
Sea urchinJan–Apr, Jul–DecA local guide says urchin fishing is paused in May and June, so ask whether the urchins on a menu are local.
Raw prawns, oysters and clams at the marketApr–OctCappuccio, the seasonal seafood stall at Via Emanuele Giaracà 8, runs from Easter to October.
Food events
Vinacria wine festNovHeld at the Antico Mercato di Ortigia in November 2025. The 2026 edition moved to Radicepura, Giarre, near Catania.
Festa di Santa LuciaDecDecember 13. The procession leaves the Duomo, crosses the bridges and ends at Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. The 2026 programme was not yet out when we...
Closures to plan around
The Ortigia market and Caseificio Borderi are closed on Sunday.
Don Camillo is closed on Sunday and holidays, Il Tiranno on Tuesday, Ostaria on Wednesday, Cortile Spirito Santo on Monday, Pasticceria Artale on Thursday.
Cappuccio at the market runs Easter to October only.
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
The best of Siracusa, by category
The top pick in each, then every place on its own page with what to get and a map.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (Michelin 2026 (2027 not confirmed), Gambero Rosso 2025-2026, Forbes Italia 2025). Researched November 14, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
