The Best Restaurants in San Vito Lo Capo, Italy

This is Sicilian dining as you’ve imagined it: tables spread under scattered trees in a courtyard garden, with authentic dishes on the menu. Part of the sleek hotel Ghibli, it’s more expensive than some of the competition, but the food is better too. Come for busiate, Sicilian-style ravioli, spaghetti, and couscous served the local way, with tuna, squid and cuttlefish.

There’s an artistic precision to the presentation at this welcoming dining room a few blocks back from the sand. Cubes of meat are adorned with leaves and toppings; shrimp perch flamboyantly atop mounds of couscous. But this isn’t prim fine-dining – Ristorante Rais feels welcoming and familiar, like eating with a family friend. Trust the owners’ recommendations for food and wine combinations.

Some of the best meals in San Vito Lo Capo are cooked up in hotel kitchens, and the restaurant at the Hotel Pocho is one of the peninsula’s top tables. Gaze over a broad sweep of coastline from the cliffside above Isulidda beach while you sip fine Sicilian wines and dine on set menus of artfully prepared Trapani staples – couscous with squid and local langoustines goes down well. The ocean-facing terrace comes into its own at sunset, but you’ll need to book ahead to enjoy the show.

Syrah Ristorantino does seafood with style, making maximum use of the sardines, swordfish, cuttlefish, shrimps and sea urchins hauled in from the Med by local fishermen. Leagues ahead of the touristy restaurants on the seafront, it’s a spot to linger over fine, fresh flavours. Pick a table on the terrace for people-watching, or the courtyard garden for more sophisticated dining. Elegant presentation matches the decor – we recommend the seafood couscous, stacked into neat little towers.

Presentation is an art form at stylish Bianconiglio, be it deliciously rare hunks of red meat served on miniature chopping boards or elegant charcuterie platters arranged like floral displays. Inside, it’s intimate and subtle, with chequerboard floors and just a few spaced-out tables – perfect conditions for a date-night dinner. Even the meat is prepared with a flourish, from beef tartare with fondue cheese to burgers made with slow-cooked pork shoulder.

It would be easy to wander past this wine store and snack bar without noticing it, but we’d urge you to duck inside for satisfying panini and local breads, Sicilian wines, island cheeses – such as pecorino siciliano and the gourd-shaped caciocavallo – and a cold counter full of ready-to-slice charcuterie. Many diners grab a lunchtime bite to-go, but there’s space to perch outside with a plate of Sicilian salami and a glass of full-bodied local red.

For a break from the busy beach buzz of San Vito Lo Capo, follow the rocky coves leading south to Makari, where you’ll receive a warm Sicilian welcome at Azzura. This inviting local restaurant is uphill from the village beach, and the covered terrace has sweeping views over the bay, with Monte Cofano looming in the distance. It’s a stunning backdrop to a meal of busiate topped with swordfish, shrimps, clams, mussels and more.

It’s worth hauling yourself away from the sand at San Vito Lo Capo to explore the calmer stretch of shoreline at Castelluzzo, where Caffè Nero Bollente serves a welcome dose of old-fashioned, family-run charm. Swing by a day early to book a table and talk over the dinner menu with the owner – couscous, fresh local seafood and granitas (fruity desserts made with crushed ice) feature prominently.