The Best Bars in San Vito Lo Capo, Italy

Hidden on a sidestreet behind a blink-and-you’d-miss-it doorway, this small, friendly establishment serves up quality eats, artfully mixed cocktails and a relaxing, low-stress vibe. Painted wooden slats and curaçao-coloured lights behind the bar add a splash of colour, while the crowd is young and talkative. What’s more, the seafood plates – octopus, shrimp and more – are great for grazing while you sip a spritz at sundown.

At the start of San Vito’s main promenading street and looking out over a rainbow sea of beach umbrellas, Sea Garden is where local bar crawls start and end. It’s a one-stop shop for beers, cocktails and nibbles, but most rate the location and buzz over the kitchen. Come for cooling beers by day and cocktails by night (the lively terrace stays open until 3am).

Named for its sociable owner, Marco, MarVin is a blonde-wood haven, with an ambitious menu that beats the offerings from more glamorous San Vito watering holes. Eclectic decor – a mural of a monster octopus, homemade Jenga-style bar stools – is matched by an adventurous drinks list. Expect fruity flavours with plenty of herbs and spices, plus some interesting craft beers for the cocktail-averse.

An enviable location on the main street in San Vito Lo Capo brings plenty of custom to this cheap and cheerful hangout, which morphs from cafe to gelateria to bar as the sun arcs overhead and drops into the strait. Regulars swear by the gelato as much as the cocktails, but it’s a worthy retreat from the hectic cafe bars on the beachfront, and a great spot to watch San Vito life unfold.

Well stocked with Sicilian wines, this smart enoteca makes for a more grown-up night than the touristy hangouts on the main strip and seafront. Many come for take-outs, but there are tall tables in the street where you can hover over ham and cheese plates and flavoursome glasses of zibibbo and marsala wines, produced using grapes that have been cultivated in Sicily since classical times.

At lunchtime, this well-stocked enoteca does a lively trade in panini, charcuterie, Sicilian cheeses and bottles of wine to-go. Stay if you can, though – there’s space outside to linger with a plate of local salami and a full-flavoured glass of Sicilian vino, just as many locals do. If you speak Italian, ask the owners for recommendations of wines from around the island; they know their grapes.

To get the best from this well-dressed hotel restaurant just outside San Vito, come for an early dinner – perhaps Trapani-style couscous with squid and langoustines – and stay for slow drinks in front of the sunset. Perched on the hillside, the terrace overlooks a brilliant sweep of shoreline running south to rocky Monte Cofano, and the sun almost sizzles as it sinks into the bay. It’s food first, drinks second, so make a reservation and settle in for the evening.

Many drinkers don’t make it past the seafront strip at San Vito Lo Capo, but we recommend drifting south along the peninsula to Makari, where Azzura serves up local vino, fine Sicilian food (handmade pasta, couscous and other Trapani-style treats) and gorgeous views over the coast from the sunset-facing terrace. It’s a wine-and-dine kind of place, so book ahead for a table with a view – they’re in demand.