26/11/2025: After years of wandering, I've finally found a place worthy of a new food and wine review here, in my native Sicily, and by completely random chance, in what seemed like a classic case of chance and luck.
The map, and a completely random journey, lead us on this free day to Santa Lucia del Mela, a typical and characteristic Sicilian hilltop village, like many you'd find, with a dry riverbed alongside it, numerous churches towering over the town, and a castle-turned-monastery dominating the fertile Milazzo area. If the fresh mountain air and the view stretching across the Aeolian Islands, the cape, and the sea are enough to make you stop here, along with a characteristic sanctuary dedicated to Santa Maria della Neve, the restaurant is what we'll be talking about, and here too, it's the result of complete chance. When we asked for our first recommendation, we discovered that the place we were initially recommended was installing a new kitchen, so it would be open in the evenings. We asked for a second place, which turned out to be closed for renovations as well. The waiter, with great humility and kindness, directed us to a third place just outside town, a B&B/trattoria/pizzeria called "La Pergola."
The atmosphere is what you'd expect from a place that's a mix between agritourism and a B&B: rustic, beautiful, and elegant. The trattoria's interior is also impressive, combining a solid, white, and clean structure with reminders of ancient Sicilian farming traditions, from the exposed tools to the "lamps," a meticulously crafted blend of wood and white. The staff is extremely kind and friendly, in a family-run atmosphere where you almost feel more like a guest than a customer, but... it's about the food.
First piece of advice: don't overestimate your skills. When we talk about generous portions, we're talking about true abundance, the typical Sicilian kind, and even a person, no matter how good of a eater, struggles to eat the recommended appetizer and first course or appetizer and second course. There's a reason the waitress recommends these two options. Don't overdo it; it's impossible to eat appetizer, first course, and second course.
Second: enjoy the meal to the fullest, without cell phones or anything else, because it's an experience worth living and savoring, a gastronomic journey to be savored.
High-quality, seasonal food, cooked by expert hands that instill love in every single dish, turning simple ingredients into works of art—not the "gourmet" kind, reduced to flavors of other things, but true works of art, the kind you remember your grandmothers making. While I also recommend the first courses, and while every dish is highly worthy, the ravioli in particular deserve an honorable mention and will likely be the focus of my next visit, my gold medal goes to the sweet and sour rabbit, with its smooth, exquisite flavor that almost melts in your mouth. A blend of flavors makes it a heavenly experience, unparalleled, a unique, wild, and transcendental taste, prepared according to tradition. If you find yourself touring Sicily, perhaps on your way to the Aeolian Islands, or if you're passing near Milazzo, stop by this B&B and visit them. You'll thank me.
26/11/2025: Welcoming place, very kind staff, truly exquisite food, excellent quality meat menu, good price, congratulations
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