Trattoria Ai Gechi — Restaurant in Lipari

I live in New York City and every year do the 24 hour trip to reach Stromboli for a number of reasons, but one of them being to eat at Trattoria Ai Gechi. This place a hidden gem not only of absolutely amazing and carefully selected fish menu, but also for the authentic island atmosphere and Sicilian hospitality that comes with it. I met the owner Nino several years ago while he was purchasing his truly! fresh fish from the fishermen in the beach whom I was photographing. Nino doesn't miss the smallest detail in selecting the catch of the day and makes his choices subject to the utmost highest standards, which you wouldn't think are necessary on a tiny island in the Mediterranean. His diligence in preparation and serving you the bestest and the mostest are unquestionable. I have travelled the world several times for work and pleasure and been in some of the most sophisticated restaurants on the planet. Living in NYC also gets you to be a bit pretentious when it comes to food, but eating at Nino's is absolutely a treat for me. I prefer to not eat fish in NYC the whole year, knowing I will get to taste the sea with his shrimp tartare, or the seared tuna fish (which he can educate you about when is the best time to fish), anything seafood and grilled that comes from his kitchen, not to mention the pistacchio semifreddo. The food is indeed spectacular, but so is the wine menu. If you consider yourself anything close to a wine person, you will be amazed by some of the taste in the Grillo or Insolia that he would suggest. Trust me those wines do not make it to America. And if you really want to go local, have his personal Malvasia (desert wine). In summary, the Trattoria ai Gechi puts together profound knowledge of the sea and what lives in it, mixed with precision of simple but fresh ingredients, selected with highest scrutiny and the result is a magical experience worth the wait and travel! If you are anywhere close to Stromboli,...

We were dining with friends when they overheard the owner of the restaurant saying to the staff about us: "give them the cheapest wine you have, they won't be able to tell the difference anyways". All our great mood, our charm about this island, and our enjoyment of the dining experience had evaporated. To be clear here, we've done absolutely nothing to insult him, all our conversations with him were polite, and he said this right after taking our order. We have not deserved this in any way. After we confronted him and said, "hey if you'd like to talk down about your guests, maybe make sure they don't hear it" he had not apologized and pretended that we were complaining about the quality of the wine, and that was not the case. Overall, the food was good, but expensive, and the owner might insult you behind your back...

The best sea food we had in a long time around the Eastern coast of Sicily. Fresh and tasty.

We went twice once for lunch and once for dinner because after our first visit we definitely wanted more. Our second visit was a confirmation of how good the food was. Everything was delicious from antipasti to pasta and secondi. Also on both times, the cherry on top was the semifreddo al pistacchio. Simply delicious.

What you pay is justified by the quality and taste of the food you get which we found unparalleled by any other restaurants we went to in Stromboli but also many other as expensive restaurants we went to in Taormina and Catania.

This place should be Michelin starred. Booking is strongly advised in order to avoid...