La Pinnata del Monsú — Restaurant in Malfa

This restaurant sets wrong priorities. It had a nice terrace and idyllic ambience. If only the food was worth paying for.

We had starter of Sicilian Shrimp on Straciatella cheese and Pistachio which celebrated mis-design to the point of tastelessness. (The simple act of actually cooking the shrimp and allowing them to develop some sort of taste amidst the overbearing creamy sweetness of the cheese and the nuts would have given this highly praised „Sicilian“ Shrimp at least some kind of purpose)

The main stretch however was a watery portion of Lobster Tagliatelle, which had the consistency of potato goo. Upon telling this to the waiter, we were immediately informed that this was homemade pasta and thus supposed to be like this. Why we should pay 30€ for something which essentially tasted like hospital cafeteria food we were not told.

The table next to us was also complaining about their Pasta not being good, but was also informed that their plebeian expectations of taste were just not keeping up with the overproduced and insubstantial dish in front of them.

We supplanted all of this with a bottle of recommended Orange Wine from Salina which in retrospect finished much faster than our unfortunate dinner experience at this fine...

We’ve been coming to Salina for 4 years now: this our 5th visit to the island and to beautiful Malfa.

Without hesitation I would recommend Pinnata del Monsú above all other places at which we’ve eaten.

The hosts are wonderful: gracious, welcoming, attentive. The location is unrivalled, with divine views out to sea and Stromboli, overlooking vineyards. Peaceful and special.

The menu is the most inventive in town: twists on Italian specialties with an haut cuisine finesse. They make the best caponata I’ve ever had! The ‘Fish Fantasy’ starter is divine, as too the tuna tagliata main. There is a great choice, including deserts. For the quality of food, it’s also very reasonably priced.

Great care in preparation as well as presentation stands this place apart amongst local eateries.

As if an evening here isn’t itself magical enough, watching the light fade gently from sky and enjoying such lovely food and wine, but the short walk back into town is very special - under the starriest of skies.

Pinnata Del Monsú somehow captures what is enchanting about the whole island.

I couldn’t recommend it...

Despite some quite undeserved 1-star reviews, this is in fact a very good restaurant that can compete with all fine dining options on Salina except of course the Michelin restaurant at Signum (which also comes with a completely different price tag)… The pasta is freshly made, which seems to confuse some palates. Everything we tasted was nicely presented, tasted and smelled delicious and gave the ingredients justice. They are experts with seafood, but the polpettine were extremely convincing as well. They have a well curated wine list that allows to stay on Salina and taste some of their best wines as well as choosing from a selection of Sicilian wines. The ambiance is very cute and cozy inside and on the patio. The staff is very attentive and service was swift and efficient. We enjoyed our stay at Pinnata del Monsu a lot and it sometimes quite upsets me, how fellow reviewers don’t seem to be able to balance their reviews fair and wisely any more. Unjustified 1-star reviews are nothing but destructive and help neither the business nor considerate customers looking for a...