aLevante Restaurant — Restaurant in Syracuse

Unmissable in Ortigia: as every year, for a few years now, the appointment in May with the shows at the Greek Theater matches with the visit to ALevante which is confirmed as an obligatory passage in Ortigia for those who love good food and wine. Recently renovated, it boasts a beautiful room in local light stone, from some tables the view of the sea and the Maniace Castle is even better than from the outside terrace. The location is slightly off-the-path with respect to the tourist routes of Ortigia but can be reached in a few minutes on foot from Piazza Duomo, Giudecca and Via della Maestranza, the environment is informal and relaxing, and the staff are particularly kind and attentive, but never intrusive. The style of cooking is "creative up to a point", with the use of highly selected raw materials of the local tradition that make the dishes unique and original but linked to the territory. Particularly careful is the use of aromatic herbs, dried fruits and condiments: each course is a triumph of perfume, as well as color, and a mixture of sweet-savory flavors with highly sought-after combinations. Dishes are well designed and colorful as a Caltagirone pottery, highlighted by the use of soapstone. The servings are correct and intelligently calibrated so to be able to taste a complete meal to dessert; the choice of the cellar is wide and refined, even here the aromas triumph, up to the cinnamon rosolio that comes with the dessert; the price is correct for the quality offered. Overall a perfect fusion of location, kitchen, cellar, service for a memorable experience. And a strong desire to come back.

Imperdibile ad Ortigia: come ogni anno, da un po' di anni, l'appuntamento a maggio con gli spettacoli al Teatro Greco coincide con la visita ALevante che si conferma un passaggio obbligato ad Ortigia per chi ama la buona tavola e la buona cantina. Di recente ristrutturato, all'interno c'è una bella sala in pietra chiara locale, da alcuni tavoli la vista sul mare e sul Castello Maniace è addirittura migliore che dall'esterno. La posizione è leggermente decentrata rispetto ai tracciati turistici di Ortigia ma è raggiungibile in pochi minuti a piedi da Piazza Duomo, dalla Giudecca e da Via delle Maestranze, l'ambiente è rilassante e lo staff particolarmente gentile ed attento, mai invadente. Lo stile di cucina è "creativo con criterio", con l'utilizzo di materie prime sceltissime e della tradizione locale che rendono i piatti unici e originali ma legati al territorio. Particolarmente attento è l'utilizzo delle erbe aromatiche, frutta secca e condimenti: ogni portata un trionfo di profumo, oltre che di colore, e una miscela di sapori dolce-salato con combinazioni molto ricercate. L'impiattamento è attento e colorato come una ceramica di Caltagirone, messo ancora più in risalto dall'utilizzo di pietra ollare come stoviglia. Le porzioni sono corrette ed intelligentemente calibrate per poter degustare un pasto completo dall'antipasto al dolce; la scelta della cantina è ampia e ricercata, anche qui trionfano i profumi, fino al rosolio di cannella che accompagna il dolce; il prezzo è corretto per la qualità offerta. Nell'insieme una perfetta fusione di posizione, cucina, cantina, servizio per un'esperienza memorabile. E una gran...

I visited this restaurant around May, as i was there for the Tragedie Greche. I was really looking forward to taste their menu, as i had heard pretty good things about the restaurant. And many reviews kind of confirmed it.

We did not order any wine. We started with the sauté. The Sauté was really delicious and the touch of pecorino added an extra layer of unexpected flavour. So we started very well.

Then the bavette: Al nero di seppia and with some stracciatella cheese. A daring combination that i was very excited to taste. But well, there was no ink sauce whatsoever, only the coloured pasta, therefore no taste of ink :( But what really surprised me the most was the total lack of any taste. And i still wonder how it is possible to use so many flavours to get to no flavour at all.

The second pasta we tried was also so tasteless that i even forgot the name of the dish, and could not get it back even reading the menu.

The tuna was good, the fluo mayo add only weirdness to a plate that should not need any mayo and did not add any value to it. The herbs were nice and crispy though.

All and all the ingredients were clearly very very fresh, but all and all every dish was quite bland in terms of taste and flavours.

Presentation of the plates...at times messy.

Service was really great though. We were welcomed by a huge smile and we left with an equally huge smile.

I would not try it again. Unless they get some nerves to...

A very simple unassuming looking restaurant from the outside, but if you dare to enter, be prepared for a high end culinary experience. This restaurant is tiny and quirky, has paper napkins and the staff very casual, but don't let that put you off for a second, the food and service that awaits you is the best we found on the island by far. These guys not only use the best ingredients, they know how to cook and present them to the highest standard. For some reason the Italians don't seem to do salad, not in their culture I was told, so it's very difficult to get anything other than a few leaves and a bit of tomato thrown on a plate. These guys obviously realise that and cater for their client base. Their fish and their pasta was the best we'd experienced in our one week stay on Ortigia. The irony is we tried many restaurants before we tried aLevante, even though we were staying in the apartment immediately above the restaurant! Next time we visit Syracuse or Ortigia island this will be our No1 restaurant of choice. aLevante restaurant is extremely popular so you will need to book in advance, which proves this place is...