SICULISH HERE AND NOW — Restaurant in Syracuse

I would really like to give this place 4.5 stars, but, here we are. The main thing to love about this restaurant is the atmosphere. It is not a typical Sicilian or even Italian restaurant so don't go here if you want that. Instead, it is a homage to the Sicilians who traveled to America and never had the chance to return back to their home country. This restaurant is run by the younger generation of Sicilians who have travelled to America (or maybe even come back from America to Sicily) and want to remember the unique blend of culture that originated from Sicilian Americans (and Canadians/Australians though it's mostly catered to Americans). It does get quite busy so make a reservation. However, we went "early" again at about 20:00 and were seated with the caveat we had to be out at 21:30. One and a half hours for dinner was plenty of time for us!

You find the restaurant in the street by following the "I heart Ortigia" sign. When you enter you are asked for proof of your green card. We were seated and served by the lovely Diana (I believe one of the original founders of the restaurant). She was a joy to talk to! We ordered the bruschetta which I thought was phenomenal. It had a local sicilian cheese, crunchy bread, and a bit of basil. I scraped the plate with my fork to get every last drop. The main dishes were a bit underwhelming after the appetizer. I will admit I ordered the off menu item of tuna tartare over carbonara pasta, this was not one of their "MUST" items that they indicate on the menu. As such, it was just OK. I picked out the tuna from the pasta as it was very good and fresh but did not finish my dish due to the odd combination of tuna with lemon carbonara. However, all the ingredients were fresh and expertly prepared so this was just my personal taste preference. Others at my table ordered the pasta with shrimp and ricotta and red sauce. My dad liked it, my brother thought it was good but not great. Myself I thought it was pretty good but nothing stupendous. I will say that our server suggested 3 wines to pair with our meal and the one we ended up choosing was excellent so there is that! Lastly, we ordered dessert which I found pretty good. I ordered the almond sort of ice cream dessert they had and my mom ordered the pistachio. Both plates were cleared before we left the restaurant.

Overall, the vibe is super great (they even play American music like Elvis which I find a bit funny), the servers are friendly, the food for the most part is excellent with a few duds. I would likely come back if I had more time in Sicily though it wouldn't be the...

We were very disappointed! We don't get the past positive recommendations and comments. We ordered the Minnistritti and the Pasta Carbo Pork Al Tartufo.

We ordered drinks at first. My partner ordered a non alcoholic drink (driver) and got a mochito. We told the waiter in the beginning, that we don't like any sirup and asked him, if the drink was fresh and responded positive. Which was not. It was sirup with soda and some mint leaves.

We ordered our food. A starter we shared and a main pasta course: The starter looked alike Bruschetta but the bread was soooo damn hard, that we couldn't bit of even chew them. If you don't need your teeth anymore, we recommend to bite into. We asked the waiter to exchange it.They came back with a softer bread. Still not good.

We got our pasta after long time of waiting. Our pasta wasn't even Al dente (my partner is Italian and knows good pasta) it was raw on the middle and it took time to chew them one by one. The combination of pork, cream and Tartufo did not taste either. It was also saying in the menu, that it's carbonara which wasn't. Picture looked better than it tasted.

We really like and try variety of pasta and pizzas but these one weren't good. We were very disappointed and went not satisfied out of the restaurant.

The only plus:...

Stayed in Siracusa near the Museo Archeologico and despaired at finding a decent place to eat. Ortigia is well served but hereabouts Nada. Anyways walked into Siculish and was totally blown away by the eclectic menu (who knew that sushi and pizza belonged on the same menu, but these guys made it work). And did I mention the atmosphere. It was absolutely humming & packed to the brim. However Sam found us a table for 4 and we never looked back. From the Scallops served on a bed of Cauliflower purée with edamame beans to the Fior de latte cheesy pizzas and not forgetting the Salmon sushi, I actually think it might be worth staying in the area just to be able to eat here. Well done ladies & gents for the impeccable food great service and the fantastic attitude (yes chef you got my vote for the Cauliflower purée secret recipe LOL!!) thanks Sam...