Gaetano Varco Restaurant — Restaurant in Termini Imerese

The first dish, a fish cheesecake, was delicious. I was worried it might be something like a fish pie, but it was a complete surprise — the combination of crouton crumbs, cheese, and fish tartare was truly unexpected. It was fresh, savory, and creamy all at once.

The second dish was the grilled fish of the day, served with baked potatoes. The fish was fresh and very flavorful. The chef brought us a tray with four different types of fish available that day, and we were able to choose the one we preferred.

For our daughter, the chef kindly asked what he could prepare just for her — we chose pasta with tomato and basil sauce, even though it wasn’t on the menu.

For dessert, we had tiramisu and lemon parfait. While they weren’t extraordinary, they weren’t too sweet either and made for a pleasant way to end the evening.

Overall, the experience was excellent. We were lucky to get a table without a reservation, as it was booked from 9 PM and we arrived at 7:30. I would definitely recommend making a reservation in advance!

I was truly impressed by the fact that the chef personally spoke with every table — he seems like a very passionate and talented cook.

Thank you for a great evening

UPD: lunch next day

We’re all not the same. We love different things and are passionate about our own interests . I don’t like sushi, but my wife does. When she orders spring rolls and maki, I take sashimi (raw pieces of salmon). Today, at Gaetano Varco Restaurant, Gaetano (the Chef) prepared for us a special appetizer. I’m not sure if it was on the menu; I didn’t ask. If you meet a true creative person, you let him cook; it’s a leap of faith. Our leap became an appetizer consisting of shrimp, scallops, (I’m sure I saw some octopus pieces) and bulgur with roasted summer squash. Why I started with sashimi? Because I got that sashimi vibe from this dish. The shrimp and scallops were fresh, maybe slightly dressed in some sauce, but that only highlighted the taste of the Mediterranean Sea. Also, I think bulgur added some balance to the dish, as an anchor or basement… hard to explain, but my tongue sought out for bulgur for saltiness and texture, and wasn’t disappointed at all. Main dish for me was a fish soup and lobster pasta for my wife. Lobster pasta was great. It wasn’t the first one we tried in Sicily, which is usually pasta and a medium-sized creature on your plate for 25€. This time, though, pasta mixed with the lobster flavor and sauce was the main dish. Lobster was there, of course, laying on the side, and it was delicious, but you don’t want to miss the pasta! Fish soup. When someone from Poland or other Balkan country thinks of fish soup, they think maybe about Ukha or Finnish Salmon Soup. Well, if you did, you will be surprised, just as I was. On my plate I’ve found not a soup, but rather the battlefield between fish of the day, a couple of king prawns, mussels, and calamari. The dish looked fantastic; fish was great. To be honest, I was full after the appetizer, so when I saw the “soup,” I thought, “Well, I won’t be able to do even half.” If it would be the same amount of meat and fries, I would be stuffed, but seafood is light, and surprisingly I managed to eat it all. I want to finish my review saying that this restaurant is exactly the type of small business we need to cultivate and protect, because people like Gaetano are a rare kind, and I’m proud I’ve met you Chef, and wish you and your place...

Firstly I would like to say that it was a private dinner with my husband and we were received very nice and friendly. The atmosphere and ambience is relaxing. The chef himself, the owner of the restaurant Gaetano Varco , came out to us and explained the menu and gave us recommendations. It was nice and professional. He approaches everyone and takes the time during dinner to come out and chat to the customers, which is very important and rarely seen like this. We wanted to try everything as he is an expert, with a special techno for cooking raw dishes - fish, seafood and it's not often you can get to see such culinary art. Now about dinner ! It was an explosion of emotions and flavours. Just something not ordinary and not forgettable. Antipasti Crudo is a masterpiece, though there were no sea urchins, as he cooks only fresh products, every day buying and this time there were no sea urchins, but everything that we tried left us delighted. I never thought it was possible and really tasty to eat raw prawns, langoustines, because fish , oysters and tuna tartare, yes, I have already eaten before.

I had Fettuccini with Lobster and my husband had Fusili with tartarof prawns . For the second we ordered Fish Soup, but it is not the soup that you can imagine, as usually served and my husband had Tuna. The soup is fish, mussels, squid, prawns and langoustines cooked with a special technique in a thick form to leave the taste of fish and seafood, and the Tuna was unforgettable, I have often eaten tuna steak before, but this one exceeded all expectations and flavours. The wine, dessert and atmosphere completed our excellent dinner. I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone, we will definitely be back next year to celebrate a birthday, you don't get that experience very often. A huge thank you to Gaetano and his family and all the staff. Highly recommend ...

Un'esperienza culinaria da 5 stelle

Se siete amanti del pesce fresco e della cucina di qualità, non potete assolutamente perdervi questo angolo di paradiso. Il ristorante gestito da Gaetano offre una delle esperienze gastronomiche più autentiche che si possano trovare nella zona. Dall’ingresso, è subito chiaro che ogni dettaglio è pensato per offrire una cena memorabile.

Il pesce è straordinariamente fresco, sempre selezionato con cura e preparato con un’attenzione maniacale ai dettagli. Ogni piatto che abbiamo assaggiato è stato un trionfo di sapori, con il pesce che non solo esprime tutta la sua freschezza, ma viene preparato in maniera tale da esaltarne le caratteristiche naturali. Le crudités, un must per chi apprezza la qualità del crudo, erano freschissime, ben assortite e accompagnate da una selezione di condimenti leggeri che non sovrastano ma arricchiscono ogni boccone. Si capisce subito che Gaetano ha un grande rispetto per le materie prime.

L’atmosfera del ristorante è elegante ma al contempo familiare, dove l’ospitalità e il servizio sono impeccabili. Gaetano, il proprietario, è il cuore pulsante del locale, con la sua simpatia e la sua passione per la cucina, riesce a rendere ogni cliente un ospite speciale. Ci ha raccontato la provenienza dei prodotti, consigliato piatti in base ai nostri gusti e ci ha fatto sentire come a casa, creando un'atmosfera calda e accogliente che non si trova facilmente altrove.

Inoltre, il locale è molto curato, con un arredamento semplice ma raffinato che mette in risalto il legame con il mare e la tradizione culinaria. Ogni dettaglio, dal servizio al piatto, dimostra una grande passione per ciò che viene offerto.

Se siete alla ricerca di un’esperienza gastronomica che coniuga qualità, freschezza e una calorosa ospitalità, non posso fare altro che consigliare questo ristorante. Tornerò sicuramente per continuare a scoprire le loro prelibatezze. Un posto che merita...