Le Terre Di San Domenico - AUGUSTA

We arrived in Sicily on a Wednesday morning. Drove three hours to a villa we had rented. The restaurant was only 500 m from the villa. Based on reviews and the fact we’d no interest in driving we said “ sure it’ll do “. Wow were we surprised. We spoke no Italian. The lovely hostess in broken English just said “ I get Sicilian food”. We ordered nothing. She just kept arriving with plates of food that varied from melon ham, to olives they grew themselves to pasta dishes the like none of us ever had. Don’t speak of the tapas type plates of bruschetta and roasted vegetables. Another course of local cheese with spiced meats. Wine flowed as from a tap. I think after seven courses we asked her to stop. Then she arrived with a homemade ice cream cake and an aperitif of lemonchello. Our bellies and palates could take no more. What a fabulous experience. And then to top it all off. The bill. €75 for 4 people including wine,water and soft drinks. What a gastrointestinal experience

Let me start by saying that I rarely review restaurants online. I just don't. However, after having lunch here, I felt compelled to share my experience with the world. Le Terre di San Domineco is truly a place worth visiting. A very nice, family run farm, excellent charm and a very warm welcome to be there. But what took me over the top was the food. I've been living in Italy for over 2 years and have had some great food in Sicily. Not only was this no exception, but greatly exceeded so many great meals I have had on this island, both in quality and taste. 4 of us arrived on a Monday afternoon after booking just for lunch. Being the only people there I had my doubts. However the restaurant was clean, we were immediately greeted and seated. Our host asked about drinks then briefly explained the menu. Over the next 2 hours we were treated to the best Sicilian cuisine I've had. I expected to get the standard bowl of olives, bread, meat and cheese kind of things...but no. We got intricately cooked appetizers one after another. 9 in total I think. Caponata, and bruschetta were the only things I really recognized. A quiche Lorraine came, then perfectly fried arancini, eggplant lasagne then a stuffed zucchini (which I have never seen), all cooked with incredible care. Many of these could have passed for main courses, but no, just antipasti at this point. The two primi's were next. Pasta alla Norma and another pasta with pistachio and speck. Both I've had elsewhere dozens of times. Uh uh. This was different. There was something in the Norma that I have never tasted, call it umami if you want, but I still don't know what it was. I just know I wanted more. The pistachio pasta... Perfectly cooked Trofie with a light cream sauce and very thinly sliced pieces of speck. I could have died. Again there was something else in there. At this point we couldn't finish the pasta, and them I did something I've never done at an agriturismo, I asked to take it home. It was THAT good. Okay, pretty full at this point and no real reason to eat more. The segundi was the smallest dish, but still big. Butter roasted herbed potatoes, very perfect, then this thinly cut roast of pork topped with sautéed cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and cheese. Never seen that before and again, could not stop eating it. Dessert did come, and yes we ate...more. A very nice Panna cotta with strawberries and cream on top of some type of cake that had dried fruit in it. Again, something I've never seen before but was delicious. I write all of this because people need to know how great this is. If you are in the area, you have to book a reservation and prepare for some great food and hospitality.

Siamo stati attratti da questa bella location durante le nostre vacanze. Possiamo dire che è un ottimo locale accogliente, con un personale eccezionale e un proprietario gentilissimo. Se dovessi consigliarlo, direi che si mangia veramente bene.

Siamo stati attratti dalle recensioni positive e dalla voglia di mangiare qualcosa fatto in casa, ma che non fosse esclusivamente a base di pesce. Il menu varia in base alla serata; la sera in cui siamo andati, lo chef offriva pizza, antipasti misti, trofie con crema di pistacchi e speck, scaloppine primavera e dolci. Abbiamo sceltob le trofie e le scaloppine ed entrambi i piatti ci hanno sorpeso positivamente, davvero buoni, ben fatti e con materie prime di indubbia qualità. Porzioni abbondanti, cordialità e simpatia del personale. Senz'altro da provare se vi trovate in zona. Peccato non riuscire a tornarci perché le vacanze sono ormai finite. Bella esperienza.