Could this be the best sandwich in the world?
And four other street foods that tell you everything you need to know about Sicily
We met Maria outside Chiesa San Paolo Apostolo on the isle of Ortigia - the small island that sits at the historic centre of the city of Syracuse in south eastern Sicily. This was the first of what would be two visits to Ortigia during our road trip around Sicily this spring.
Our group was made up of fellow travellers from the US, Scotland and Canada. After a short introduction, we headed straight into the markets, where vendors selling vegetables, fresh fish, nuts, seeds and candied melon were loudly and enthusiastically touting their wares. This was the noisy and chaotic beginning of four hours spent wandering the streets of Ortigia, learning about the history and culture of the region through its food.
Mark and I really love a food tour - our first ever was in Seville back in 2022 and since then we’ve tried to find one in almost every country we’ve visited. As well as trying delicious foods we might not otherwise come across, there's something about getting to know a place through the food that people eat every day. We’ve done tours in Delhi, Venice and Vienna so far and we’re hoping to find one in Jordan this August too.
So here’s to learning about a new culture through the food on our plates and here’s what we ate - and what we learned along the way.
Mozzarella
📍Caseificio Borderi - Via Emmanuele de Benedictis, Ortigia
This was our first stop with Maria - we watched fresh mozzarella being sliced and drizzled with olive oil and lemon, then waited (and waited) for the sandwiches. But they were worth it.
Caseificio Borderi is a bit of a local institution: part deli, part sandwich show. The team there build each sandwich like a work of art, stacking up ham, grilled vegetables and thick slices of homemade mozzarella between freshly baked bread.
Mozzarella has been made in southern Italy since the 12th century, originally with buffalo milk. These days, especially in Sicily, it’s usually made with cow’s milk - and when it’s fresh like this, it’s hard to beat. Creamy, slightly salty and still warm when it hits the bread. Honestly, the freshest-tasting sandwich I’ve ever been delighted to eat.
Fresh Fried Fish
📍Friggitoria Nonna Nella - Via della Amalfitania, Ortigia
At Friggitoria Nonna Nella, we picked up a cone of mixed fried seafood and vegetables - calamari, prawns, sardines and slices of courgette and aubergine - all battered and fried on the spot.
Sicilian food makes the most of what’s local and with the sea just a few streets away, fresh fish is always on the menu here. Fried seafood like this is common across coastal Sicily. It’s simple, but when it’s done well and eaten hot, sitting on the side of a narrow Sicilian street, it really hits the spot.
Arancino
📍U Siciliano - Via della Giudecca, Ortigia
Sicilians are famously passionate about food - and few things spark more debate than this. Is it arancino or arancina? Masculine or feminine? Cone-shaped or round? In Syracuse and much of eastern Sicily, it’s arancino - and cone-shaped, like Mount Etna.
We picked ours up from U Siciliano, a small place tucked away in Ortigia’s old Jewish quarter. The filling was a classic ragu, surrounded by saffron-scented rice, breaded and deep-fried. Crunchy on the outside, soft and savoury inside.
The cone shape is thought to represent Mount Etna - a bit of local geography baked into the food. With roots going back to Arab rule in the 10th century, when rice and spices were first introduced, arancini are practical, portable and very filling. Basically the Sicilian version of a Cornish pasty.
Granita
📍Gran Caffe del Duomo - Piazza Duomo, Ortigia
This was our unexpected favourite. We tried it once and ended up having it for breakfast a few times while we were in Sicily. Granita with a warm brioche bun - it sounds like a dessert, but here it’s a totally normal way to start the day. You either spoon it or tear off bits of brioche to scoop it up.
Granita is often called one of the earliest frozen desserts - the original snow cone. During the Arab period, people collected snow from Mount Etna, stored it in stone huts and mixed it with fruit juice or sweet syrup. That method evolved into what you get today: a semi-frozen mix of water, sugar and flavour, slowly churned to stay icy and textured.
We tried coffee, pistachio and almond - the almond was especially good. Not too sweet, a lovely creamy texture and a nutty flavour that really worked on a hot morning.
Cannoli
📍Mangano Sapuri Siciliano – Via della Amalfitania, Ortigia
These cannoli were huge - not the dainty ones you get at cafés, but full-on, two-handed, crunch-into-the-side versions. We had one filled with traditional vanilla ricotta and dusted with icing sugar. Sicilian cannoli are filled fresh to keep the shells crisp and you can really tell the difference.
Cannoli started as a treat for Carnival but are now sold all year round. The shell is fried pastry and the filling is usually sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta with lemon, orange zest or vanilla.
Gelato
📍L'Artigianale La Cultura Del Gelato - Via L.M. Pietrenere, Pozzallo
Technically not part of the tour, but it deserves an honourable mention. We stopped here most evenings while staying in Pozzallo. I went with lemon (a Sicilian classic), Lewis favoured the biscoff flavour and Mark went all in on the deep, dark chocolate.
Gelato is everywhere in Italy, of course, but Sicily puts its own stamp on it. Flavours really lean into local produce - lemons from the southeast, pistachios, almonds, blood oranges. It’s a bit denser and smoother than ice cream and on a warm Spring evening, you can’t beat it.
As always, this street food tour was one of the highlights of our time in Sicily. We tried things we probably wouldn’t have found on our own and we learned a lot from Maria along the way - not just about the food itself but about the history and people behind it.
If you’d like to see more, our vlog of the tour is now live on YouTube. It includes clips from the market, plenty of food and more of my thoughts on sandwiches…