Case Perrotta restaurant, Etna farm-stay cooking in Sant'Alfio

The Case Perrotta restaurant is the dining room of an organic farm stay in Sant'Alfio, on the eastern slope of Etna, at about 800 m, with views of the sea and the summit craters. They cook the regional food of Catania and Etna with what they produce on the estate and with what comes from the surroundings: wild herbs gathered right there, their own oil and old recipes of the monzù, the cooks of Sicily's noble houses, brought up to date. It is a weekend meal, long and unhurried, to do by car after a morning on the volcano.

What you eat

The autumn menu published on the website (November 2024) gives an idea of the cooking. For starters, the house delights, with assorted fried items; a board of Etna cured meats and cheeses with their own jams; mushroom soup or cream of broad beans with cauliflower and wild fennel. For first courses, homemade tagliatelle with porcini, the traditional maccheroni al ragù with aubergine and baked ricotta, panzotti stuffed with pistachio with veal stew or gnocchi alla montanara with sausage, pancetta and fresh sheep's ricotta.

For main courses, mixed grill with roast potatoes, veal tagliata, lamb scottadito or grilled vegetables with cheese fondue. For dessert, cannolicchi with fresh ricotta and pistachio, almond biancomangiare or artisan ice cream.

On Sundays and holidays they usually offer a fixed menu. Those published as an example cost €38 per adult without drinks (Sunday 5 January 2025) and €45 with wine included on Epiphany, with children's menus at €18 and €20: ham and cheese, pasta with tomato, escalope with potatoes and dessert. The grill on those menus is served on a roof tile, with sausage, Palermo-style pork involtino and meatball in a lemon leaf. The wine list brings together cellars of Etna and Sicily, with natural and conventional wines.

Hours and booking

Lunch is on Saturday and Sunday, from 13:00 to 14:30; dinner, Friday to Sunday. Always by reservation, and on other days they also open for groups that book. Closed on Monday. Call +39 095 968928 or write on WhatsApp to +39 338 3720194. The website does not publish the exact dinner time: confirm it when booking.

Getting there

It is at Via Andronico 2, in Sant'Alfio, about 40 km from Catania airport. You have to go by car. If you sleep on the estate, the house has ten rooms in the old convent and in the winery: see the accommodation page. From the Rifugio Sapienza and the cable car it is a little under 40 minutes' drive down.