Our Sicilian landlady Antonia and the trusty Lonely Planet, both recommended Tiramisu restaurant in Toarmina so Zorba and I were keen to check it out. 
We arrived about 8:45pm for dinner and the waiter looked doubtful when we said we didn’t have a reservation. Nonetheless, we were seated at a table for two near the stairs. The setting was lovely and I immediately noticed that there were stacks of Italians in there and not that many tourists. The area had tree-size leafy plants in large pots scattered around the restaurant, a partially covered terrace, fine cloth napery, and lovely big wine glasses. Oh a little bit of posh I do like!
As Zorba and I had grazed with the family earlier at another restaurant that they went to with the kids (Indi 5 and Sam 3 years old), we weren’t totally famished. We decided just to dive straight into mains. The linguine alla scoglio with scampi, prawns, mussels and calamari (for two) sounded beautiful. And it tasted beautiful too. I love the way Italians can cook pasta properly – al dente. The sauce was seafood delicate and the sauce had a lovely depth of flavour to it. It was just so tasty! Really, really good.
Linguine alla scoglio – delicious seafood linguine
We didn’t follow normal dining protocol and washed it down with a bottle of red rather than the text book white that is said to go with seafood, a Sicilian Nero D’Avola, which was also very good.
Well, the second bottle was good. The first bottle I ordered came to the table and it wasn’t the one I ordered. A Nero D’Avola it was, but it was from a different winery. When I quizzed the waiter about it as he was opening the bottle, he said that it was the same grape variety and that the other one I had chosen was finished. Hmmm, I didn’t like that. He should have alerted that to me first before just going ahead to open the bottle, don’t you think? I enquired about the price and he assured me it was the same, 16 euro per bottle. Va bene.
The nice Nero D’Avola
When I tasted the wine however, it wasn’t nice. It was sharp, acidic, and didn’t taste like it could open up and be a lovely smooth easy drinking vino after some time airing. In fact, there was nothing at all pleasant about it. I passed my taste remains to Zorba who concurred. I told the waiter that it wasn’t good and invited him to pour himself a taste in a clean glass to see for himself. He did just that and took the glass as far up as his nose and put it down again without tasting the wine. He promptly apologised and brought another bottle – a Sicilian Nero D’Avola from a different winery. A lovely one. Hurrah!
Despite the wine mishap, the service was professional and efficient, the prices were reasonable, the setting was lovely, and our meal was delicious!
FACT FILE
Tiramisu Restaurant
Via Cappuccini 1, Taormina
Tel: +39 (0)942 24803