Well let me tell you that Catania is really the home of street food: not only arancini, cipollina and cartocciata but also horse meatball sandwiches, fried fish and of course desserts.
Catania offers very pleasant surprises when it comes to street food; eating on the street is a deeply rooted tradition among the Catanese, I personally love it and never miss the chance to grab a sandwich on the fly when I go downtown.
We’re talking great food, rustic but delicious and at the same time incredibly cheap; it’s the delicatessens, diners, bakeries, pastry shops, fryers and butchers with grills that win over passers-by more than traditional restaurants.
Here are our favourite places to eat Catania’s street food, the ones we recommend because they offer unique experiences.
Catania fish market
In the heart of Catania’s historic centre, near the magnificent Amenano fountain, you’ll find the historic open-air fish market, the city’s busiest and largest.
The Pescheria is the first official stop for street food enthusiasts, eating strictly standing up, although recently there have been a number of “al fresco” stations where you can sample grilled or fried fish and other traditional dishes at very reasonable prices.
We are big fans of fried fish and we love the chance to eat ‘u coppu’ of hot fish with a squeeze of lemon and no frills!
Arrusti e mangia da N’ta Za’ Carmela
One of the most characteristic experiences you can have in Catania is ‘arrusti e mangia’, a barbecue prepared in the street and eaten in a very spartan manner on tables outside.
The heart of this Catania tradition is in Via Plebiscito, where the horsemeat butchers’ shops stand out.
Here our favourite arrusti e mangia is undoubtedly at N’ta Za’ Carmela, which specialises in horse and donkey meat. The intense smell of the horse’s slice and the delicacy of the rolls with cream cheese and pistachios give the dishes a unique flavour and, as you know, grilled meat has a whole different flavour.
Old Catania rotisserie
The Antica Rosticceria Catanese is famous for its baked and fried delicacies, including the famous arancini!
The price is absolutely excellent and the choice is wide: from the sarde beccafico to the fried cod, from the arancini to the onion and much more.
As a good Catanese, I would like to conclude by recommending a typical dessert from our tradition: the cassatella di Sant’Agata.
Actually, here we call them Minne di Sant’Agata, because of their singular shape that reminds us of a woman’s breasts. It is a round cassatella with a cherry on top; a real gem that encapsulates all the goodness of typical Sicilian sweets in one bite.
You can taste it anywhere, in any pastry shop you will find the different versions of this cake: big, small, sweet and super sweet.
Already hungry? We look forward to a tour of street food and goodness!
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