I learned about La Capinera through the Michelin Guide and was very happy that a One Star restaurant was so close to the hotel I was staying at in Taormina on Sicily’s eastern coast.  There are some other Michelin restaurants in Taormina, but they hadn’t yet reopened for the season when I was visiting in March 2022. I checked out its website and was encouraged by what I saw, so I asked our hotel concierge to make us a reservation.

We were the first guests to arrive for our 7pm reservation, where we found a comfortable but simple layout, with the kitchen visible through a glass door from the dining room. The restaurant also has an outdoor terrace for use in warmer weather.  Our welcome was more perfunctory than warm, but Mr A saw that when I took out my black book and started making notes all of the staff (including chef Pietro D’Agostino) seemed to stand straighter!  I should note that the toilets are outside the front entrance, down an uneven flight of stone steps/stairs, so this restaurant is not accessible to everyone.

La Capinera does offer an a la carte menu, but I was in the mood for a tasting menu, so that I didn’t have to make choices. For the past few days I’d been bamboozled trying to understand restaurant menus and choosing my meals; the use of Sicilian dialect meant I couldn’t even find some of my favourite Italian dishes like beef carpaccio or risotto.  I just wanted a chef to present me with good locally inspired food, so I went for their “sea and air” 6 course tasting menu at €85 each. They also had a slightly longer “land and fire” tasting menu, but I wasn’t sure I could manage its 9 courses.  And being right on the coast it felt more appropriate to have a fish based menu. We also chose to have a wine flight of 4 glasses at €48 per person.

Our amuse bouche came served in a very unusual bowl, which, to me, resembled a sea urchin.  But it contained a lentil “soup” with buffalo ricotta and croutons, which tbh was more like a puree than a soup.  I always regard the amuse bouche as a way for a chef to introduce guests to his cooking style and skill, but in this case I was left hoping for much better to come. 4/10

Our first course was a chilled collection of raw/marinated fish: Swordfish, amberjack, squid and small fish fry, with an orange and olive oil dressing. I felt a little uncomfortable eating close to 100 fish fry, which didn’t really have any distinct flavour; surely they would be better leaving these babies to grow into adult fish. The rest of the dish was fresh and refreshing, but lacked the distinct flavours of the fish used, because the orange sauce dominated the plate. 7.5/10

The second course was a warm seafood salad of grouper, mackerel, king prawn and mussel, with a chick pea puree and seasonal vegetables (described on the menu as “crispy”, but they weren’t).  Again I thought the fish flavours were not clear enough because of the puree. 6/10

Course no.3 was baby squid stuffed with mortadella, bread and potato, served with grilled aubergine, sun-dried tomato and a red pepper sauce.  It was served with some focaccia, though I’ve no idea why!  The dish was pretty, but uninspiring. 6/10

Our pasta dish was black (squid ink) tagliolini with king prawn and sea urchin and a saffron sauce. This was my favourite dish of the evening. I never really get any flavour from squid ink in pasta, but the addition of sea urchin gave very welcome umami and a taste of the sea. 8.5/10

Our main course “catch of the day” turned out to be Amberjack, a large warm water game fish. It came with roasted artichoke, artichoke puree, pumpkin puree and hazelnuts. There were some other streaks of sauces on the plate but I found them to be tasteless and therefor pointless. Everything was un- or, at best, under-seasoned. 5/10

We were served a surprise pre-dessert of “citrus sorbet”. It was made with blood orange, lemon and mandarin, and sat upon an olive oil crumb.  This was a very enjoyable palate-cleansing pre-dessert. 7.5/10

On the menu dessert was a mystery. “I will be choosing the grand final for you”, wrote chef/patron Pietro.  We were a little surprised that he’d chosen different desserts for me and Mr A.  I got an almond and pear cake, pistachio ice cream and a marsala sauce. All elements were cold and hardly a “grand final”. 6/10

Mr A had better luck with his chocolate soufflé and vanilla ice cream.

Overall I was disappointed with our dinner at La Capinera.  I thought most dishes were underwhelming and under-seasoned.  This is the second Michelin Starred restaurant I’ve booked in Italy in the past few years and neither reached my expectations.  I can hear you saying that I should have gone to a local trattoria to get real local cuisine, but they really didn’t attract me because they all had cheap tourist-focused menus of pizza and pasta!  My total bill (for two) at La Capinera was €300; cheaper than a one star restaurant in London, but nowhere near as good.

6/10