Ristorante La SciccheriaAbout us
A restaurant in Ortigia, since 2010
La Sciccheria is a seafood restaurant in the historic centre of Ortigia, Syracuse, opened in December 2010 on Via Saverio Landolina, about a hundred metres from Piazza Duomo. Sicilian seafood cooking, home-made fresh pasta, a stone dining room with arches and tables outside in the street: this page tells who we are and how we work.
Since 2010
La Sciccheria opened in December 2010 on Via Saverio Landolina, in the heart of Ortigia, the island that is the historic centre of Syracuse. It was born from chef-owner Carmelo's passion for the seafood cooking of his land: the local catch, Mediterranean red prawn, oysters, fresh pasta rolled in-house. Today's menu comes from that idea and still carries three dishes with a name of our own — Sciccheria, Melodia and Maestranza — the recipes we became known for.
Since 2013 the restaurant has had a second identity, not an obvious one for a seafood kitchen: the whole menu also exists gluten-free, fresh pasta included. That year Carmelo took the course for food-sector operators on preparing meals for coeliacs run by SIAN – ASP Syracuse, and since then dedicated pots, fryer and oven have been part of everyday work.
Over the years came the long-fermented Roman pinsa, the menu in ten languages for guests from abroad, Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice awards in 2024, 2025 and 2026 and, in September 2026, first place out of 716 restaurants in Syracuse on Tripadvisor: a snapshot of that month, which we always quote with its date.
Carmelo, chef and owner
Carmelo is the chef-owner: he chooses the catch, leads the kitchen and decides the menu. His cooking is Sicilian and from the sea, with few ingredients per dish and pistachio as the thread that ties sea and land together, from the Sciccheria pasta to the grilled octopus down to the cannolo. Raw dishes and tartares come from fish blast-chilled as the rules require.
It was he who in 2013 brought the training for coeliac meals into the kitchen (SIAN – ASP Syracuse course): an attention that remains his and the whole team's, every day.
The stone dining room and the tables outside
The dining room is in stone, with the building's arches exposed, the bar corner and air conditioning in the warm months. Outside are the terrace and the tables in the street, in the lane of the old town: you dine among the alleys of Ortigia, two minutes' walk from the Cathedral.
The photos below are of the dining room and the outside, as you will find them when you arrive.
Dinner in Ortigia
Anyone looking for a seafood dinner in the old town will find a few certainties here: the menu with prices published online in ten languages, the house raw dishes and seafood pastas, a gluten-free version of every dish, high chairs for children and dogs welcome inside and at the tables outside. You book on WhatsApp giving date, time and number of people: recommended in the evening and at weekends.
We are open for lunch from 12:00 to 15:30 and for dinner from 18:00 to 23:00, every day except Thursday. We take cards, debit cards and contactless as well as cash.
In short
- Seafood restaurant, Sicilian seafood cooking, since 2010
- Via Saverio Landolina 14, Ortigia (Syracuse): about 100 metres from Piazza Duomo
- Stone dining room with air conditioning, outdoor terrace, tables in the street
- The whole menu also gluten-free (€ 1.50 supplement per course), fresh pasta and pinsa included
- Online menu with prices and allergens in ten languages
- Booking on WhatsApp; cards, debit cards and contactless
- High chairs for children; dogs welcome on a lead
Frequently asked questions
- How long has La Sciccheria existed?
- Since December 2010, always at Via Saverio Landolina 14, in Ortigia, the historic centre of Syracuse.
- Who is the chef?
- Carmelo, chef and owner: he chooses the catch and leads the kitchen. In 2013 he took the SIAN – ASP Syracuse course on preparing meals for coeliacs.
- What is the dining room like? Can we eat outside?
- The dining room is in stone with exposed arches and air conditioning; outside there are the terrace and the tables in the street, in the lane of the old town.
- What kind of cooking do you do?
- Sicilian seafood cooking: raw dishes and tartares, red prawn, oysters, home-made fresh pasta, grilled and fried fish, Roman pinsa. Every dish also exists gluten-free.