Food near Scopello: what to eat and where to shop

We don't serve meals at Villa Giulietta. Guests cook on some evenings and eat out on others, and this corner of Sicily makes both easy. Below is what we would order, where we eat, and where to do the shopping. We checked the details in October 2026. Opening times change with the season, so you won't find them here.

What to try

Sicilian cooking mixes what the island grows with what came over the sea. These are the dishes we send guests to first.

Arancine: fried rice with a crisp shell, usually filled with ragù or béchamel. In Palermo and the west they are arancine, in Catania arancini, and the island still argues about it.
Panelle: thin fritters of chickpea flour, eaten in a soft roll with sesame seeds, often with crocchè, small potato croquettes.
Caponata: a sweet and sour side dish of fried aubergines. The name is said to come from capone, a fish that once went into it.
Busiate with pesto alla trapanese: twisted pasta from the Trapani area with a local cousin of the Genoese pesto, made with basil, tomatoes, almonds, pecorino and red garlic from Nubia.
Couscous: it reached Sicily from North Africa, and around Trapani it comes with fish, meat or vegetables.
Cannoli and cassata, both made with ricotta, and granita, which Sicilians eat with a warm brioche.

Couscous has its own festival. San Vito Lo Capo, 40 km from the villa, holds the Cous Cous Fest in September, with cooks from several countries, tastings and free concerts on the beach. In 2026 it ran from 18 to 27 September.

Scopello's own: pane cunzato

The village has a speciality of its own. Pane cunzato is a loaf of durum wheat bread, made with sourdough and baked in a wood oven, then split and dressed: tomato, cheese, anchovies, oregano and plenty of olive oil. It started as food for farmers and fishermen. In 2020 BlogSicilia described the old bakery by the little square in Scopello making it until late in the evening. Bakeries change, so ask in the village where it is freshest.

Burrata with cherry tomatoes and olives in a roasting tin among bowls of fruit, with the words “A taste of Sicily, good food, good company” — Burrata with tomatoes and olives on our table. The tomatoes are Sicilian, the burrata is not.

The cheese in our photo is the exception. Burrata comes from Apulia, on the heel of Italy, and since 2016 Burrata di Andria has been a protected geographical indication that may only be made there. Sicilian shops and restaurants sell it, and it goes well with local tomatoes and olives. It just isn't a local speciality.

Where we eat

Our three favourite restaurants are all on the harbour promenade in Castellammare del Golfo, Via Don Leonardo Zangara, about 20 minutes from the villa by car. La Tonnara is the one for fish. Luxor does pizza and fish, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. Booga Wooga has Mediterranean food and an aperitivo by the water.

For an easy evening closer to home, Scopello has a handful of restaurants and bistros around its square, about five minutes from the villa. In summer the centre is a restricted traffic zone, so leave the car outside and walk in. There is more about the village in our article on Scopello, and Palermo's street food is in our evening in Palermo.

Where to shop

The villa has a modern SMEG kitchen with an oven, a hob, a microwave, a dishwasher and a fridge, and outside, under the pergola, a second kitchen with a built-in barbecue. There is more about the house and its kitchens on our villa page. For the shopping:

Market Scopello, a grocery in Contrada Piano Vignazza, is the nearest shop we know of: about 3 km by road, five minutes by car.
Castellammare del Golfo, about 20 minutes away, has supermarkets such as Decò on Viale Leonardo da Vinci and Conad, several bakeries and greengrocers.
The weekly market in Castellammare is on Saturday mornings from 8 am to 1 pm. Since 10 October 2026 it has been held on the square in front of the cemetery as a trial.
Scopello has a few small food shops for bread and the basics.

Wine

Our wine tip is Tonnino. The winery has its cellar in the Baglio Ceuso at Calatafimi-Segesta, a farm estate built in 1860, and offers tastings by appointment. Alcamo, 22 km from the villa, gives its name to a white wine, bianco d'Alcamo.

A man leans on a church wall in Alcamo beside a white Vespa, below the inscription “Cong.ne Gesù Maria Giuseppe” over the door — Alcamo, 22 km from the villa.

If you would like a recommendation for a particular evening, ask us before you arrive through our contact page. What a morning at the house looks like, from coffee to the first swim, is in our morning at the villa.

Questions and answers

Is burrata a Sicilian cheese?

No. Burrata comes from Apulia, where Burrata di Andria has been a protected geographical indication since 2016. You can buy it all over Sicily, though.

Does Villa Giulietta provide meals?

No, we serve neither breakfast nor other meals. The villa has a SMEG kitchen and an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue, and shops and restaurants are a short drive away.