Page 239 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

rooms have elegant wood furniture and stone floors. A terrace jacuzzi out the back

overlooks the port and there’s a well-regarded restaurant. Closed Nov to March. €360

Raya Via San Pietro, San Pietro 090 983 013, hotelraya.it. Opened in the 1960s,
this is the hotel that put Panarea on the party map, and it remains the hippest, sexiest
and most expensive hotel in Sicily – even though the owner’s refusal to install TVs
and telephones means that it has only two stars. It’s built entirely of natural materials,
and the food is organic, though its claim to be a simple retreat for nature lovers seems

a little disingenuous when the place is crawling with party animals. Rooms
(whitewashed walls, teak furniture, hand-batiked textiles, citronella candles) are built
into the hillside above the village, with great views to the sea over groves of olives,
hibiscus and bougainvillea; there are also some cheaper rooms in town above the

Raya’s boutique. €540
EATING AND DRINKING

Da Adelina Via Comunale Mare, San Pietro 28 090 983246. Intimate candlelit
restaurant with a romantic roof terrace overlooking Panarea’s port. Relaxing and
unpretentious, with a simple menu of seasonal dishes such as moscardini (tiny octopus
cooked with tomato, capers, wild fennel and chilli; €14) appearing alongside year-

round dishes like pennette adelina, dressed with anchovies, aubergine, capers, olives,
mint and basil (€10). For the main course opt for the mixed fish of the day, either fried
or grilled (€18). Daily lunch & dinner; closed Nov–Feb.

Da Francesco Via San Pietro, San Pietro 090 983 023, dafrancescopanarea.com.
Overlooking the harbour, and pretty good value for meals of pasta (around €12),
including the signature dish “disgraziata”, with peppers, chilli, capers, olives,

aubergine, tomatoes and baked ricotta, plus fish from €15. Daily lunch & dinner;
closed Dec–Feb.

Da Paolino Via Iditella 75, Iditella 090 983 008. A 10min walk north of the port
towards Iditella, this family-run restaurant has a terrace with fine views of Stromboli.
You’ll spend quite a bit if you eat a whole meal, but you can have a very unpretentious
meal of pasta and salad and a glass of wine here for around €25 – try the rich mille
baci pasta with greens (€10); and the fish is whatever the family has caught that day.

Daily lunch & dinner; closed Nov–March.

Drauto and Zimmari beach

South of San Pietro through the tangle of lanes, a gentle thirty-minute stroll above the

coast leads to the mainly stone beach below Drauto. Just beyond here, the path
descends to Zimmari, a popular, dark-gold sandy beach – the only one on the island –
overlooked by a seasonal (and expensive) bar-trattoria. Steps at the far end of the