The story
The sea is not just a backdrop at Marina del Nettuno – it is the reason the place exists. Set within a yachting club on the Messina waterfront, this restaurant and lounge bar looks out over the Strait. The dining room is part of a larger marina that can host up to 160 boats, so the atmosphere is quietly maritime: polished, unhurried, and open to the breeze.
Chef Pasquale Caliri leads the kitchen, where he works with Mediterranean flavours that are “enriched and revisited” by his own creativity. The result is a contemporary cuisine rooted in the traditions of Sicily and the surrounding sea, but never predictable. The restaurant describes itself with a line that sums up its spirit: “In life there are three things that make you dream with your eyes open: Food, Music and the Sea.”
The menu changes with the season and the catch. One dish that appears in the restaurant’s own records is a dessert called “Ricordo spagnolo” – a Spanish Memory – hinting at the cultural cross-currents that have shaped this corner of the Mediterranean. Diners can expect plates that feel both of the moment and of this place.
Marina del Nettuno has earned a place in the Michelin Guide as a Recommended restaurant, a recognition that aligns with its ambition: to serve food that is grounded in the local landscape yet lifted by the skill of the kitchen. The dining room is air-conditioned, and in good weather there is outdoor seating where the sea is the constant companion.
This is a restaurant that knows exactly what it is: a place for boaters, for locals, and for anyone who wants to eat well while watching the water move. There is no need for fanfare. The Strait of Messina does that work on its own.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location
