iPalici

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iPalici Restaurant Viagrande – Sicilian Contemporary Dining by Chef Giuseppe Corda, Michelin Recommended

iPalici: Chef Giuseppe Corda’s Contemporary Sicilian Cuisine

At the foot of Mount Etna, within the 18th-century noble estate of Relais San Giuliano, the iPalici restaurant offers an experience of contemporary Sicilian cuisine that has earned a Michelin Recommended distinction. The setting itself is rare: the restaurant occupies an ancient palmento, a 16th-century wine press, transformed into an elegant dining room that preserves the stone and timber soul of the original structure.

Chef Giuseppe Corda, born in Sicily in 1989, is the force behind the kitchen. After twelve formative years at Taormina’s Grand Hotel Timeo, he took the helm at iPalici in 2024. Corda describes his approach as a “rebirth of tradition’s flavours,” built on a foundation of few, carefully selected local ingredients. His cooking layers memory and territory with lightness: Sicilian staples like datterini tomatoes, gamberi, and lamb meet subtle references to Japan—soy, mirin, yakitori—without losing their Mediterranean grounding. The balance, he explains, is the point: “It is, in the end, our job: to move those who sit at the table.”

The menu changes with the seasons, drawing on what the volcanic slopes and nearby sea offer. Presentation is precise, with plates that channel the colours and textures of the surrounding landscape—rich greens, deep blacks of lava stone, the bright red of a sun-ripened tomato. Finger foods and amuse-bouche are a signature: small, curious bites that set the tone for a meal that is both grounded and refined.

iPalici’s Michelin Recommended status reflects this quiet confidence. There are no grand gestures, just a steady, intelligent kitchen working with the island’s best produce. The dining room is intimate, the service attentive. It is a place that feels both of its place—Etna’s slopes, Eastern Sicily—and contemporary in its ambitions. For those exploring the region, iPalici offers a compelling argument for why Sicilian contemporary cuisine is one of Italy’s most exciting culinary conversations.