Ristorante la Madia

Absolutely the finest meal we have ever had. Period. The chef is an artist who works to give the diner a true sense of Sicily, from accompanying a dish with a tiny smoking piece of charcoal to echo the smoking of Etna to creating the most sublime, airy clouds of mozzarella. Presentation, flavor, intimate environment and a chef who is excited to introduce his cuisine and his Sicily to the lucky few who venture to his restaurant. Reservations are a must, and please allow yourself several hours to enjoy the meal as it unwinds. The chef was so enthusiastic he actually left the kitchen and came out to our car to thank us for coming (he had introduced himself earlier -- all in Italian of course). Learn a bit of Italian or lean on the waitstaff to help you (some speak English). Heaven.

A journey for your senses... an experience to try. Thank you Pino and team for your hospitality.

A great experience. Nice location, very good service. Take the journey with Chef Pino Cuttaia and his dishes that will bring you back and forward trough memories, tastes of Sicily.

Best Restaurant in Sicily. Period. Price is definitely reasonable for the quality. The Chef is one of the best and yet very humble and approcheable.

WOW! Amazing food / talent / skill. Not a town international tourists would normally visit (from what I could see), but really glad we made the trip. Foodie paradise. Reservations a must.

To fly to Sicily and find such a wonderful restaurant like this is truly a culinary homerun. The service was impeccable, the reception was outstanding and no detail even minor was missed. We both selected the 8 course tasting menus along with a local bottle of a nice Sicilian white wine. The pictures of the dinner will all be attached. We both started with a cuttlefish pizza, from there we enjoyed a fresh mozzarella that was “airy” with a delightful tomato sauce. The next dish was an exquisitely prepared slightly cooked tuna tartare. We then continued with “popo” 2 ways, one with a cauliflower bed, and the other with a 2nd “popo” inside the first. Next I had a wonderful shrimp, spagetthi minestrone soup that was delicious while my wife had what looked like a beef like cannoli wrapped with a zucchini flower as well. The final savory dish for me was a perfectly cooked sea bass with pieces of orange while my wife had barecued meat. To cleanse the pallet we then had a dish of marinated cherries with apricots. Desert comprised of a cannelloni and a profiterole for my wife. The distance we had to travel was far and the time it took to plan it was intense, but it was so worth the trip. If you visit Sicily you don’t miss this special place!

We went to La Madia for dinner and they accommodated my vegetarian needs (FYI we did call in advance to make reservations, not sure if they can accommodate at the last minute). I think the courses were creative and flavors were quite good. Service was not stuffy at all. I liked all my course except the last savory course for vegetarian was not exciting...it was just potatoes with thyme oil. Cannoli was quite good and as you can see from pictures rest of the dishes were very nicely done. One big con I think is that they open at 8 and if your arrive early (we arrived at 7:50pm) and they wouldn't let us in...it is not an area were you can wander around either so it would have been nice to come in and sit at least.

An absolutely splendid meal, with a "but". Everything is astonishing, lots of emotion, incredible products, and a very inventive cuisine overall. One could perhaps argue that it's quite surprising to have such a restaurant in the remote and un-touristic town of Licata, but it's the home of the chef and this should be respected. Pino Cuttaia is an artist of everything related to fish and seafood, and that's more than necessary to offset, by far, any petty doubts related to location. Some dishes made us shed a tear, and that is the memory that will remain. The only real issue we had is the dessert. It's... rather unremarkable. It seems there's a lack of attention to that part of the meal. It could be they haven't managed to work with a prestigious pastry chef, or at least that some of the sweets in the menu are meant to be classic Sicilian standards without putting particular thought into making surprising dishes out of them. With the incredibly high level of everything coming before that, it simply doesn't match the expectations the first two thirds of the menu built. We end up with a strange impression: one of the best meals we've had for most of the evening, ending up on a far less remarkable note, with pastries we could probably have found at reasonable prices elsewhere. It's a bit of a shame: we could have stopped before dessert and still have had one of our best meals in quite a while. It's also a shame because with a little bit more attention to that kind of detail, such an exceptional restaurant, packed with talent, filled with the chef's emotions and personality, could have all the perks to enter the club of the most critically acclaimed establishments in Europe - and easily so.