Al Duomo

Sad to say that this restaurant received a two star Michelin rating. I can’t remember anything about the meal except that the pastas were not worth eating. Not worth the time nor the money.
Have had amazing dining experiences all over the world, and this truly was one of the worst.

Al Duomo was likely the best tasting menu we’ve ever had. We walked in without a reservation on a Wednesday night around 7:45, hoping they’d take up. The restaurant was shockingly empty to our surprise, and they happily seated us in a pleasant corner. It’s located on one of Ragusa’s pedestrian streets. From the moment we sat down, service was extremely attentive. Even when I walked to the bathroom, someone assisted me there and quickly cleaned up my spot at our table. They timed our dishes to our speed, while also giving us some time to digest. A vegetarian tasting menu wasn’t listed on the menu, but they were happy to comply with our request, and even asked us if we had any further dietary needs we wanted accommodated.
The food was absolutely superb and each dish more creative than the one before! We were served:
— Mushroom cappuccino with stuffed tomato: Such a creative dish! A savory take on the cappuccino, but they really do it right and all of the flavors do blend together. The stuffed tomato was perfectly sautéed so it was juicy and popping in flavor before being stuffed.
— Artichoke — steamed, fried and bbq’d, served with a poached egg: A surprising and interesting dish. Neat to have so many different variations done on such a simple food as the artichoke. I don’t eat fried food, but did eat a bite of the inside portion of the fried piece, and it was surprisingly sweet. The poached egg was from (I believe) the chef’s farm and was perfectly cooked.
— Spaghetti with bread crumbs and tomato sauce: Our favorite dish of the night and our favorite pasta we’ve ever had. So simple yet such a perfectly done blend of these flavors. The tomato sauce was both rich and tangy, the spaghetti cooked exactly al dente and the bread crumbs to add a toasted flavor and really a great touch.
— Ravioli with pea sauce, broccoli rabe and fresh ricotta: This tasted especially fresh, especially the ricotta. It had a very earthy flavor to it. Again, the broccoli was perfectly sautéed, yet still held its bitterness that broccoli rabe so nicely adds to a heavier dish.
— Mushroom gelato with crisps: This wasn’t my favorite (I like my gelato sweet!), but my husband loved it and ate both of ours. It was impressive how they made the savory gelato the perfect gelato consistency.
— Focaccia bread: We were trying to avoid bread, as we were eating so many carbs during the trip and wanted to save it for the best breads we saw, but we couldn’t resist the tiny triangle of focaccia. A great mix of sauce, cheese and fresh baked bread!
— Pumpkin purée with ricotta, fresh peas, bok choy and cucumber: This was another surprise in terms of how much we liked it. The pumpkin was airy yet had a satisfying bit to it, the fresh ricotta was again extremely fresh and beautifully placed on display in the middle of the dish. The vegetables were executed flawlessly, but didn’t try to trump the already intense pumpkin and ricotta flavors.
— Petit fours: Standard to many others we’ve had but a good variety and all tasty (we could only manage a bite of each to try them)!
— Sorbet (star fruit) with pumpkin cream: A nice way to ease into dessert. Not too heavy and almost refreshing after the full meal. All made freshly in house.
— Ricotta cheesecake with caramelized oranges, pistachio gelato and fresh chocolate sauce: The chocolate sauce, like much other chocolate in the area, was very bitter and dark, it was poured in a reservoir in the dish upon serving. The ricotta cheesecake had more of a ricotta flavor to it, rather than a sweet flavor, again pointing to its freshness. The caramelized orange and pistachio gelato added some sweet, but again without being over the top so. A neat mix of flavors with a good ode to the region with the local chocolate and pistachio gelato.
I believe I’m missing one or two courses, but it truly was all fabulous. It’s obviously pricey, but you go in knowing it’s going to be a special treat. At first we thought we’d do a few tasting menus during our honeymoon, but after having this one, we thought it’d get overkill and take away from the special experience here. Our only other critique was it was hard to hear and understand them explaining each dish, I think partially due to a small language barrier. Can’t really hold that against them though!

Put simply, a bucket list kinda restaurant. Must visit for its fantastic assault on the culinary palate. Plan ahead and book a year out. Many international travelers who’ve dined at #ChefCiccioSultano’s Il Duomo make return trips. Glad to have joined that group in Oct 2014 during our culinary tour of Sicilian cuisine.

This lovely restaurant was recommended by Fabrizio, the owner of an agriturismo establishment outside of Caccamo. He told me it would be expensive, but worth every euro, as it is Sicily’s top restaurant. We made a lunch reservation as soon as we arrived in Ragusa.
Our five star, prix fix lunch included a homemade pasta in a fava bean sauce which was topped with succulent, melt-​in-​your-​mouth lamb chops. The black pork from the Nebrodi mountains was tender and tasty. It was the star dish! Don’t miss it. Our meal also included an amuse bouche, dessert, and local Sicilian foccacia-​like specialties, as well as amazing lavash, encrusted with local pistachios.
Elegant, comfortable, welcoming, absolutely delicious. One of our best fine dining experiences.