Timeo, beware of stopping by at sunset

See part one

In Italy, hotel restaurants don’t have a good reputation. No matter how committed owners, chefs and dining room staff might be, la largest majority recalls acrobats doing incredible spins but with a safety net below. Putting aside the misunderstanding that may arise when inviting a woman to dine in a hotel, which can be overcome with just a little intelligence, the pity, the limit is all based on the nature of the place, which is almost always structured so as to satisfy the needs of the hotel’s guests, and is rarely focused on searching for special offers. Nourishment rather than enjoyment, unless the establishment is so mighty it can afford having two spaces, a daily one, catering for breakfast too, and a second gourmet one. Abroad, things are different, but we’re in Italy and we must come to terms with ourselves and with foreign tourists who often ask for tradition instead of innovation.

Given all this, Taormina has plenty of useless frills and a few pearls. In this second episode I’d like to point out the pleasure of staying in one of the two establishments of the Belmond group, which complement each other: Villa Sant’Andrea on the beach of Mazzarò, and Timeo, above, next to the Teatro Greco. Those who want to bathe, are welcome below, those who want to dine at sunset with a panorama inspiring sweet thoughts can go above and sit on a unique terrace.

My first dinner was by the sea, Oliviero, the name of the restaurant at Villa Sant’Andrea where Salvatore Gambuzza is the executive chef, Alessandro Pugliese the passionate sommelier, and Daniele Gulizia the restaurant manager. Traditional menu, created with the present in mind, and with a service that makes it immediately clear that you just need to ask to get this or that variation, as long as there’s respect for the work in the dining room and in the kitchen and the request is not absurd. The kindness of the people serving and of the sommelier was impressive and goes beyond the wines that in this category must be a given fact. Were I to dine there tonight, I’d ask for the inevitable caponata – I might not be original but when something is good, you need to persist – Lamb stuffed with burrata, pesto with pistachios and sea urchins, turbot in caper sauce.

Above, at Grand Hotel Timeo, the executive chef is Roberto Toro, Marco Torrisi is the sommelier and Giuseppe Privitera the restaurant manager. Here, everything leads you to feel good, starting from the fact that the most rough and noisy tourists stay outside. I had the feeling that money is not everything, in the sense that the parvenus find a place elsewhere. There are nice, stylish people on the terrace, something rare. The same happens in terms of food. The one served at Timeo is less tied to Sicily, to the obvious dishes guests, including me, look for. Especially the first night. It’s an automatic connection: Sicily? Caponata. Liguria? Pesto. Roma? Carbonara. Milan? Sushi…

Yet my switch had already clicked at Villa Sant’Andrea so I had something more curious in mind: Aubergine gnocchi with tomato and fresh oregano, Carnaroli risotto Riserva Ecorì with anchovies, olives and cream of grilled peppers (really good), Soup of lentils from the Colline Ennesi with crispy vegetables, sweet garlic and horseradish, Morro codfish filet in a sweet and sour sauce of courgettes, green apple and chilli pepper, a meat, lamb, two desserts, Etna, a sweet and dreamful sunset…

2. To be continued