Catania eats loudly. Fishmongers sing prices over swordfish heads at 06:00, breakfast is coffee granita scooped into a topknot brioche, and dinner is horse meat, sea urchins or pasta alla Norma with salted ricotta from the Etna slopes.
Catania's fish market runs Mon–Sat roughly 06:00–14:00 in the sunken piazza behind the Duomo. Whole swordfish are split on marble, sea urchins opened with scissors, red prawns sold by the kilo (€25–40/kg). Best light and loudest bidding before 10:00.
Fry shop on the market edge serving paper cones of calamari, whitebait, prawns and panelle straight from the stalls twenty metres away. Cones €5–9, glass of Etna Bianco €4. Standing room only, tables spill onto the market steps.
The city's land market, Mon–Sat mornings into early afternoon. Tomatoes from the Etna foothills, Bronte pistachios, tumazzo and ricotta salata by the wheel, capers from Salina, and stacked crates of blood oranges from Paternò in winter.
Small wine bar in a converted lava-stone shopfront pouring Etna Rosso from Nerello Mascalese and volcanic whites from Milo. Glasses €5–8, boards of Nebrodi salami and provola dei Nebrodi €12. Opens around 18:00 in low season.
Corner bar facing the Duomo where locals take granita di caffè con panna with a brioscia col tuppo. Granita €3–4, brioche €1.50. Also stacked with cassata siciliana and marzipan frutta martorana in the window cases.
Restaurant lane running off Via Etnea, thick with tables under awnings. Pasta alla Norma — fried aubergine, tomato, basil and grated ricotta salata — is the Catanese plate here, €10–13, with Etna house wine by the quarter-litre.
Catania's horse-meat street: a run of open charcoal grills where cavallo is served as involtini, salsiccia and thin steaks. Mixed grill plates €12–18, eaten at plastic tables with bread and lemon. Smoke visible for blocks after 19:00.
Fish restaurant wedged into the market lanes, cooking whatever the stalls sold that morning. Sea urchin pasta, raw red prawns and grilled swordfish rolls; tasting menus around €40–55. Booking is effectively required for evening service.
Pastry counter opposite Villa Bellini, open since 1897 and the reference point for Catanese arancini: the conical 'a punta' with ragù and the butter version. Arancino €2.50–3.50, cartocciata and pizzetta from €2. Standing counter, quick turnover.
Sweet stop for Bronte pistachio in its home region: pistachio cannoli filled to order, granita di pistacchio and paste di mandorla. Cannolo €3, granita €3.50. Bronte's DOP pistachios grow on lava soil an hour up the mountain.
Bakery turning out Catanese scaccia, siciliana (a folded pastry with tuma cheese and anchovy) and crispelle di riso rolled in honey during Sant'Agata season. Pieces €2–4, best between 15:00 and 17:00 when the second bake comes out.
Cast-iron soda kiosks pouring 'seltz limone e sale' — carbonated water, hand-squeezed lemon and a pinch of salt, €1.50 — plus tamarind and mandarin syrups. A Catanese habit older than the aperitivo, drunk standing at the counter.