Ragusa and Ragusa Ibla Pubs

Here are all of the pubs and clubs in Ragusa and Ragusa Ibla reviewed so far:

Il Lucernaio is a laid back, dimly lighted, non-pretentious pub with a wide bottled beer selection. It also offers wines, cocktails, sandwiches and crepes. Ask for Gianni, who will gladly give you some interesting options and good advice. Via Orfanotrofio 20, Ragusa Ibla. Closed on Tuesdays.

Il Lucernaio's owner Gianni Tumino

Jester Pub I was told this pub and brewery is the main beer supplier of Ragusa. You have to give them credit for that. They have arguably the best range of irish draft beers, as well as whiskey, rum and other spirits. A good place for drinking the night away with friends. Viale Europa 294, upper Ragusa. Tel: +39 0932-252090.

Decanter: (reviewed in the Marina di Ragusa pubs section, but I’ll paste the description here as well so lazy folks don’t have to scroll down to read). Great cocktails served with a smile, while listening to cool music. What else can you ask for? Well… from 7 pm to 9 pm it’s aperitivo time. This is the Italian version of a pre-dinner drink and a snack, but it’s brought to very generous proportions at the Decanter. Basically you order an aperitivo, choose your drink, pick up a plate and taste some delicious hors d'euvres from the buffet. I personally like their Bellini, done with real peaches. Two locations for this lovely pub: one in upper Ragusa at Piazza Cappuccini 22. Tel: +39 338 430 4092. Also by the sea on the pedestrian boardwalk at Marina di Ragusa.

2 Volte this small pub is beautifully done in a very modern way, combining the local white stone with color accents such as wall paintings, blue countertops and red leather booths. There's a TV screen usually showing music videos or fashion shows. Friendly staff, cracking nice music and good aperitivos. The 2 Volte has a good selection of whiskey as well. Via Mariannina Coffa 4. Almost in the corner with Corso Vittorio Veneto in upper Ragusa.

Black & White this recently opened spot, features a black-and-white design scheme and offers theme-nights like Saturday's Argentine night with tango music and a steak and wine dinner for € 20 or Friday nights with guest DJs.
Via Risorgimento 30, Ragusa

Pubs in Marina di Ragusa

If you come to Ragusa in summertime, you will probably find high temperatures and a desserted city. That's because everybody is cooling off in Marina di Ragusa (Ragusa's seaside). To see map click here. Here are some pubs in Marina, where you can sip a beer while watching the sun go down on the sea.

Decanter great cocktails served with a smile, while listening to cool music. What else can you ask for? Well… from 7 pm to 9 pm it’s aperitivo time. This is the Italian version of a pre-dinner drink and a snack, but it’s brought to very generous proportions at the Decanter. Basically you order an aperitivo, choose your drink, pick up a plate and taste some delicious hors d'euvres from the buffet. I personally like their Bellini, done with real peaches. Two locations for this lovely pub: one in upper Ragusa at Piazza Cappuccini 22. Tel: +39 338 430 4092. Also by the sea on the pedestrian boardwalk at Marina di Ragusa.

Charleston not far from the Decanter, and about 50 yards from the main plaza in Marina di Ragusa, the Charleston has modern décor, orange-blue colored walls and sea view. Not an enormous variety of cocktails here but enough if you’re not too picky. It has tables and booths and usually a nice music selection. It’s one of the few pubs in Marina di Ragusa that opens all year round.

Tre Per Caso: By the sea in the pedestrian boardwalk at Marina di Ragusa right between the Decanter and Quattro Quarti. This two story pub is open all year round and has a nice sea-view terrace (closed in winter). They have a good variety of cocktails, and for those ones missing on the menu... they willingly prepared to my specifications a spicy margarita with tabasco sauce.

Anno Zero towards the end of the lungomare A. Doria lays this nice pub with outdoor tables. Loud music, good vibe and cocktails. Inside you'll find cool pictures hanging on the yellow walls and some wooden booths on your right hand side. I usually like this place because it's not as packed as the pubs closer to the main square.

Victoria Pub this place is almost hidden… it took me one year to realize it even existed even if I walked by dozens of times! Lungomare A.Doria. It will be on your left hand side walking from the main square, and you have to enter some sort of gallery right next door to a white building with boutiques. It has a more traditional feel with the wooden bar and pool tables on the back. They also make pizzas.

Quattro Quarti Very nice modern all-white décor. Sloooow service, regular food. Packed on summer nights with all the see and be seen crowd. Not really my kind of place, but good enough for people watching. By the sea in the pedestrian boardwalk at Marina di Ragusa steps away from the Decanter.

La Dolce Vita Caffè used to be a piano bar, with dim lighting and booths, now it turned into a semi-disco for youngsters. I 'm not too excited about the music selection. You'll find it towards the end of the lungomare A. Doria.

Chalets:
To drink by the sea, you have another alternative… do as the locals and head to one of the beach huts (chalets nella spiaggia). These are wood constructions with just a floor and a roof (if any) right on the sand. So you can drink al fresco right on the beach, and maybe swim a little if you dare. Some popular “chalets” are the Titanic located in Plaja Grande (driving from Marina di Ragusa towards Donnalucata you’ll see a sign on your right hand side. Get in the trail and drive until you see a ship on the sand. That is the entrance of the Titanic). The Margarita is located in the lungomare A. Doria, in Marina di Ragusa, a few blocks from the square. A new comer is La Ola, always in the lungomare A. Doria; the Pata Pata (lungomare in Sampieri), and the Tsunami, (Punta Braccetto, about 2 km after Punta Secca, on the way to the beach). By driving around and asking you can find many more, and that can be part of the fun.

An easy recipe: Ragusan red pesto

Here's a recipe a great sicilian cook gave me. It sounds pretty easy and delicious
(serves 4 people):

Ingredients:
You will need 10 fresh basil leaves, 1 garlic clove, 30 gr. of pinenuts, ½ teaspoon of concentrated tomato paste, 2 ripe tomatoes, 5 tablespoons of ricotta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt and grated parmesan cheese to taste. You can add sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Preparation:
Peal and remove the seeds from the tomatoes, springle with salt and leave for about half an hour so they loose some of the juice. Blend tomatoes with pinenuts, garlic and basil. Add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of sun dried tomatoes (optional). Mix the pureed ricotta cheese with the pesto mix from the blender (do not add ricotta to the blender). Serve as a topping for pasta and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Bars & Cafes

I consider myself a coffee person, that’s why I can write extensively about this topic since I think I pretty much covered all the bars and cafes of the Ragusa and Marina di Ragusa areas.

First of all, it might be good to know that in Italy a bar is a place where they serve coffee, croissants and perhaps some drinks, but it definitely does not match the sports bar type and it doesn’t involve a lot of drinking. If you like your beer, then you should head to a pub instead. I’ll be posting about pubs soon.

A word about coffee…

Espresso coffee and all its possible combinations is the only kind of coffee served in Italy. So beware, if you walk to a bar and ask for a coffee, espresso is what you’ll get… and it tastes nothing like filter coffee. You’ll notice that espresso it’s served at the bar in small cups, and people drink it while standing. Mmmmh espresso… express… maybe that’s why they drink it like a tequila shot?

If you're looking for an alternative to decaf, you might try this italian invention: the caffè d’orzo, which is a decaf drink made out from barley that can be served like an espresso in a small cup or with steamed milk (cappuccino d’orzo). This is not really coffee, but it’s found in any bar and a lot of Italians have it specially in late evenings.


Caffè delle Rose: My ideal day would have to start with breakfast at this modern café located in a 20th century building. Good cappuccino, friendly service, but my favorite part are the amazing croissants (cornetti). You can have them filled with cream, ricotta cheese, almond cream, pistachios, chocolate, peach jam, whole wheat with honey or just plain. They are delicious fresh out of the oven. Once you experience them… you’ll be back for more.

In summertime I recommend you try the “caffè shakerato” (blended coffee with ice cream) it’s creamy, it almost melts in your mouth and it’ll give you enough caffeine to run the New York marathon in twenty minutes.

If you don’t like coffee, or even if you like it, they have a decent selection of gelato offering varieties such as pistachio, hazelnut, coffee (did I mention I like coffee?), chocolate, and the usual fruit flavours.

Caffè delle Rose is located right across the main square at Marina di Ragusa. Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi 25. Closed on Mondays.

Zizzi's Caffè: this little laid back bar in Piazza Libertà has the great tasting, if not creatively named, caffè barocco (coffee with cinammon). Worth a try while you are in upper Ragusa. There are three bars in Piazza Libertà, this one has tables outside and it's right under the Cammera di Commercio, next door to a fotocopy shop.

Ibla Caffè is a cozy cafè at the entrance of Ibla that offers paid internet access, so it can be handy to get your caffeine fix while deleting all that Viagra spam from your inbox.

Pasticceria Di Pasquale is the oldest pastry shop in Ragusa. A lot of people will tell you they have the best fresh-baked cakes, and pastries. The couple of times I was there I found the staff and owner unfriendly, but I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to profiterols. Corso Vittorio Veneto 104.

Overview - Food

People around here like their food… a lot. Here’s why:


Breakfast
Forget about eggs and bacon for a while. Here breakfast “colazione” can be an equivalent to the continental breakfast (danish pastries, croissants and a cup of cappuccino) or the sicilian breakfast which takes place mainly in summertime, and consists of “granita e brioche”. Granita is a kind of Sicilian gelato served usually in a glass cup (I will post an entry exclusively about granita in the near future); for those of you watching the line, you can add whipped cream on top.The brioche is a sort of semi-circular muffin, that you can dip in your granita... it’s OK to do it! If you are in a hurry, you can opt for the gelato sandwich! Yes… you read well… gelato stuffed into the muffin (brioche) Amazing what you can do in Sicily without getting arrested!

Lunch
Your typical lunch will have (you guessed) pasta on it. Dozens of different kinds of pasta with hundreds of different “salsa”. After a year I’m still learning about new kinds of pasta and ways to cook it. Impossible to keep track of it all, but if you want to try something typical, ask for “cavateddi alla norma” (a sort of small gnocchi with eggplant and ricotta cheese) or try the ricotta ravioli with pork sauce. Another choice would be the “pasta col maccu”, I'm not a big fan of this pasta that involves fava beans paste.


Aperitivo
Before dinner, around 7:30 pm, there’s the “Aperitivo”. You basically walk to a bar and ask for it, first you choose your drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic (I recommend the Aperol Spritz for those of you who like some alcohol in your drinks and Crodino for non alcoholics). Then they start bringing all kind of ors d’hoeuvres (olives, breaded mozzarella balls, pizza, chips, etc). Try not to stuff yourself too much because you still have to face dinner.

Dinner
The usual dinner consists of an antipasto (appetizer), il primo (the first course) any kind of pasta, and il secondo (the entree) meat or fish. After these comes the fruit, followed by the dessert, the lemoncello (lemon liquor) or grappa (more liquor), and coffee of course.

The reason for this blog

A year ago, I moved to Ragusa, Italy straight from Los Angeles. You would think that’s a big change, but not so big if you consider I was actually born in Argentina. In my mind three languages are starting to get all mixed up, so I feel it’s time to practice my english... it's scary how easily I'm beginning to forget things!

Sicily is a beautiful land, where history and nature combine together in a perfect mix. You can see architectural jewels, taste amazing food or hear interesting stories in almost every corner, but unfortunately not everything is so obvious or easy to find for the tourists without some insider’s help.

That’s why I decided to start this blog. To share my everyday experiences and help the traveler find it’s way around and know a bit more about this wonderful place (and to practice my english before I forget it all)