Sicily native Dario Di Falco originally came to Taiwan on a short-term business assignment. However, after falling in love with this island, he informed his colleagues he would be staying longer-term. A search for a new business venture, a longing for cuisine from his homeland and his years as a professional chef led to this little bistro offering a genuine Italian ambiance and, as his slogan notes, “real Italian food”. “I wanted it to be like my home, a friendly place where people come in and I cook for them, a place where customers know who I am and feel free to interact with other customers,” he says.
The cozy interior has 12 table seats, five bar seats and a mural of Mt. Etna, an active volcano overlooking Dario’s hometown of Catania. In May he marked the restaurant’s fifth anniversary with a new menu, adding vegetarian and other dishes to old favorites, all fresh-made (not frozen) almost completely with imported Italian ingredients. A new limited-quantity appetizer is Fresh Burrata Cheese (NT$469), air-shipped weekly from the southern Italy’s Puglia region. This joins Sicilian street-food favorites, Arancini Sicilian Stuffed Rice Balls (NT$419), crunchy cooked risotto balls stuffed with a meat-cheese-tomato ragu sauce; and Sicily Cipollina, baked pastry dough wrapped around onions, parma ham, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Using his handmade pasta or imported Italian dry pasta, Dario’s eight pasta dishes include Sicilian Norma Pasta (NT$369), featuring eggplant, tomato sauce and olive oil topped with parmigiano cheese; Lasagna with Sicilian Ragu (instead of the usual Bolognese sauce) made with his grandmother’s recipe; the new Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta (NT$429); and a weekly Chef Pasta special. Other flavorful traditional dishes include a Scacciata spinach, cheese and meat stuffed flatbread; Italian-style ribeye and fillet steaks; and a new Sicily Special Panini (NT$349), filled with deep-fried eggplant, cheese, parma ham, olives, oregano and greens. Desserts include Panna Cotta, Tiramisu, and Tiramisu Cake (with 2-day advance order).
There’s an all-Sicilian selection of 12 red and nine white wines, plus Sicilian and other Italian beers and liqueurs, from limoncello to grappa.
0908-748-256
Hours: Wed-Thu 5-10 pm, Fri 5 pm-12 am, Sat-Sun 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5 pm-12 am (closed Mon-Tue)
Cash only. 5% service charge.
27-5, XiangShang Rd, Sec 1, West Dist
來自西西里的Dario Di Falco，最初是來台灣進行短期商務工作。然而，他愛上了這個島嶼，便告訴同事他將長期留在這裡，於是他開始尋找新的商業機會。對故鄉美食的渴望，以及多年作為職業廚師的經驗，讓他經營了這間小餐館，充滿著意大利氛圍。正如他的口號所呈現：這是真正的意大利美食。他說：我希望這裡像我的家一樣，是一個友善的地方，人們進來我就為他們下廚，顧客知道我是誰，並且可以自由地與其他顧客互動。
舒適的室內環境有12個座位、5個吧台座位，還有一幅埃特納火山的壁畫，這座活躍的火山俯瞰著Dario的家鄉–卡塔尼亞。他在5月以一份新菜單慶祝本餐廳的五周年慶，將素食餐和其他菜餚加入到受歡迎的舊菜單中，幾乎完全使用進口的意大利食材新鮮製作（非冷凍）。限量前菜如新鮮的義式普切塔（469元），每週從意大利南部的普利亞地區空運過來。另有最受歡迎的西西里街頭美食–西西里炸燉飯球（419元）也一起列入菜單，這個脆脆的炸糯米飯充滿了肉醬、起司和番茄醬；另外還有以西西里蔥、巴馬火腿、番茄醬和馬蘇里拉起司包裹在酥脆麵皮中的信封千層派。
Dario使用他手工製作的義大利麵條，或進口的乾燥義大利麵條提供8道義大利麵餐，其中包括西西里炸茄子諾瑪義大利麵（369元），搭配茄子、番茄醬和橄欖油，最後撒上帕瑪森乳酪、燉肉醬千層面（而不是一般的波隆那肉醬），採取他祖母的食譜製作方式、全新的菠菜瑞可達起司義大利餃（429元），還有每週末限定的主廚義大利麵。其他風味豐富的傳統菜餚還包括充滿菠菜、起司和肉餡料的義大利薄餅麵包；頂級皇家肋眼牛排；以及新的西西里帕尼尼（349元），內含炸茄子、起司、帕爾馬火腿、橄欖、奧勒岡葉和青菜。甜點包括義式奶酪、提拉米蘇和提拉米蘇蛋糕（需提前兩天預訂）。
酒單中有西西里選項的12款紅葡萄酒和9款白葡萄酒，還有西西里和其他義大利啤酒以及利口酒，包括檸檬利口酒和格拉帕酒。
0908-748-256
周三、四 5-10 pm, Fri 5 pm-12 am, 周六、日 11:30 am-2:30 pm, 5 pm-12 am (周一、二休)
只收現金；收取5%服務費
西區向上路一段27-5號