Restaurant in Archi, Italy
One-star tasting menu, dinner only, book ahead.
Zash holds a Michelin star (2024) and a 4.5 Google rating for a reason: Chef Giuseppe Raciti's themed tasting menus in a restored 19th-century Sicilian palmento deliver one of eastern Sicily's most considered creative dining experiences. Dinner only, hard to book, and worth the effort for a special occasion or a serious meal near Riposto.
If you are returning to Zash, the answer to whether it is worth a second visit is yes — and the reason is the tasting menu format, which gives Chef Giuseppe Raciti room to shift his Sicilian sourcing story across seasons. A single visit gives you the architecture; a return visit reveals how much the menu breathes. First-timers: book it without hesitation if you are within reach of Riposto and prepared for a dinner-only €€€€ commitment. This is one of the most considered tasting menu experiences in Sicily, backed by a Michelin star (2024) and a Google rating of 4.5 across 431 reviews. It earns both.
The journey to your table at Zash starts before you sit down. You pass through an entrance gate and walk through an orchard of citrus trees before reaching a 19th-century palmento — a stone building historically used for wine fermentation , that has been carefully restored without losing its structural character. For a special occasion, this arrival sequence matters: the approach frames the meal before the first course arrives, and the room itself carries the weight of the setting rather than relying on interior decoration to do the work.
That context is not incidental to the food. Raciti's cooking is rooted in Sicilian produce and technique, then reinterpreted in a modern register. The tasting menus are themed, which means the progression of courses follows a deliberate narrative arc rather than a sequence of individually impressive dishes. You can also order à la carte from the same menus, which is a practical advantage if you are dining with someone who resists the full tasting format. The Michelin guide singles out the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked aubergines, grapefruit, red onion, and teriyaki sauce as a standout , a dish where the smoke from the grill, the acidity of the grapefruit, and the fat of the ventresca are doing different structural work in the same bowl. That is the register Raciti operates in: Sicilian ingredients, international technique, clean flavour logic.
The wine list is built around the same regional focus. Sicily has been producing serious wines from Nerello Mascalese, Carricante, and Grillo for long enough that a wine list anchored here is not a provincial compromise , it is a considered curatorial position. For a celebration dinner where you want wine and food to reinforce each other rather than simply coexist, this matters.
Zash is open for dinner only, Tuesday excluded, from 8 PM to 10 PM. The dinner-only format means this is not a lunch venue, and the evening timing suits the palmento setting: the restored stone interior and the citrus orchard approach read differently after dark. For special occasions, a Friday or Saturday booking gives the meal the frame it deserves without the midweek compression. Sicily's eastern coast around Riposto and Catania runs warm through spring and autumn, which are the most practical travel windows , high summer brings heat and tourist volume to the region, while the restaurant's produce-driven menu typically benefits from shoulder-season ingredients.
Booking is hard. Zash holds a Michelin star and has a small capacity in a restored historic building, which limits covers and increases lead time. Book as far in advance as your travel plans allow , for weekend dinners, especially in high season, weeks rather than days. There is no walk-in culture for a venue at this level and format. Plan the booking before you plan the rest of the trip.
| Detail | Zash | Comparable benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Price tier | €€€€ | In line with Italy's other one-star creative venues |
| Format | Tasting menu / à la carte from menu | Most one-star Sicilian restaurants run tasting-only |
| Dinner only | Yes (8 PM–10 PM) | Standard for this format in Italy |
| Closed | Tuesday | One day closure is typical at this level |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Michelin-starred, limited covers, restored historic space |
| Setting | 19C palmento, citrus orchard approach | Few Italian one-stars offer this kind of architectural arrival |
| Star awarded | 2024 | Current , credential is active |
Yes, at the €€€€ tier, the tasting menu format at Zash delivers value that is hard to find elsewhere in Sicily at this level. The Michelin star (2024) confirms the cooking is operating above the regional baseline, and the themed menu structure means the progression is intentional rather than a sequence of loosely connected courses. The practical advantage over a pure tasting-only format is that you can also order individual dishes à la carte from the same menu, which reduces the all-or-nothing commitment. Compare that flexibility against venues like Reale in Castel di Sangro, where the tasting format is more rigid. If you are spending €€€€ on a creative dinner in Italy, Zash justifies it.
Zash is workable for solo dining but not optimised for it. The tasting menu format is better suited to two or more, partly for pacing and partly because the €€€€ price point at a dinner-only venue is a significant solo commitment. That said, the à la carte option from the tasting menu gives a solo diner more control over spend and volume. If you are travelling alone through eastern Sicily and want one serious dinner, Zash is the right call , just book well in advance and go on a weeknight (Wednesday or Thursday) when the room is likely quieter than Friday or Saturday.
Yes , this is one of the strongest special-occasion venues in Sicily. The arrival through the citrus orchard, the restored 19th-century palmento setting, the themed tasting menu, and the regional wine focus all contribute to a meal that has clear structure and atmosphere. For a celebration dinner, the combination of Michelin-star cooking (2024) and an architectural setting that most Italian restaurants at this price point cannot match makes Zash a direct recommendation. Book a Friday or Saturday evening and give yourself the full format. For reference, Quattro Passi in Marina del Cantone offers a comparable Mediterranean occasion-dining experience further north if Riposto does not suit your itinerary.
The Michelin guide specifically notes the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked aubergines, grapefruit, red onion, and teriyaki sauce as a standout dish , that is the most verified specific ordering guidance available. Beyond that, the tasting menus are themed and built around Sicilian produce reinterpreted in a modern style, so ordering the full menu is the format the kitchen is designed for. If you are selecting à la carte from the menu, prioritise anything built around local tuna, aubergine, or citrus , the ingredients the Michelin inspectors noticed are the ones most clearly expressing what Raciti does well.
There is no confirmed bar seating format at Zash from the available data. The venue is a restored 19th-century palmento with a tasting menu focus, which does not typically include a casual bar counter. If bar dining or counter dining is important to you, this is not the venue to plan around. For that format in Italy, venues like Osteria Francescana in Modena or Dal Pescatore in Runate are worth checking, though they operate in a similar full-service register. Zash is leading treated as a sit-down tasting menu destination.
Dinner is the only option. Zash operates exclusively in the 8 PM to 10 PM window, Tuesday closed. There is no lunch service. Plan accordingly , this is a dinner destination, and the evening timing works well with the palmento setting and the region's warm climate. If you need a lunch option in eastern Sicily at a serious level, you will need to look elsewhere; check our full Archi restaurants guide for current options.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zash | Creative | Once through the entrance gate, make your way through an orchard planted with citrus trees to get to this restaurant occupying a charming, carefully restored 19C “palmento” (a building once used for fermenting wine) that has retained its magical and romantic atmosphere. Here, Giuseppe Raciti’s top-quality cuisine is showcased on themed tasting menus from which dishes can also be chosen à la carte. His dishes put Sicily centre stage, as does the excellent wine list, with specialities which the chef reinterprets in impressive, modern style. For us, the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked aubergines, grapefruit, red onion and teriyaki sauce was particularly memorable.; Once through the entrance gate, make your way through an orchard planted with citrus trees to get to this restaurant occupying a charming, carefully restored 19C “palmento” (a building once used for fermenting wine) that has retained its magical and romantic atmosphere. Here, Giuseppe Raciti’s top-quality cuisine is showcased on themed tasting menus from which dishes can also be chosen à la carte. His dishes put Sicily centre stage, as does the excellent wine list, with specialities which the chef reinterprets in impressive, modern style. For us, the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked aubergines, grapefruit, red onion and teriyaki sauce was particularly memorable.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Italian, Italian Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Progressive Italian, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Quattro Passi | Italian, Mediterranean Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Reale | Progressive Italian, Modern Cuisine | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes, for the right diner. Zash holds a 2024 Michelin star and Chef Giuseppe Raciti's themed tasting menus are the core of what the kitchen does — dishes can also be ordered à la carte, but the menu format is where the cooking makes most sense as a sequence. At €€€€ pricing, this sits at the top end of the Sicily fine dining bracket, so it rewards diners who want structured, modern Sicilian cooking rather than a casual meal.
Workable, but not the natural format here. The restored palmento setting and tasting menu structure are built around an occasion, which makes solo dining feel slightly incidental rather than considered. That said, the à la carte option gives solo diners more flexibility. If solo fine dining with deliberate counter or bar seating is a priority, venues with that infrastructure built in will serve you better.
It is one of the stronger cases for a special occasion dinner in eastern Sicily. The setting — a 19th-century palmento reached through a citrus orchard — does real work before the food arrives, and a Michelin-starred tasting menu gives the evening a clear structure. Book well in advance; capacity is limited by the historic building, and the restaurant is closed Tuesdays.
The tasting menu is the intended entry point, with à la carte ordering available from the same themed dishes. Michelin's own notes single out the charcoal-grilled tuna ventresca with smoked aubergines, grapefruit, red onion, and teriyaki sauce as a highlight. The wine list has a strong Sicilian focus and is worth engaging with rather than treating as an afterthought.
Bar seating is not documented in the available venue data for Zash. The restaurant operates out of a restored historic palmento building with a set dinner service from 8 PM to 10 PM, which suggests a formal dining room format rather than a bar or counter option. Confirm directly with the restaurant before planning around that format.
Dinner is the only option. Zash operates exclusively in the evening, 8 PM to 10 PM, six nights a week with Tuesday off. There is no lunch service. Plan your day in the Riposto or Etna area accordingly and treat the late start as part of the experience rather than an inconvenience.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
