Lido Azzurro 1953 da Serafino

Lido Azzurro has been on the sand at Marina di Ragusa since 1953, when Serafino La Rosa opened it. His sons Antonio and Giuseppe run it now with the rest of the family, and it belongs to the same operation as Locanda Don Serafino up in Ragusa Ibla, which explains why the food is taken more seriously here than the beach-club setting would suggest. The beach itself is a long run of fine golden sand on one of the better stretches of the southeastern Sicilian coast, and the restaurant sits directly on it. The menu tracks the market: tuna salad with Pachino tomatoes, baby octopus with capers from Salina, house-made trofie with swordfish. The fish soup is the dish people come back for, made to a recipe the family says has not changed in more than fifty years. In the evening the kitchen also turns out pizza, which keeps it workable for families. The wine cellar is unusually deep for a beach restaurant, with more than 450 labels plus spirits and dessert wines. Sunbeds and umbrellas are available on the sand in front.