Les Amis des Messina, the Sicilian canteen a stone's throw from Le Sentier

Want to escape to sunny Italy without leaving Paris? Let's head for Les Amis des Messina, a Sicilian restaurant located in the heart of the Sentier district, offering you the tastiest menu straight from the plains of Palermo. The restaurant was opened in 2014 by chef Ignazio Messina, originally from Cefalú, near Palermo, after a first establishment that had been delighting Parisians' taste buds since 2001, in the heart of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, in the 12th arrondissement.

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The establishment has rethought its operation in light of the health crisis, and offers a 100% "local" menu, with products straight from Sicily, as well as a delicatessen right at the entrance to do your shopping while you wait for click & collect. You'll be tempted by all kinds of pasta, some of which you won't find in France, as well as tuna terrines, jars of olives, gressini and almond cookies, for a tasty treat.

As for the menu, it offers a wide range of Sicilian specialities, some of them little-known, but all just as tasty, for a unique journey to the heart of the island. It's also worth noting that, since the first confinement, the restaurant has equipped itself with a pizza oven and offers "al taglio" pizzas to take away, for the little cravings of the day, just like in Italy. The "Les Amis" pizza, imagined by the chef himself, features anchovies, lemon zest, bottarga and basil, with a perfect balance of flavours.

As for the rest, let yourself be tempted by burrata and its puntarelles, an old Italian vegetable little known in France, a kind of chicory much less bitter and ideal in summer for its freshness, but also by Sfincione, a kind of Focaccia slightly sweetened and very pleasant in the mouth, or by grilled Sicilian eggplant, of unrivalled freshness. For dessert, the ice creams come in typically Sicilian flavors, such as hazelnut, pistachio or "Bacio", the equivalent of the famous Italian spread. And best of all, the house speciality, Torta Mamma Lina, with its surprising flavours, which we'll leave to you.

There's also a bar in the basement, with an extraordinary wine cellar that you'll be eager to discover once the restaurants reopen. In short, a little corner of Italy in the heart of Paris, to be enjoyed by platform delivery or by ordering by telephone, but also by click & collect, to be discovered as a matter of urgency if you haven't already! And if not, you can always order on the spot and wait, for the house to welcome you as in Italy, à la bonne franquette... Shall we order, friends?