Taverna San Paolo - MESSINA

This is such a cute place with different rooms all beautifully lit with candles and a little courtyard out the back. The food was very good, although the deep fried doughsticks wrapped in lardo were heart attack material. Octupus and mashed potato were excellent. It is not cheap but makes for a very pleasant evening

The restaurant makes use of various spaces to create a nice and cozy atmosphere, without the feeling of being over crowded . It has 3 small tables at the entrance, which is accessible for wheelchairs as the door is quite wide. The bar is located in the same area. Just above the bar, is some extra seating not visible on entry. Proceeding down stairs is more seating where we sat. As we were the first ones in that night we had the waiter’s undivided attention. He made some good suggestions regarding appetizers and wine. You don’t have to spend a fortune for a good bottle of wine. 16/18 euro will give you a decent selection of regional wine. I had the fillet. Spectacular! I guessed it was approximately 600-700g of meat very thick but evenly cooked to perfection. (This was about 20euro) I really enjoyed the accompanying sauces which most are made from scratch for the appetizers. On average, expect to spend 20-40euro pp for appetizers, main meal dessert and drinks. Main meals range from about 9-22euro. I personally liked the atmosphere most about the restaurant. It’s taverns look with dim lighting. Not too big selection of menu but the standard seems to be good overall (more red wine selection than food). Thus, for picky eaters this could be a problem. This is a good choice for something more intimate or a night out with a small group of friends looking for a cozy place to have great conversation.

Very nice place! Very good value for food and price. This restaurant is run by family members. Very friendly and polite service, everyone wants to make your stay as at home. We were treated as best friends. Recommend this place for dinner or lunch.

The location is nice and the staff friendly. The variety of food was not so great, because some the already few dishes on the menu were out of stock. The lasagne i've had was average and the filet was too greasy. It was ok, but we've paid around 33€ per person which was too much in my opinion for what we got.

My wife and i visited here for dinner and were very happy with it all. The place is charming, nicely decorated and warm, cute upstairs area by bar (where we sat) and a few tables downstairs including some larger ones for larger groups. Wine list was good, lottos Sicilian and regional wines, at a good range of prices from 12-50euro, and unlike some restaurants, the 12euro selections were good wines. Wr suggest the fried bread with cinghiale lard appetizer (5 euros) and definitely have the fungi lasagna, even if you split it between two of you. One of the nicest pasta dishes we have had, Other stand outs are the typical Messina beef rolls or the large plate selections of meat and cheeses. The owner Danny (originally from New Jersey) and his wife were very pleasant and took time to speak with us about Messina and were great hosts. The waiter was efficient and pleasant. We absolutely think this is applause to stop for dinner when passing through Messina, and definitely a must place to visit if staying in lovely Messina for a few days. And really, peopel should spend time in Messina rather than drive through it...it is a wonderful place.