The a la carte menu of the Shalai restaurant, Etna Michelin star

Elegant with a touch of irony, deeply connected to its setting on Mount Etna, looking benevolently out to sea, intuitive and calming, with some contaminations of Japanese cuisine. These are only some of the concepts that describe the menu signed by chef Giovanni Santoro here in the Pennisi Family’s Michelin starred Shalai restaurant in Linguaglossa, near Catania, Sicily. The menu is a crescendo of surprising and captivating sensations, alternating between fish and meat, but also with a range of exclusively vegetarian dishes. The cuisine is linking two worlds that blend in perfection: on one side Mount Etna (or as the locals call it, ‘A Muntagna), on the other the sea. The menu is the result of years of passionate and rigorous research on the natural products made in this area, through a combination of ingredients that combine spectacularly under the aegis of chef Santoro’s creative vein. Some common threads bringing the dishes together are the citrus notes, given by garnishes and jams, which gives a defining character to the dishes, and mark the signature of Giovanni Santoro and the Pennisi family.