Savia, Catania: Our Review of the Famous Pastry Shop

Savia was our first stop every single morning of our week in Catania. It's the place everyone points you to for an arancino and a cannolo, right on Via Etnea across from Villa Bellini.

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In this guide 8 sections

We started with cappuccinos at the outdoor tables. Then we kept adding more. By the end of the week we had a favorite arancino and a favorite cannolo. We even had a favorite coffee, topped with whipped cream shaped like Mount Etna!

That's Savia, Catania's most famous pastry shop. If a friend asked me, I'd say go. It's worth the hype.

Is Savia in Catania Worth It? My Quick Answer

• Yes, we think Savia is worth the hype. It's the classic place in Catania for an arancino and a cannolo, and everything we ate there was delicious.
• Order the ragù arancino, the ricotta cannolo with pistachio ends, and a caffè Etna. Grab a cipollina too if you see one.
• Counter or table: the counter is cheaper (a cannolo was €3 there, €4 at a table), but you pay at the register first. A table gets you English-speaking staff and easy ordering.
• Closed Mondays. Open 7:45 AM to 9:30 PM the rest of the week.
• Our score: 10/10

Staying in Catania? We stayed near Villa Bellini, and the first hotel below is only a few minutes down Via Etnea from Savia.

What to Order at Savia

On our first morning we ordered cappuccinos and one cornetto (a croissant). That's it! Then we looked around and saw everyone else ordering way more, and we realized we'd ordered so wrong and quickly asked our waiter for a cannolo. That cannolo is when Savia had us.

After that we wanted to try a bit of everything. To me Savia is the best place in the city to get a true sense of Catania's pastries and street snacks.

Savia's Arancini: Get the Ragù

Our favorite was the classic ragù arancino. It's so comforting! The filling has real pieces of beef (not ground beef), and it's cheesy all the way through, so every bite has a bit of everything. It's amazing!

In Catania the word is arancinu (or arancino), and at Savia the ragù was the only one shaped like a cone. If you come first thing in the morning, the ragù may be the only one ready.

Later the case fills up. We also tried the Catanese arancino, filled with eggplant (other places call it Norma). That one was great too. Savia's takeaway list has at least six kinds, almost all at €2.80. Pistachio is the pricey one at €3.30.²

The Ricotta Cannolo

I'd call Savia the top place in Catania for a cannolo. They usually only had one kind out, ricotta with chopped pistachio on both ends. On Sunday the case had three flavors, the only time we saw that. We tried the pistachio one and it was good too!

The cream is light and fluffy. Sweet, but not too sweet. The shell was crispy every single time, and it felt lighter than some of the other cannoli we tried around Catania that week.

The Cipollina: Grab One When You See It

The cipollina was one of the best things we ate at Savia, and I wish we'd gotten it more. It's Catania's puff pastry filled with onion and tomato. Ours had meat and cheese too.

We took ours home from the counter for €2.80, and by the time we sat down to eat it, the meat and cheese inside were still warm, with a great cheese pool in the middle. The crust was super flaky and buttery. So good!

Getting one is the hard part, though. They were never out in the morning. And once they're out, they sell out quickly. Don't wait!

Caffè Etna and Caffè Savia

We usually stuck to cappuccinos. They were great. But Savia has a long coffee menu, and a couple of times we decided to skip the usual and try their specials instead.

My pick is the caffè Etna. It's a hot espresso with amaretto under a mountain of whipped cream. They shape the cream like Mount Etna, then add pistachios and a little wafer roll. It's SO much cream! But it's fresh, and I thought the amaretto went so nicely with the espresso. I personally liked it more than the caffè Savia.

The caffè Savia is almost the same drink with Baileys instead of amaretto. The cream isn't shaped like the volcano, and the Baileys tastes a lot stronger. Both are fun, and they were €4.80 each at a table.

One day we also ordered a caffè doppio, a double espresso. We wanted the extra caffeine that day!

Granita and Brioche

Granita with brioche is such a unique Catania breakfast, and you can still get it in November. I asked our waiter which flavor to get, and he said he likes a mix of pistachio and chocolate.

I tried the granita on its own first. It's really creamy, even with no cream in it. Think of a sorbet that isn't fruity. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

Then it started to melt. You dip the warm, sweet brioche in, and it soaks up all the flavor. I loved it.

What Else to Order at Savia

The sweet case at Savia is huge. We barely made a dent. Here's what else we'd get, plus a couple we're saving for next time.

• Pasticcini: These are the small pastries in the case, €2 each. We took one to go one night, and it was super good too. It's like a puff pastry, but the cream is a little different, and I still can't quite explain how!
• Cassatella: This is another Catania specialty, a little white dome with a cherry on top. We wanted one, but just as with the cipollina, they were never out when we went in the morning. Go later in the day. The sign said €3.20.
• Babà: We didn't get one at Savia. I've had babà before, though, and the one with cream looks so good.
• Olivette: These green, olive-shaped almond sweets are made for Saint Agatha, Catania's patron saint. They were really interesting to see in the case, but we didn't buy any.

Table or Counter? How Ordering at Savia Works

Honestly, the inside of Savia scared us off at first. It was busy, there was a counter and a cashier, and we had no idea which one you go to first. So we sat outside.

We got more comfortable once we tried the counter on a quiet visit. We wanted a cannolo for later. A man behind it was so nice. He explained how it works:

1. Pick what you want from the case.
2. Pay at the cash register (cards are fine) and say what you're getting.
3. Take the ticket they print for you.
4. Hand the ticket to the staff at the counter, and they give you your food.

Paying before you even have your food was new for us. We also didn't know the names of things, and on busy days we couldn't even see the case. A translation app on your phone helps with the signs, so I'd get an Airalo eSIM before you land and have data ready.

At a table it's much easier. Our waiters spoke English and they were great at recommending things whenever we had a question about the menu. I think that's worth the extra euro.

If you're comfortable, though, the counter is fun when you can see everything. Do what a lot of the locals did. They'd get their food at the counter and take it across the street to Villa Bellini to eat. Just don't carry counter food to the outdoor tables. Those are for table service only.

Savia Catania Prices: What We Paid

To be completely honest, I didn't notice the table and counter prices were different until we looked at our receipts! Cream scanned all of them. Here's the same food on both sides.

Item	At the counter	At a table
Cannolo (ricotta)	€3.00 (about $3.40)	€4.00 (about $4.50)
Arancino al ragù	€2.80 (about $3.15)	€3.30 (about $3.70)
Cipollina (onion pastry)	€2.80
Pasticcino (small pastry)	€2.00
Cappuccino		€2.70
Caffè doppio		€3.80
Caffè Etna or caffè Savia		€4.80
Granita		€3.80
Brioche		€2.10
Cornetto		€2.40

Our biggest table breakfast for two was €22.80, and that got us two caffè Etna, a cannolo, a ragù arancino, a brioche, and a granita.

For how popular Savia is, the prices are fair. It's a famous spot by the park and the pastries are so good. They could easily charge more! Next to the rest of the area it felt like one of the cheaper options, and that's a big part of why we kept going back, morning after morning, for a whole week.

What We Didn't Love

We felt completely lost the first time we walked in. It stayed confusing for days. Nothing tells you how the counter works, or that you can't sit outside with counter food. We watched the staff stop a lot of people who ordered inside and then tried to sit down outside with their food.

It can also get busy, rain or shine, even in the off season. On Sunday it was packed both inside and outside and that was a bit stressful, though Spinella being closed that day may have had something to do with it.

Savia's History on Via Etnea

Walking into Savia felt like we stepped back in time. The bar looks as if it's been that way forever. Locals and tourists stand at the same counter, and you get to see what the locals really order.

Angelo and Elisabetta Savia opened Pasticceria Savia in 1897, in an area once called Piano di Nicosia. The family later moved it to this corner of Via Etnea and Via Umberto.¹ Writer Federico De Roberto nicknamed this part of town the "salotto di Catania," the city's living room. It still felt that way to us. Savia is an old-school bar, and it's fun whether you sit down or take something from the counter to go.

Our other favorite on this stretch of Via Etnea was Spinella, a few doors down. We gave it a 9.

How to Get to Savia (Hours and Location)

I'd go early for a quiet counter. Just know the ragù may be the only arancino out that early.

• Address: Via Etnea 300-304, on the corner of Via Umberto I, Catania
• Across from: Villa Bellini, Catania's big public garden
• From Piazza Duomo: about a 15 to 20-minute walk straight up Via Etnea
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 7:45 AM to 9:30 PM; closed Monday
• Paying: cards accepted at the register and at the tables

Pasticceria Savia, Via Etnea 302, Catania

This map comes from Google Maps.

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Why We Gave Savia a 10

Savia fit our week perfectly. It's right across from Villa Bellini. We walked there every day, and we even went to Savia once in the rain. That shows how much we enjoyed it!

Everything was delicious. And the vibes are incredible. My favorite part came in the evenings. We'd get a cannolo to go at the counter, carry it into the park, and share it while we looked out at Mount Etna.

Next Steps for Your Catania Trip

• Spinella, Catania: our review of Savia's neighbor on Via Etnea
• Trattoria Achille, Catania: horse meat on Via Plebiscito