Okay maybe Im being a bit dramatic with the whole “Freshest fish in the world”, but it has to be at least in the top percentiles. Mm has it made because they are literally located right in the square of the fish market in downtown Catania. They don’t need to worry about fish delivery trucks breaking down or ice melting… they just walk out their front door and grab the fresh fish. In my opinion freshness makes a HUGE difference when it comes to seafood. From my days of catching fish in San Diego or Michigan, if you caught and ate a fish in the same day it was guaranteed to be great. If you wait a day its okay. As time continues the tastiness exponentially declines. Anyways sorry for making you go through all of that… actually Im sure most of you skimmed over my “Hello there…fresh fish is good” section.
Mm is an interesting name of a restaurant. I feel like there should at least be another “m” in there, maybe its a “lost in translation” moment. Either way this is my favorite place for seafood in the Catania area. This is a bold statement because fish is a giant part of the Sicilian diet and seafood restaurants are everywhere. Personally I love seafood and that includes everything that roams the sea, except for 2 things I have found popular here: Urchins & Cuttlefish Ink. Jessica isn’t as adventurous with seafood, but she has come a long way since we have moved to Sicily. 🙂 . I think it may have to do with the freshness…. uh oh there I go again with that “freshness” talk.
Our original visit to Mm was with our friends Jill and Dave, we were also joined by Jill’s parents that were in town. It was a great meal that was 100% seafood.  We started off with a platter of Crudo, which is raw in english. A platter of raw fish and shrimp! I avoided the shrimp just because Im not sure about that concept, but the raw fish was really good. I guess this is Sicilian Sushi? There’s a new restaurant concept. Instead of rice they can create little beds of cooked pasta and have the raw fish pieces on top..? Maybe someday… just know that you heard it here first. Next course was a Fritto (fried) platter. The fritto was probably my favorite course and some of the best fried calamari, shrimp, and fish that I have had so far in Sicily. A lot of places have a funky taste to their fried foods because they use a lot of corn starch, whereas us Americans are used to more flour/batter. We wrapped up with some stuffed sardines and mini aliens on a platter.. (see below) :O
Awesome place for seafood!!
Ristorante Mm    (or Ristorante Mm!! ) piazza pardo 34, Catania, Sicily, Italy Â
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Sweet post Nick!
What great memories there and really good pointers about the fresh fish in and around Catania. I never knew how much I really enjoy octopus! It is one of my favorite specialties here.
Can’t wait for more eating adventures with you & Jess!
Im also a fan of octopus now…after living here. Have you tried cooking an octopus dish at home yet? I actually bought some fresh octopus last week and made my own octopus salad at home. It turned out great and its surprisingly easy!