Ristorante Filippino

Filippo Bernardi opened a simple fish trattoria here in 1910, and his family still runs it, now in the fourth generation. There are two rustic rooms inside and a large, shaded terrace on Piazza Mazzini, beside the walls of the citadel that houses the Aeolian Archaeological Museum.

It is listed in the Michelin Guide and belongs to the Buon Ricordo association of Italian restaurants with a signature dish.

The family tells of the anti-fascist exiles confined on Lipari in the 1920s, among them the Rosselli brothers, eating at its tables. After dinner, the citadel and its museum are a short walk up the hill.

The cooking uses the day’s catch and island produce. The Nonno Filippino fish soup is the house classic. Its Buon Ricordo dish is casarecce pasta with lemon pesto and prawn tartare; stuffed squid in the Aeolian style and squid-ink risotto are also worth ordering. The cellar holds more than a hundred wines.

The yacht pontoons at Marina Lunga are just below the citadel, a walk of a few minutes up to the square. From Marina Corta, where tenders and water taxis land, it is about 600 metres through the old town.

Filippino serves lunch from 11:30 and dinner from 19:00 every day in season. Book ahead for a table on the terrace, online, by phone or by email. If the town harbour is busy, the more sheltered Pignataro marina is about a mile from the centre.