About Us
Cùnzo was born from a single obsession — to bring the rigour and beauty of Japanese sushi craft to the wild coastline of Sicily. Here you'll find the story behind the restaurant, the team, and the philosophy that drives every plate we serve.
A Passion for Sushi Since Day One
Cùnzo began not as a restaurant but as a question — what happens when you take the most precise culinary tradition in the world and apply it to the richest fishing waters in the Mediterranean? Our founder spent years training in Tokyo, studying under Edomae masters before returning to Sicily with a vision: sushi that is unmistakably Japanese in technique and unmistakably Sicilian in soul.
The name Cùnzo comes from the Sicilian verb cunzàri — to arrange, to season, to put things right. It captures everything we do. We take extraordinary local fish — the tuna, the sea bass, the red prawn of Mazara — and we arrange them with the patience and precision of a Tokyo itamae. The result is a dining experience that exists nowhere else on earth.
Rooted in Tradition, Refined by the Sea
We work with a handful of trusted fishermen — small-boat crews from Favignana and Mazara del Vallo who have fished these waters for generations. Each morning they tell us what the sea gave them. Each morning our kitchen listens.
Our rice is cooked to a specific temperature and seasoned with a red wine vinegar produced on the island. Our knives are hand-forged in Sakai, Japan. Every detail is chosen deliberately — because in sushi, there is nowhere to hide.
Cùnzo holds a Michelin star — recognition not just for the flavour on the plate but for the integrity of the entire process, from the fisherman's net to the moment the piece reaches your lips.
Kenji Moretti
Born in Palermo to a Sicilian fisherman's family and raised with a reverence for the sea, Kenji trained at two Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo before returning home with a singular purpose. His omakase menus change weekly — dictated entirely by what the waters provide — and his philosophy is simple: the fish is always the star. Every technique exists only to honour it.
Fusion Local Food — Favignana
Discover Cùnzo
Cùnzo's street food concept is born from the centuries-old Mediterranean culture of cunzàre: reworking, adapting, and transforming the finest local ingredients to create quick, authentic, and satisfying dishes full of flavour — without the formality of a sit-down meal. A thin sheet of slowly leavened dough, baked and filled with succulent, authentic ingredients, can be enjoyed anywhere: this is how the Sicilian Muffoletta was born, reinterpreted in shape and size as the basis for endless variations. The result is a sandwich that's always different, creative, and full of character.
In our first store in Favignana, the meeting is natural: local excellence — above all tuna — merges with Japanese processing techniques, always linked to the island, a historic source of supplies for the most exclusive Japanese restaurants. True to tradition, where sushi was eaten with your hands, we offer a simple and immediate cuisine: sushi in boxes, always fresh or freshly prepared, accompanied by battered fried foods flavoured with oriental spices, rich salads, and other delicious specialties that complete a dynamic and contemporary offering.
Explore what we serve
View Our Menu
From a carefully curated à la carte of nigiri, maki and sashimi to our signature omakase — a journey through the best the sea has offered that week. Our drinks programme pairs Japanese sake, rare whisky, and Sicilian natural wine with every course.