A first-timer’s ordering guide from Amuri Italian Cuisine, the Sicilian restaurant on Mercy Road in Rancho Peñasquitos. Arancini to start, which pasta is worth the order, the honest history behind cioppino, why a cannolo has to be filled to order, which Sicilian wines to drink, what to skip on visit one, and what the whole thing costs.
Sicily spent two and a half centuries under Arab rule and the kitchen never went back. Amuri Italian Cuisine, a Sicilian restaurant in Rancho Peñasquitos, breaks down what actually separates Sicilian cooking from mainland Italian food: citrus used as an ingredient, Bronte pistachio instead of cream, seafood instead of beef, and sweet-and-sour where you least expect it.
Amuri Italian Cuisine took over 9932 Mercy Rd after Pernicano’s Ristorante closed in September 2025, ending 48 years at that address. This is the full history of the space, from George Pernicano’s Chargers ownership to the Sicilian family from Bagheria who rebuilt the dining room by hand, plus what is on the menu now and how to book a table or a group dinner.