Restaurants in Palermo
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Sant’Andrea
The position of this excellent restaurant is a reflection of Palermo’s contradictory appeal. It’s tucked into the corner of a ruined church in a shabby piazza. Sant’Andrea’s well-heeled customers pick their way across the broken flagstones to enjoy creative, yet classic, dishes such as tagliatelle with lobster and almond pesto.
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Cucina Papoff
Specialising in Sicilian classics like trancio di pesce in umido con capperi e olive (slow-simmered fish stew with capers and olives), Papoff creates an intimate ambience with carved wooden ceilings, exposed brickwork and torch-style lighting.
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Antico Caffè Spinnato
A sophisticated cafe dating back to 1860 located on the smart pedestrian boulevard. Sit on the vast terrace to enjoy coffees, cocktails, ice creams, sumptuous cakes and snacks.
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Antica Focacceria di San Francesco
A Palermitan institution, this atmospheric, informal place is one of the city’s oldest eating houses (opened in 1834). It hosted the first Sicilian parliament and was a favourite haunt of notorious Mafia boss ‘Lucky’ Luciano. Fixed-price menus including cannoli and the drink of your choice cost €6 to €12. The sandwiches (€2 to €4) are also great – try an oven-baked Vecchia Palermo moffoletta with cherry tomatoes, anchovies, caciocavallo cheese and oregano, or brave a maritata, the age-old Palermitan snack featuring milza (veal innards) and ricotta cheese.
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Trattoria Biondo
Biondo has a split personality. The trattoria side is pure Fellini film set, always crammed with congenial, noisy locals who come for Palermitan classics such as involtini di pesce spada (swordfish roulades) or pasta con le sarde. Crates of fresh produce greet you at the door, which leads to several low-ceilinged dining rooms decorated with plates, tiles and paintings. Just around the corner, Pizzeria Biondo offers the same great quality at half the price. An animated crowd fills the sidewalk tables every night for some of Palermo’s finest pizza.
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Trattoria Basile
This popular, unpretentious trattoria offers an unforgettable, authentic Palermitan eating experience. Pay first, take a number at the window for your pasta (€2 to €2.50) or main course (€3 to €4), then sidle over to the antipasti bar where you can choose three items for €2 or six items for €3.50. While enjoying your appetisers, listen for your number – they’ll bellow it out (in Italian) when the rest of your food is ready. Try to avoid the really busy period between 1pm and 2pm when every workman in town is elbowing in for his plate of pasta.
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Caffetteria-Ristorante Galleria d’Arte Moderna
A hidden gem in the courtyard of Palermo’s modern art museum, this bright, informal and artsy cafe features a short menu of dishes like tonno e pesce spada affumicati con mousse di formaggio fresco al finocchietto selvatico (smoked tuna and swordfish with cheese and wild fennel mousse). If the quality-to-price ratio seems surprisingly good, that’s because it’s owned by the same people who run the elegant Osteria dei Vespri across the street.
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L'Acanto
The decoration is gorgeous, the food delicious and the staff friendly at this elegant restaurant that sits at the end of a small street in new Palermo. The menu is traditional with a modern twist, sprinkled with some excellent fresh seafood and grilled fish, and there's a decent wine list for boozy dinners. You eat by candlelight under canvas canopies in the leafy back garden.
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Casa del Brodo
This old-fashioned place is another Palermo classic, with bow-tied wait staff and elegant red and gold tablecloths. Founded in 1890, the restaurant is named after its heart-warming pots of brodo (broth), such as macco di fave e finocchietto (broad bean soup with fennel). There’s also a soul-satisfying antipasti spread (€9).
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Massaro
Here's a true Palermo institution - it's a bit out of the way, but it's as traditional and loved by its regulars as it gets. It's excellent for breakfasts or snacks, but it's best for the vast variety of cakes, which range from pistachio balls to pine nut-encrusted rolls to creamy cannoli (pastry shells stuffed with sweet ricotta).
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La Cambusa
La Cambusa is a local favourite, and its proximity to the old port makes it a serious fish restaurant. You select your fish from the cold counter and the staff whisk it off to be cooked. Although the restaurant has a great atmosphere in the evenings, the busier it is, the more inattentive the service becomes.
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Massaro 2
Smaller and more modern than its sister restaurant, Massaro, at Massaro 2 you'll find fewer cakes but delicious ice cream, great coffee, sandwiches and futuristic décor in shiny aluminium. The Via Brasa branch has window stools for people- (and traffic-) watching.
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Bellini
In the shadow of La Martorana, this pleasantly situated restaurant is in an ex-theatre, with tables sprawling out onto a terrace. It’s justifiably touristy but the Sicilian cuisine (and ice cream) remains reliably good, and the speedy service comes with a smile.
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Il Firriato
Although Il Firriato is the restaurant for Hotel Principe di Villafranca, it is also open to the public. The restaurant's limited menu is a sign of the care it takes with each dish - the roast lamb is particularly delicious, and the desserts are to die for.
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Primavera
This Slow Food–recommended spot doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the kitchen prepares excellent, authentic Sicilian stalwarts at very reasonable prices, including risotto funghi e noci (mushroom-walnut risotto).
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Acanto Blu
New-town elegance together with inventive cooking make L’Acanto one of the most fashionable restaurants among the designer-chic crowd. In the summer tables are set out back on the patio and fill up around 10pm.
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Les Amis
A community trattoria with tasty fish and pasta dishes, Les Amis has had consistently good recommendations over the years. It’s decorated in classic Italian style, with terracotta walls and peachy lighting.
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Il Baretto
This tiny tearoom, wedged between expensive boutiques, is where designer-dressed women and well-oiled men with shades congregate for their light lunch or early evening chit-chat.
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