Hi, I’m off to Palermo in 9 days, and have been so busy that I just realized I haven’t even thought about restaurants. Any recent recommendations? I love pasta with sea urchin, if there is any place that has an especially good version, and I don’t eat any pork. Price isn’t a big deal, but I will be dining alone, so I’d like it not to feel stuffy. Thanks very much for any help you can give me!
kari
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Check out Katie Parla’s site, I think shestill has a Palermo guide, There is great food in Palermo but at least2 of the places we visited in Palermo have closed and one slowfood place we went to twice and really like (Casciniar Trattoria Ai Cascinari) was subsequently panned by someone who saw my recommendation They have plent of veg and fish dishes, so Im reluctant to recommend.
to find locally recommended places I have often used “migliori ristoranti di [city]” types searches - you have to translate but these compilations comes up with better reccs than say Tripadviser or Yelp.
Pastry is a highlight - we didnt have any til the last day of our 2018 sicilian journey, tut tut.
Cassata https://www.dissapore.com/locali/palermo-cassata-migliore/
Cannnoli - we kept away from this treat until our final day i and then split a lovely mini cannolo at Costa. I recommend not making the mistake of abstaining - they were wonderful, freshly filled. Also, look out for sheep ricotta (pecora) treats, it has a beautiful texture and is delicious. Can be purchased in cheese shops too. https://www.agrodolce.it/2019/06/05/migliori-cannoli-di-palermo/
When I was on the S coast last spring I became convinced by the Sicilian breakfast of brioche filled with gelato - pistachio or almond, for example. Delicious. I think the upscale place Bye Bye Blues in Mondello, with a female chef offers dishes with sea urchin tho the harvest is starting to be banned there. Have a great time, it should be beautiful! If you are going anyplace other than Palermo I would have other recommendations (maybe already posted somewhere here, just ask.
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Thank you so much Jen, this is very useful information. I’m planning on taking day trips, so dinner spots won’t be necessary, but lunch or sweets in Erice or Cefalu or maybe Agrigento would be great.
I’m not a breakfast person, but I loved having cake each morning on my trip to eastern Sicily last year. What a nice way to start the day.
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I don’t have specific recommendations. I love looking at the Sicilian pastries and coffee shops online, some of which are in Palermo.
Enjoy your visit!
I have no idea if this is credible , but it’s a start! https://luxuryboutiquecollections.com/sicilian-pastry-trail-part-1/
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I will send you a couple of possibilities for Erice, Trapani and Cefalu. Will you be renting a car? If so I would highly recommend a visit to Segesta which is a more intimate temple site in a beautiful setting, potentially in lieu of Agrigento. It could be wrapped in a day trip to Erice and Trapani (quite a day). If you like nature, Zingaro is in the same general area, W of Palermo
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I’ll just mention, also, @LulusMom1 , it’s possible to hire a local driver to navigate the roads to small towns and rural areas. I hired a local driver for 3 day trips on my last visit to Italy.
I’ve hired drivers in Ireland, Yorkshire, Wales, France, Greece and Portugal, as well. I find it a lot less stressful not having to deal with other drivers , country roads that aren’t on GPS Maps, and parking
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Excited for (and will live vicariously through, for now) your continued exploration of Sicily @LulusMom1 !
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Thanks Phoenikia, this will be fun to dive into!
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Thanks Saregama. I was there last spring and fell in love with it. This trip is my Christmas present, and I’m exploring a different part. I’m so excited!
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the destinations W of Palermo I recall as pretty manageable to drive although if @LulusMom1 decided to go to the Trapani area it could be nice to devote a night in that area to avoid a rush. On the other hand, I would take the train if I was going to Cefalu - we found the expressway between Cefalu and Palermo rather unpleasant.
We dumped our car when we got to Palermo, and as I recall public transportation and foot was fine in the immediate area. This was pre-pandemic, i hope too much of the economy has not been harmed by that since my understanding is that many businesses were forced into credit relationships with the Mafia to stay in business through the pandemic, and many others failed. Rome and Catania were both very enjoyable last spring so Palermo should have a lot to enjoy this year!
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I am not comfortable driving there, so I’m planning on doing day trips by train or bus. I was thinking about Segesta/Erice as a day trip, but on public transport it really doesn’t make much sense. So … maybe I need to listen to Phoenikia and rent a driver for a day or so. @Phoenikia, any idea how much this would cost? I definitely don’t want to drive myself, but also don’t want to feel like I have to make conversation (part of the fun of traveling solo is being able to enjoy the quiet).
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Don’t know if you’re a Lemonheads fan, but I always strongly related to the song (Lied about being) The Outdoor Type. So Zingaro is probably out for me.
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I just found someone online who charges 8 hours to go to Segesta/Erice/salt flats for $74, which is more than reasonable. Hmmm. Maybe???
eta: looks like he is a tour guide. I want to walk around Erice on my own. Will keep looking.
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It’s possible to negotiate, based on the size car you would like. In Italy, I was part of an 8 lady group and we arranged for a minivan to drop us off in the morning and pick us up at night. Depending on how far we were traveling, it might have been 500 EU for the whole day for all of us in 2017. So prices will have gone up. When I hired a driver with a sedan, for 3 passengers in Porto and Provence, to take us from village to village, it was around 300 EU a day for the 3 of us .
I got tips for who to hire in Yorkshire and Ireland from the TripAdvisor forums, asking lots of questions.
The drivers in Tuscany were recommended by the villa owner.
The drivers in Crete, Provence and Porto were recommended by the concierge at the independent hotels I had booked.
I did my own bus and train trip through rural Cornwall, and I wish we had hired a driver.
Taxis can be really expensive in rural areas but I think it’s worth it, especially for drivers used to North America who don’t enjoy challenging driving.
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Many tour guides are also drivers/chauffeurs. Check to see if he is open to dropping you off and picking you up only.
I wouldn’t hesitate to email a nice hotel and ask if they have a suggestion. You could even take the train to Erice (or wherever), then hire a driver there to take you for shorter local drives.
I did do a train only trip from Bari to Rimini, Bologna, Ferrara, but it is nice to get off the beaten path when you’re somewhere like Sicily.
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I agree about getting off the beaten track, at least a bit. I’ve written to one driver to ask what is possible, and about pricing. We’ll see what I hear back.
When I was in Bordeaux I did a wonderful wine tour and cave visit, along with a tasting and lunch. It was great, but a full day of conversation with someone I just met ended up feeling a bit draining, and I would like to avoid that.
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both Erice and Segesta are places that are fine to walk around on your own - as long as you have adequate info, a map etc certainly dont need a guide. A driver who hung around by the car would be good enough. There is also a funicular from Trapani up to Erice which is cool to see the view of Trapani and the coast as you go.
In Erice, I recommend walking around the perimeter path; - there are wildflowers, great views and a scenic castle as I recall. Then you can enter the town and explore. For eating, we greatly enjoyed Osteria Gli Archi di San Carlo which is located in the old Laundry where Maria Grammatico slaved as a young woman. Foods like pasta with swordfish eggplant and mint and the trapanese pesto which includes almonds and tomatoes as well as herbs are great in this restaurant/area. I will try to find some of the old pictures I took. We had a surprisingly fine dish of favas cooked in olive oil and mint there too. And a very nice white wine from the area. Later we walked over to Maria Grammatico’s pastry shop which was amazing. However our lunch had been so good that I mostly looked at all the amazing treats she offers. Take a look at Mary Taylor Simeti’s bio and cookbook, Bitter almonds to get a flavor of what Maria’ s life was like and see some of her recipes.
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@LulusMom1 Culinary Backstreets seems to have someone in Palermo who does food tours – they may be able to connect you with other resources too.
https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/culinary-walks-palermo/
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The driver hanging out waiting for me is exactly what I am hoping for. Unfortunately the funicular is closed in the winter - I would have loved that. I am excited about Maria Grammatico’s, and plan to make that my main stop, and taking some back to Palermo with me. Thanks so much Jen.
Oh no, I’ve just seen that Maria Grammatico’s is closed. No idea why.
