Along with all the incredible sightseeing, eating our way around Palermo was one of the highlights of the trip Nik and I took with friends back in April. We had a few delicious group meals together, took a fun food tour and even found some craft beer.
Palermo Street Food Tour
Based on a recommendation from friends who visited Palermo the year before, we booked a small group tour through Streaty to sample some local cuisine with an expert guide leading the way. Street food is a big part of Sicilian culture, with a unique combination of Mediterranean, Arab, Spanish and Italian flavors found throughout the city’s food stalls and markets.
Our tour group of 10 met near the Teatro Massimo, with only Karl and Steve from our traveling group joining Nik and me. Our tour guide, Salvo, was local and knowledgeable.
Related: Recap of the incredible sightseeing in Palermo
For the true start of our tour, Salvo led us towards Capo Market, one of the city’s most iconic open-air markets. The main entrance is Porta Carini, one of the oldest gates in the city, dating back to 1310.
We walked through the market where even at 11 in the morning it was already bustling. Salvo led us to Dainotti’s da Arianna, our first stop on the tour, where we sat around a long table and shared a few local specialties. In the picture below, Salvo is squeezing lemon over the panelle (chickpea fritters). Top right is the panelle alongside cazzilli (potato croquettes), while the bottom right gives you a closer look at an authentic arancini. We also enjoyed a pour of Forst beer from an Italian brewery founded in 1857.
Arancini, a staple of Sicilian cuisine, are Italian rice balls stuffed with various fillings, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Some of the most common fillings include ragù (meat sauce), cheese and peas. Everything at this stop was delicious but the arancini was probably my favorite.
From here, we continued through the market, passing various stalls selling food and other items before stopping at Basilio Friggitoria, a sort of fried food and sandwich deli spot.
Our group was seated outside at a long table and brought plates of mangia & bevi, a traditional Palermo street food consisting of spring onions wrapped in thin slices of pancetta and grilled over hot coals. We also got to try another local Sicilian beer, Seme Dorato Premium. The mangia & bevi was one of my favorite nibbles of the tour.
After Nik and I ordered a couple spritzes to go, our group made its way to La Vucciria, now more of a vibrant place to eat and drink than that of a market in its early days.
There are a couple of entry points to the market, and we started at one end, strolling past a few shops and restaurants before reaching our first stop at Forneria Bonaccorso, where Salvo picked up traditional soft focaccia and a local cheese.
We walked a few doors down to our next stop, Taverna Azzurra, a historic bar dating back to 1896.
Here we sampled Sangue Siciliano, a strong, sweet Sicilian fortified wine, along with the focaccia and cheese. A really tasty combo.
Next, we walked further into La Vucciria for a “Streaty treat” and Salvo led us to a vendor in the center of the square cooking up something on his cart. Salvo told us that one of our last tastes on the food tour would be a sandwich called pani câ meusa, a sesame bun filled with sliced veal spleen and lung that vendors boil and then fry in lard. It actually smelled really good.
Salvo wanted a headcount of who planned to share a sandwich or have a whole one. Steve passed on it mostly because of the gluten, so Karl, Nik and I decided to share one half.
Nik decided to take the first bite so he wouldn’t be influenced by seeing our reactions. The pictures are priceless and definitely better to have seen in person.
I think the three of us agreed it wasn’t terrible, but we didn’t need more than one bite either.
Next was our last stop on the food tour and it was the perfect way to end things with something sweet: a cannoli from Bar Gelateria Lucchese, a classic and popular spot in La Vucciria. This particular cannoli, with its delicious crispy fried shell and fresh, creamy ricotta filling, was so good. I wish I had another right now!
Overall the food tour was a great time and a wonderful way to see the city and eat things local to Palermo. I’m so glad Karl and Steve were along for it and safe to say we all enjoyed the tour.
I’d also like to mention that we let Streaty know ahead of time that one person in our group had a gluten intolerance. Salvo and the team behind the scenes were able to arrange gluten-free versions of a few of the items, which was really great.
While not part of the food tour, Nik and I ventured over to Ballarò market. We went in the early afternoon when it seemed a lot of vendors were closing for the day. It felt very authentic, a market where locals would truly shop.
Dining out in Palermo
Nik and I did a little research ahead of time to find some restaurants we wanted to eat at in case they needed reservations. Two such places were Osteria Nonna Dora and La Galleria. A few other places we just stumbled upon. One thing is for sure, everywhere we ate, the food was amazing and the prices were hard to beat.
La Galleria
One restaurant that Nik learned about was La Galleria. It was a spot both of us really wanted to eat at and luckily the rest of our crew wanted to as well. Thankfully, we made a reservation ahead of time for dinner because when we arrived, the place was busy and they were turning away walk-ins. The restaurant sits on a little street behind the Palermo Cathedral, which provided a nice picture at dusk.
La Galleria felt pretty rustic inside with stone archways throughout. It was a busy spot and everything we ate was delicious. The group shared the caprese starter while I had linguine with mussels, clams, calamari and shrimp for my entree and Nik enjoyed the pappardelle al ragù.
We all agreed this was one of our favorite meals in Palermo. Jae thoroughly enjoyed her swordfish, which I sadly don’t have a picture of.
Funnaco Pizza Lab
Another great dinner our group enjoyed was at Funnaco Pizza Lab, tucked away on a small dead-end street in a quieter part of Palermo, not too far from our hotel. I’m sure Palermo has different neighborhoods, but I just don’t know how to explain where we were. Funnaco sits at the end of a small dead-end street and almost feels like you’re underground. Nik found this spot on Google Maps, where it had excellent reviews.
The gist of Funnaco Pizza Lab is that they offer different types of dough and flour, including gluten-free and lactose-free options. Our group tried all the varieties, with Steve giving his gluten-free pizza a rave review.
We started with burratina wrapped in crunchy fried puff pastry with tomato sauce. I got a traditional Margherita pizza, while Nik went with one of their focaccia-style pizzas, which had a slightly crunchy crust and came already cut into six slices. Everything was delicious!
Scolapasta
Our first night in Palermo was spent with a lot of wandering around and taking in the history of the city. As we were walking and passing restaurants, we decided to have dinner at Scolapasta in a small little square. I had the Cacio & Pepe while Nik had the ragù. Sure couldn’t beat the price of my dish!
Osteria Nonna Dora
Osteria Nonna Dora turned out to be close to our hotel. We tried to get in for lunch on our first day but didn’t have any luck, so we made a reservation for two days later. The Italian food was pretty solid, but I think it would’ve been a better spot for dinner.
Ristorantino Pizzeria Leone
Another lunch spot where the whole group ate was Ristorantino Pizzeria Leone, also near our hotel. I had a delicious ravioli with grouper, shrimp, cherry tomatoes and zucchini while Nik enjoyed a pizza.
Dolce Copa
No trip to Italy is complete without gelato and Dolce Capo hit the spot. One thing we learned is that eating gelato in a brioche bun is a Sicilian tradition, especially popular in Palermo. The soft, slightly sweet bread is stuffed with gelato and makes for a delicious treat. I enjoyed a brioche gelato sandwich while the others got their gelato in bowls or cones.
Craft Beer and Cocktails
While there was no shortage of bar carts along the streets serving cocktails to-go, Nik and I found some decent spots for beer and cocktails during our few days in Palermo. High Hops was a spacious bar with a pool table. When Nik and I stopped by one night, it was pretty quiet, and we only stayed for a quick drink.
Mercurio Cocktail Bar wasn’t far from I Quattro Canti, which I write more about in our Palermo sightseeing recap. It was a very cool space with wooden accents. Though the bar was small, we managed to get a table and I enjoyed a gin cocktail with Italy’s Fernet-Branca.
While walking down Via Maqueda, we came across Ballarak Brewing and stopped for a couple of beers. It was a small space, but one of the workers told us about their larger location in another part of the city, not too far away. We decided to check it out, and I’m so glad we did.
Their Instagram says they’re the first brewery in Palermo and the largest craft brewery in Sicily.
It took us to a part of Palermo we hadn’t explored yet, right alongside an open green space where people and dogs were enjoying the sunny day. The beer was pretty good too.
That about wraps up our trip to Palermo. We truly had an enjoyable time with friends, and I’m grateful to Jae for inviting us along. We covered a lot of ground sightseeing and ate so well. Have you ever been to Palermo?
