CR21 Palermo: A Modern Sicilian Dinner in the Historic Centre
A contemporary dinner in Palermo’s historic centre, with an open kitchen, Sicilian details and a dessert I would return for.
Palermo, Sicily, Italy
During our stay in Palermo, we booked CR21 for dinner on Via dei Cartari, in the historic centre.
CR21 is part of Palazzo Cartari and is open to outside diners. The restaurant describes its cooking as contemporary, with Sicily remaining an important reference point in the ingredients and dishes.
That connection appeared throughout dinner, from Nero d’Avola and Ragusano to the white ceramic head holding the breadsticks on our table.
The dining room
CR21 sits on a narrow street in central Palermo, with the restaurant’s logo printed across the large window beside the tables.
Inside, the room is modern and quite dark. Black tables have fine gold edging, with white tableware, coloured chairs and a direct view into the kitchen.
I liked the table from the moment we sat down.
The breadsticks were served in a white ceramic head based on the Sicilian Teste di Moro, something we had already seen repeatedly around Palermo. Against the black table, it stood out immediately.
Bread followed with olive oil, and the service was warm and kind throughout dinner.
The kitchen is open behind glass, so from our table we could see the chefs preparing and finishing dishes only a few metres away.
Vitello rosa with Nero d’Avola reduction, buffalo mozzarella and sweet-and-sour onion.
Dinner
We started with the vitello rosa, served with a Nero d’Avola reduction, buffalo mozzarella and sweet-and-sour onion.
It was a colourful plate, with the pink veal sitting beside the white mozzarella and darker wine reduction. Nero d’Avola appeared elsewhere on the menu too, one of several Sicilian ingredients used throughout the dinner.
Then came one of the best dishes of the evening.
Bottoni alla carbonara with crispy guanciale, served with the chef’s recommendation to eat each pasta button whole before biting into it.
The carbonara buttons
The Bottoni alla carbonara e guanciale croccante were small filled pasta buttons topped with crispy guanciale.
When the waitress brought them over, she passed on the chef’s recommendation: put the whole pasta button into your mouth before biting into it.
We did exactly that.
Once bitten, the carbonara filling released inside the mouth rather than onto the plate, so the pasta, filling and crispy guanciale were eaten together in a single bite.
It was fantastic.
I absolutely loved this dish. The chef’s advice was simple, but it changed the way we ate it and made the reason for the filled pasta immediately clear.
This is one of the dishes I would order again first.
Low-temperature pork tenderloin with broad beans, goat’s cheese, roast potatoes and Nero d’Avola reduction.
Grilled lamb with salted caramel, mashed potato and rosemary cardoncello mushroom.
Pork and lamb
Two meat dishes followed.
The filetto di maialino cotto a bassa temperatura was served with broad beans, goat’s cheese, a Nero d’Avola reduction and roast potatoes.
The pork was very juicy and full of flavour. There were several elements on the plate, but the meat was still what I remember most clearly.
We also ordered the agnello alla griglia, served with salted caramel, mashed potato and rosemary cardoncello mushroom.
Salted caramel with lamb caught my attention when I first read it on the menu. It was not a combination I would normally expect with grilled lamb, but it worked very well.
The lamb was juicy too, and the mashed potato and mushroom made it one of the richer dishes of the evening.
By this point, there had not been a plate we did not enjoy. Some of the combinations were unexpected, but more importantly, everything tasted excellent.
Verde di Sicilia, the pistachio dessert our waitress recommended when we asked for something Sicilian.
Verde di Sicilia
When it came to dessert, we wanted something with a Sicilian connection.
I asked our waitress what she would recommend, and she suggested Verde di Sicilia, the pistachio dessert.
It arrived as a small green dome that immediately reminded me of a Sicilian cassatina. From the outside, I expected something much closer to cake.
The centre was completely different.
It was cold and soft, almost like ice cream, and that first spoonful was a surprise.
I absolutely loved it.
The pistachio flavour, the cold centre and the different textures made Verde di Sicilia my favourite part of the dinner.
I had asked the waitress to choose something Sicilian for us, and I was very happy that I did.
Final thoughts
CR21 was one of the more contemporary dinners we had in Palermo.
I liked the dark dining room, the gold details on the tables and the white Sicilian ceramic head used for the breadsticks. From our table, we could also watch the chefs working in the open kitchen.
The food was excellent. I would order the carbonara buttons again without hesitation, especially with the chef’s recommendation on how to eat them. Both meat dishes were juicy and full of flavour, and there was not a plate we regretted ordering.
But Verde di Sicilia was my favourite.
On another visit to CR21, I would ask for the Sicilian dessert recommendation again and hope it was still on the menu.
Plan your visit
CR21 Cartari Restaurant
Via dei Cartari 21
90133 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Phone
+39 091 7817597
Website
cr21bistrot.it
Instagram
@cr21bistrot
Experience
Contemporary Sicilian dining
Open kitchen
Best for
Dinner in Palermo’s historic centre
Contemporary Sicilian dishes
Pasta and meat dishes
Sicilian-inspired desserts
