Palermo is well known for its markets and street food, but its restaurants deserve attention too. During our stay, we visited three establishments offering different interpretations of Sicilian cooking: ALI3I, CR21 and Rimessa Dragotto. We also visited Cappadonia Gelati, whose seasonal fruit sorbets were among our favourite discoveries in the city.
Here are four addresses I would recommend, with a closer look at their cooking, interiors and the dishes worth ordering.
ALI3I's dining room on Via della Libertà, Palermo.
ALI3I
On Via della Libertà, ALI3I is the restaurant of Alice Di Gennaro and Liborio Mongiovì, who met while working in Rome and later gained experience in Michelin-starred kitchens in England. They returned to Sicily and took over the former Al 131 in 2022, developing a contemporary restaurant with a strong connection to Sicilian ingredients.
The dining room has deep green walls, soft lighting, an illuminated wine display and artwork created by a friend of the owners. Both a tasting menu and à la carte dining are offered, although availability may vary. We chose the five-course tasting menu and followed our waitress's recommendations. Among the dishes were poached egg with basil potato velouté and summer caponata, squid-filled plin with pepper extract and lemon gel, and Pesce azzurro, served with smoked aubergine, yellow datterino tomatoes and mint. The fish was one of my favourite courses. Dessert, a lemon and almond cake with torched meringue, was excellent too. Service was particularly attentive, with each course introduced and explained without making dinner feel overly formal. I would happily return for another tasting menu.
Address: Via della Libertà 131, Palermo
Verde di Sicilia, the pistachio dessert our waitress recommended at CR21 in Palermo.
CR21 Cartari Restaurant
Part of Palazzo Cartari in Palermo's historic centre, CR21 serves contemporary Sicilian cuisine in a dark, modern dining room. Black tables edged in gold face an open kitchen behind glass, while traditional Sicilian touches appear in the tableware, including a white ceramic Testa di Moro used to serve breadsticks.
The menu features regional ingredients in inventive combinations. We started with vitello rosa, accompanied by buffalo mozzarella, sweet-and-sour onion and a Nero d'Avola reduction, followed by the excellent Bottoni alla carbonara e guanciale croccante. These small pasta buttons contain a carbonara filling, and the chef recommends eating each one whole before biting into it. The filling releases inside the mouth, combining with the crispy guanciale. It was fantastic. Grilled lamb with salted caramel and cardoncello mushrooms was another success, but the highlight was Verde di Sicilia, a pistachio dessert with a cold, soft centre, almost like ice cream. I absolutely loved it and would order it again without hesitation.
Address: Via dei Cartari 21, Palermo
The dining room at Rimessa Dragotto in Palermo, with green stone tables and photographs of the Sicilian countryside.
Rimessa Dragotto
Rimessa Dragotto opened in 2023 on Via Rosolino Pilo, bringing the agricultural work of the Dragotto family into central Palermo. The family owns a farm near Castelvetrano in western Sicily, where they cultivate Nocellara del Belice olives and produce Viridior extra-virgin olive oil. Designed by architect Walter Angelico, the restaurant has green stone tables, olive-green chairs and photographs of the Sicilian countryside.
The family's olive oil arrives with bread and grissini, giving diners an immediate introduction to the farm's produce. The menu concentrates on Mediterranean and Sicilian cooking, including a Seafood Carbonara made with spaghetti, prawns, scampi, mussels and bottarga. It was excellent, as was the grilled catch of the day with tenerumi and toasted lemon. For dessert, Come una cassata offers a contemporary version of the traditional Sicilian sweet, combining ricotta semifreddo, crunchy marzipan and Modica chocolate. It was my favourite dish of the evening, and the dessert I would return for.
Address: Via Rosolino Pilo 65, Palermo
Inside Cappadonia Gelati's Piazzetta Francesco Bagnasco shop in Palermo.
Cappadonia Gelati
Antonio Cappadonia has been making gelato professionally since 1987, beginning in his home town of Cerda in the Madonie. His approach, which he calls gelato di territorio, places particular importance on seasonal ingredients and their origins. At Cappadonia's Piazzetta Francesco Bagnasco shop, the flavours identify their regional provenance, with names such as Albicocca dei Monti Sicani and Limone di Cerda.
During a hosted tasting with Donato Didonna, we sampled every flavour available that day, including chocolate, nuts, creams and an extensive selection of fruit sorbets. The Sicilian Mountains apricot, lemon and melon were my favourites. Donato also introduced us to Cappadonia's relationships with local growers and the traditional Sicilian method of making granita using snow and salt. The visit finished with brioche con gelato, a soft Sicilian brioche filled with three scoops of gelato. We loved it. The seasonal fruit sorbets alone make Cappadonia worth visiting, although I would certainly leave room for the brioche.
Address: Piazzetta Francesco Bagnasco 29, Palermo
For more recommendations on accommodation, architecture and sightseeing, see my Palermo City Guide: Where to Stay, Eat and What to See.
The dishes described reflect our visits. Restaurant menus and seasonal flavours may change.
Disclosure: Our visit to ALI3I was sponsored. Cappadonia Gelati hosted our tasting and provided the gelato and brioche; no fee was paid for the Cappadonia article. All opinions are my own.
