Food · Palermo · Italy
What to eat in Palermo
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Palermo, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Lasterketak, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Arancine, Pane e panelle and Pani ca' meusa. Walk Ballarò or the Capo in the late morning, eating panelle, arancine, grilled octopus and sfincione from different stalls, then finish with a cannolo filled to order. Dinner starts late, often after 8:30pm; many trattorie close between lunch and dinner.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Arancine
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 7
- Tipping
- Tipping is not expected; rounding up or leaving a few euros in restaurants for good…
- Food experiences
- 4
12 foods to try
Snack
1.Arancine
Palermo's fried rice balls (arancina, feminine, in the city) are round and filled with meat ragù and peas ('accarne') or ham and mozzarella ('abburro'). On 13 December, the feast of Santa Lucia, Palermitans skip bread and pasta and eat arancine all day.
Where: Bars, rosticcerie and street stalls everywhere; ask for 'accarne' or 'abburro'.
Street food · Vegetarian
2.Pane e panelle
A soft sesame bun stuffed with panelle, thin chickpea-flour fritters, often with crocchè (potato croquettes) and a squeeze of lemon.
Where: Market stalls at Ballarò and the Capo and friggitorie across the old town.
Street food
3.Pani ca' meusa
A bun filled with slices of veal spleen and lung simmered in lard, served 'schettu' (plain, with lemon) or 'maritatu' (married), topped with ricotta or caciocavallo.
Where: Specialist stalls and focaccerie, especially around the markets and the old harbour.
Snack
4.Sfincione
Palermo's thick, spongy pizza topped with tomato, onions, anchovies, caciocavallo cheese and toasted breadcrumbs, sold by the slice from bakeries and three-wheeled vans.
Where: Bakeries, street vendors and the Capo market.
Dish
5.Pasta con le sarde
Bucatini or macaroni with fresh sardines, wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron, topped with toasted breadcrumbs — a dish that echoes the island's Arab heritage.
Where: Traditional trattorie, especially in spring and summer when wild fennel is in season.
Dish
6.Anelletti al forno
Small pasta rings baked in a timbale with meat ragù, peas, aubergine and caciocavallo; the classic Palermo Sunday lunch.
Where: Rosticcerie sell slices to take away; trattorie serve it at weekends.
Dish · Vegetarian
7.Caponata
Fried aubergine stewed with celery, onion, olives, capers and tomato in a sweet-and-sour sauce of vinegar and sugar, served at room temperature.
Where: Antipasto counters and trattorie everywhere.
Dessert · Vegetarian
8.Cannoli
Crisp fried pastry tubes filled with sweetened sheep's-milk ricotta, often with candied orange or chocolate chips; the best are filled to order so the shell stays crunchy.
Where: Pastry shops across the city; many fill them in front of you.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Cassata siciliana
A rich cake of ricotta cream and sponge wrapped in green marzipan and decorated with candied fruit, traditionally made at Easter.
Where: Pastry shops, especially around Easter.
Dessert · Vegetarian
10.Frutta martorana
Marzipan shaped and hand-painted to look like real fruit, a tradition said to have begun with the nuns of the Martorana convent, made especially for the Day of the Dead on 2 November.
Where: Pastry-shop windows all year, with the biggest displays around early November.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
11.Granita and brioche
Semi-frozen granita of almond, lemon, coffee or black mulberry (gelsi), eaten in summer with a soft brioche for breakfast or as an afternoon cooler.
Where: Bars and gelaterie across the city and at Mondello.
Dessert · Vegetarian
12.Iris
A Palermo pastry of soft brioche dough filled with sweet ricotta and chocolate chips, then breaded and fried or baked.
Where: Bars and pastry shops, especially in the morning.
Food experiences
Market street-food crawl
Walk Ballarò or the Capo in the late morning, eating panelle, arancine, grilled octopus and sfincione from different stalls, then finish with a cannolo filled to order.
Evening at the Vucciria
At night the old Vucciria market becomes an open-air party, with grills cooking stigghiola (skewered lamb intestines) and sausages and stalls selling cold beer.
Antica Focacceria San Francesco
One of the city's historic eateries, in business since the 19th century beside the church of San Francesco d'Assisi, is a classic place to try pani ca' meusa and arancine sitting down.
Pastry-shop stop
Palermo's pasticcerie are an institution: order a cannolo, a slice of cassata or a granita and brioche at the counter and eat it standing, like the locals.
Quick bites and street food
- Arancine — Bars, rosticcerie and street stalls everywhere; ask for 'accarne' or 'abburro'.
- Pane e panelle — Market stalls at Ballarò and the Capo and friggitorie across the old town.
- Pani ca' meusa — Specialist stalls and focaccerie, especially around the markets and the old harbour.
- Sfincione — Bakeries, street vendors and the Capo market.
- Granita and brioche — Bars and gelaterie across the city and at Mondello.
Vegetarian options
Of the 12 foods in this guide, 7 are usually vegetarian: Pane e panelle, Caponata, Cannoli, Cassata siciliana, Frutta martorana, Granita and brioche and Iris. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Dinner starts late, often after 8:30pm; many trattorie close between lunch and dinner.
- Street food is best around midday at the markets; many stalls pack up by mid-afternoon.
- A coperto (cover charge) is common in sit-down restaurants and listed on the menu.
- In seafood restaurants, ask the price of fish by weight before ordering.
- In Palermo it is 'arancina'; in eastern Sicily the same snack is called 'arancino'.
Tipping
Tipping is not expected; rounding up or leaving a few euros in restaurants for good service is appreciated.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Buongiorno | Good morning / hello |
| Grazie | Thank you |
| Il conto, per favore | The bill, please |
| Un'arancina accarne | A meat-filled arancina |
| Quanto costa? | How much is it? |
| Amunì | Let's go! (Palermo dialect) |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Palermo famous for?
Arancine, Pane e panelle, Pani ca' meusa and Sfincione. Palermo's fried rice balls (arancina, feminine, in the city) are round and filled with meat ragù and peas ('accarne') or ham and mozzarella ('abburro').
+Is Palermo good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Pane e panelle, Caponata and Cannoli.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Palermo?
Tipping is not expected; rounding up or leaving a few euros in restaurants for good service is appreciated.