RISTORANTINO PALAZZO SAMBUCA

Do not miss ristorantino Palazzo Sambuca unless you do not like neither pleasant people nor good food nor fresh products nor local products. Surprisingly all products were Sicilians, even the mineral water.
I would like to mention that we are Basque people and, as Basques, we love good food.
Last Friday, when I phoned to make the booking, a joyful and welcoming voice answered the phone call saying that yes, there was a table for my family……the last table, as we saw later. I got the felling the evening could be something different.
Arriving to the restaurant, the voice on the phone got a face: Alessia was there, as welcoming as through the phone. The restaurant is a smartly decorated place but not the traditional Italian style, the modern one; an smart place with personality, like Alesia. She is the wife of the “cuoco”. Her husband could be called either “cuoco”, as it is said in Italia or, also, “chef”, for a simple reason: the food was delicious!
When we sat, we saw the trolley with the daily fresh fish passing by to be shown to a nearby table. Good beginning!
Alesia asked me what we would fancy for dinner; my answer was simple. I told her, my wife and me, we would like to have a lovely dinner but light and, smiling, I asked Alessia if we were at the right place. Smiling back to me, she glanced at me and with assurance and with elegance answered that we were at the perfect place.
She proposed us to have some fish “polpete” and “scorfano” (in English maybe scorpion fish, this ugly, as ugly as tasty, red fish that lives on rocky coastal shores) with prawns but she told us that it will be raw fish. Honestly, I am not used to eat raw fish but why not.
The “polpete” arrived first, they were lovely; the raw “scorfano” arrived just after with the raw prawns, they were both gorgeous. As main dish, she proposed us a “corvina” fish (I do not dare to translate it into English, sorry) with a typical Sicilian salad (fresh fennel with orange). Again, the fish, fresh fish, was delicious and the salad was, for me, a discovery as we are not used to eat fennel at all, even less with orange.
Our sons were more conservative and had gnocchi and pasta (sorry we do not remember which kind of pasta, che peccato!) with octopus and fish. Both of them were very tasty and good.
Desserts: We had a taste of three of them, a Sicilian “cassata”, a ricotta cream-based dessert and Chantilly cream-based dessert with red fruits. How could I describe them? In order, and to be short: excellent, gorgeous, superb (it is very difficult to find real good homemade Chantilly cream).
Important to mention, the restaurant is a family run business, they concentrate on excellent product, homemade and lovely food and better service. Alessia and her sister-in-law Valentina are very welcoming people.
Be alert it is slow food; for other kind of food, please, avoid this place.
For the ones concerned about price, it was about 1,5-1,7 times dearer than a classical Sicilian restaurant with pasta and pizza; I mean Palazzo Sambuca is excellent value!
HIGHLY RECOMENDABLE but only for people that enjoy good food and nice people.

RISTORANTINO PER AMERICANI. I prezzi non corrispondevano a quelli visti su the Fork. Il carpaccio, come potete vedere in foto è presentato a 10 euro. Non c'è nessun piatto a dieci euro (eccetto il dolce). Il vino meno costoso a 28 euro. L'effetto è quello di sentirsi un pollo spennato. Per carità, possiamo permetterci di spendere una cifra sopra la media di Palermo ma sinceramente preferiremmo saperlo prima. Non è un ristorante €€/€€€ ma €€€€. Almeno rapportato al territorio. Per fortuna non siamo a Dubai. Se avessimo fatto scelte meno attente ce ne saremmo andati ancora più amareggiati. La qualità è buona ma si può trovare anche con prezzi inferiori. Il servizio ti dà la sensazione di spingere per aumentare la spesa. Un SICILIANO se va una volta (per sbaglio) non torna più.

Ottima accoglienza dalla titolare, pesce freschissimo e cucinato in maniera eccellente lo consiglio principalmente agli intenditori

Cibo davvero buonissimo, come anche il vino.
Il sashimi era molto più che buono!!!! Davvero eccezionale
Abbiamo scelto il pescato del giorno che era estremamente buono ma meglio chiedere prima il prezzo.
Il menù scritto a mano su un quaderno di scuola l'ho trovato molto carino

Ristorantino curato e intimo, piatti stupendi! Ingredienti freschissimi, abbinamenti interessanti e tanto amore nella preparazione! Il servizio è accogliente, disponibile e gentile. E i prezzi sono onesti. Lo consiglio e ci torneremo!