Late-19th-century bourgeois strip north of Politeama, with Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco, smart wine bars and the city's modern restaurant scene around Via Liberta.
Osteria Mercede on Via Sammartino in Palermo's Politeama quarter is a 25-cover seafood-only room with nautical decor, carte runs raw plates.
Signature: Spaghetti ai ricci di mare, Crudo di gambero rosso, Tonno rosso
Order: Spaghetti ai ricci di mare and the crudo di gambero rosso.
Tip: Book a week ahead at weekends. The 8-course tasting tracks the day's market.
Corona Trattoria on Via Marconi in Palermo's Liberta quarter sources seafood daily from the city's fishermen, with a modern raw-plate carte alongside.
Signature: Bucatini con le sarde, Spaghetti al nero di seppia, Gambero rosso crudo
Order: Bucatini con le sarde and a plate of gambero rosso crudo with bottarga.
Tip: Book three days ahead at weekends. The chef's tasting is the kitchen's verdict on the day's catch.
Osteria Mercede on Via Sammartino in Palermo's Politeama runs a 25-cover seafood-only fine-dining room with raw plates, ricci di mare pasta and grilled red.
Tip: Book a week ahead at weekends. The 8-course tasting tracks the day's market catch.
Corona Trattoria on Via Marconi in Palermo's Liberta is a family-run seafood room opened in 2015 by Gianni Corona, daily catch from the Palermitan fishermen.
Tip: Book three days ahead at weekends. The chef's tasting tracks the day's catch.
Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco in Palermo since 1955 is the city's reference cafe-pasticceria for breakfast, granita with brioche col tuppo and afternoon.
Signature drink: Espresso, granita di mandorla
Tip: Granita di mandorla con brioche is the Palermitan summer breakfast. Cannoli filled to order.
Stancampiano on Via Notarbartolo in Palermo's Liberta is the city's reference granita-and-brioche counter, three generations of family operation.
Signature drink: Granita di mandorla, brioche col tuppo
Tip: Brioche col tuppo with granita di mandorla or pistacchio is the Palermitan summer breakfast.
Pasticceria Costa on Via D'Annunzio in Palermo's Liberta is a senior Setteveli pasticceria-cafe, with espresso bar and monoporzione case for sit-down.
Signature drink: Espresso with Setteveli or cannolo
Tip: Setteveli monoporzione with espresso. The morning monoporzione case has seasonal flavours.
Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco in Palermo since 1955 is the city's reference pasticceria-bar, famous for cannoli filled to order, arancini and seasonal granita.
Tip: Cannoli are filled to order; never pre-filled. The arancina ai porcini is the savoury order; granita with brioche in summer.
Worth the queue: Cannolo siciliano alla ricotta
Pasticceria Costa on Via D'Annunzio in Palermo's Liberta is one of the city's senior Setteveli pasticcerie, with a parallel Via Maqueda branch and seasonal.
Tip: Setteveli is the headline order. The monoporzione case at the back has the seasonal flavours; cassata in spring.
Worth the queue: Torta Setteveli, cannolo siciliano
Gelateria Stancampiano on Via Notarbartolo in Palermo's Liberta has been the city's reference gelateria for three generations, the canonical brioche col.
Tip: Brioche col tuppo with granita is the Palermitan summer breakfast; pistachio of Bronte is the headline flavour.
Worth the queue: Pistacchio di Bronte gelato
Pasticceria Oscar on Via Migliaccio in Palermo's Liberta since 1965 has filled cannoli to order for three generations of a single family, one.
Tip: Cannoli filled to order. The gelato runs all year; granita di mandorla is the summer top order.
Worth the queue: Cannolo di Oscar
Torrefazione Alescaffè on Via Montalbo in Palermo is a second-generation family roaster operating since 1953, wood-roasting espresso blends visible.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The Café do Brasil and Montalbo Famiglia blends are the house bags; whole-bean retail by the kilo at the counter.
Sources from: Brazil, Ethiopia, Vietnam
How they serve: Espresso, Whole bean retail
Morganti Caffe on Via Empedocle Restivo in Palermo runs a family roastery supplying espresso bars across the western Sicily coast since 1972.
Tip: Closed weekends. The Forte espresso blend is the volume order; whole-bean by the kilo at the counter.
Sources from: Brazil, Ethiopia, Vietnam
How they serve: Espresso, Whole bean retail
Buonivini on Via Dante in Palermo's Liberta runs a wine-shop-and-bar hybrid, full Sicilian wine list with rare Marsala bottlings, aperitivo plates and bottle.
Signature pour: Marsala Vergine, Etna Rosso by the glass
Wine focus: Sicilian wines, Etna Rosso, Marsala DOC
Food: Aperitivo plates, charcuterie
Tip: Bottle retail open by day; bar from 18:00. The Marsala flight is the educational pour.
Enoteca Picone on Via Marconi in Palermo's Liberta since 1946 is the city's senior enoteca, three rooms of wine retail with a tasting bar, the Sicilian wine.
Signature pour: Nero d'Avola Riserva, Grillo by the glass
Wine focus: Sicilian wines, Italian regional bottles
Food: Charcuterie, cheese plates
Tip: The third-room degustazione bar opens 19:00; cheese and charcuterie are the standard pairings.
Buonivini on Via Dante in Palermo's Liberta runs a wine-shop-and-bar hybrid, full Sicilian wine list with rare Marsala bottlings, aperitivo plates and bottle.
Signature drink: Etna Rosso by the glass, Marsala Vergine
Food: Charcuterie, cheese plates
Tip: Bottle retail by day; bar from 18:00. The Marsala flight is the educational pour.
Cesarine's Messina Pidone class in Palermo teaches the eastern-Sicily flatbread stuffed with escarole, anchovy and tuma cheese, the Messina street-food.
Tip: Two-hour class. The original Messina recipe; book three days ahead.
Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco in Palermo since 1955 is the city's reference morning brunch room, granita with brioche col tuppo, cannoli filled to order.
Order: Granita di mandorla with brioche col tuppo, the Palermitan summer brunch standard.
Tip: Arrive by 10:00 for the local crowd. Cannoli filled to order; never pre-filled.
Stancampiano on Via Notarbartolo in Palermo is the city's reference granita-and-brioche summer brunch counter, three generations of family operation.
Order: Granita di mandorla con brioche col tuppo, the Palermitan summer breakfast.
Tip: Arrive 07:30-09:00 for the freshest granita. Cash works fastest.