A'Cuncuma Restaurant — Restaurant in Palermo

We're a couple of San Francisco-based foodies, and came across this place thanks to the TripAdvisor reviews. They are spot on: one of the best meals we've had in Italy (and that's saying a lot.)

We went by on a Tuesday evening, and the place was empty - what a shame! (This was early April, so probably a widespread phenomenon.) We made a reservation for the following night - which proved unnecessary, but your mileage may vary. We were looked after by the chef and his son; despite their limited English and our limited Italian, we got on fine - mostly because the food was so good. There's a few English translations in the menu, which helped get the basics right.

We can't speak for the seafood, but the starters and meat courses were fantastic. (One minor snag: no lamb.) The creations are interesting - e.g., dark brown pasta as part of a dish (when we asked, we were told 20g chocolate powder to 100g of flour.)

Highly recommended. Don't be put off by the slightly out-of-the-way location; it's well worth the trip. Really friendly. EUR120 for two, including 2 starter, 2 mains, 2 desserts, and a...

We spent our last night in Palermo at this wonderful restaurant, having booked online a couple of days before. We chose the Porta Nuova 8 course (though actually 10 beautifully executed courses) menu and the five glass wine pairing. All the staff from front of house to the charming chef himself were warm and efficient. I wish I could remember more details of what we actually ate: the red onion ice-cream topping one of the aperitivi has stayed with me and the final dainty savoury course of pork with bitter herbs was so beautifully balanced. My daughter recalls the seafood cappuccino, the fabulous baked arancino paired with an extraordinary dry wine from Marsala and the pistachio biscuit with shrimp tartare, candied ginger and goat cheese. This was an extraordinarily attractive and delicious meal - quite baffled they don’t have a Michelin star yet, to be honest - and at €300 between us, we felt the quality/value ratio was excellent. Would go back in a shot next time I...

I’m always trying to be balanced on my ratings and when I use the 5 stars it means that it cannot be better from my standpoint….. and this one cannot be better from mine or ANY STANDPOINT!!! MICHELIN GUIDE, where on god’s green earth are you???!?!? Let me just say that from the appetizers to the bread, dishes, and desserts it was a joy for the palate and ALL WAS DONE IN-HOUSE…. And ALL WAS DONE BY THE CHEF ALONE!!!!!! And ALL WAS CLOSE TO 1 star Michelin so I’m asking again, where are you Michelin when such genius of a chef exists!!!! I’ve never seen anything remotely like that in my life…. How can one be a chef, a baker and a pastry chef at the same time and be at least excellent on each count?! That was honestly mind boggling and if you ever step foot in Palermo and proud yourself as having a palate, then you HAVE to go there!!!! Starting with you Michelin...