Pastory — Restaurant in Palermo

I'm going to go out on a limb and be the first to say the food was just okay. Very reasonably priced, and the service was polite - but don't make a special trip for it.

The pasta is the standout here - made with Sicilian wheat, it has good texture and is perfectly cooked al dente. The sauces were a bit of a let down - the eggplant tomato base was thick, tasted sweet rather than fresh, and lacked dimension. The gricia was fine - the guanciale was crispy but the sauce itself lacked the trademark guanciale flavour which tells me that the guanciale had been pre-cooked.

I didn't love the house wine, but I did like that the red was slightly chilled to compensate for the stifling summer heat.

A lovely little neighbourhood restaurant, but nothing out of the ordinary in the glorious wonderland of Italy's amazing food scene. The staff can't be faulted, and I should mention that I'm incredibly particular about my food (I've been a food reviewer for 5+ years). This is fairly priced, if perhaps somewhat...

This place disappointed me; however, my husband had a better experience. I wanted soup as an appetizer, only salad was available. The staff brought a list of local drinks; however, only 3 items were available. The tables were tiny (this appears to be normal in Palermo), which made it difficult to have water, wine, olive oil, bread and our appetizers on the table at the same time. However, the staff were diligent in removing a few items to make room. It takes some getting used to if you like to eat in comfort. We had an outside table, which ruined my experience because it was a busy street; loud, heavy traffic, motorcycles and cars playing loud music, not the best option for someone who prefers a quieter setting. Unless you're used to it or its doesn't bother you. Some may have a different opinion. My pasta was cold but the sauce was warm, this led me to believe the pasta was sitting on the counter for a while before they made the sauce. On the upside, the portion sizes...

The food was genuinely good and full of flavor, which we really appreciated.

However, our experience with the service left something to be desired. When we arrived, we were asked whether we preferred to sit inside or outside. We inquired about the availability of indoor seating, but didn’t confirm either option. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were told that only outdoor seating was possible. With only 7–8 tables inside, checking availability shouldn’t have taken more than a few seconds.

What was especially disappointing was that other guests who arrived after us were seated outside before us. As you can see, the outside tables are still free, even though they didn’t let us sit there.

While the food was enjoyable, the overall customer experience matters just as much — and unfortunately, it didn’t meet our expectations this time. I think 4.7 is too much for this experience, it is...