Wednesday 14 August 2013

Trattoria Del Pesce Fresco, Foro Umberto Palermo, Sicily,


In the heat of summer, lunch on Palermo's wide open seafront can offer welcome respite from sightseeing. Built into the imposing stone Foro Italico promenade, Trattoria Del Pesce Fresco has a dozen or so well-shaded outdoor tables, surrounded by foliage and overlooking green open space leading down to Palermo's port. Although the surroundings are pretty dishevelled and there may be a tramp or two on the nearby benches, there is a pleasant sense of space. The restaurant itself doesn't make a great deal of effort: You sit in green plastic chairs and the service is gruff at best. Still, for 10 euros, the seafood risotto, containing decent mussels and other fresh morsels, is pretty good. But the more unusual "lime" and shrimp risotto, seems to be overpowered by lemon juice. The safest bet for young kids might be a reasonable plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and eggplant (7 euros) or you can get spaghetti with clams for a few euros more. Water is a reasonable two euros for a large bottle and the cover charge (for bread) is low at 1.50 euros a head. However, espresso is the only coffee available.  Still, with better service, Trattoria Del Pesce Fresco could make for a decent Palermo pit-stop. 6/10

Trattoria Del Pesce Fresco's plastic chairs are surrounded by shrubbery