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Palermo: Antica Focacceria S. Francesco

Reviewed by: Colleen from CA (moderator), review #1240

When: 2005

Wonderful pastries, good coffee, delicious pizza.

Our B&B (Ai Cartari) gave us coupons for morning coffee and cornetti at this historic cafe just around the corner. We handed the coupons to the cashier, ordered coffee at the bar, selected our brioches, and sat at one of the small tables near the window and watched the morning activities in the cafe and on the street. One morning I chose a pastry that looked like an overgrown sugar doughnut; delicious ... and I had a sugar buzz for hours!

We stopped in for lunch one afternoon, and were seated upstairs next to a table of friendly Palermitani. I told them it was Shannon's birthday, and they burst into the "Happy Birthday" song - and each of the men gave her a kiss!

Shannon and I shared a salad, and we each ordered a pizza. They turned out to be huge! Big enough to share - if we'd been so inclined. ;) I had a delicious pizza with cheese and anchovies, and Shannon had the "Lucky Luciano": spicy sausage, onions, and dry cheese - also very good. With a 1/2 litre of wine and bottled water the total was €20.10. Our new friends bought the Birthday Girl dessert! It was very, very sweet and gooey ... a nice finishing touch to our lunch.

Reviewed by: Nancy G. from CA, review #678

When: 2003

We ate here three times in three days!

Directions: Located in the piazza opposite the church of San Francesco.

This restaurant, started in 1834 and currently run by the fifth generation of the same family, is a member of the Slow Food association.

There are two dining options: an indoor tavola calda, at which you order ready-made pastas and contorni - we enjoyed a very inexpensive lunch here one day. Outside, a tented (and heated, in November) area serves complete sit-down meals including incredible wood-fired pizzas.

I had a very delicious bucatini con sarde for dinner one evening, and an equally delicious bucatini with brocolli at lunch (I have a hard time making it to the secondi). Coffee and pastries come from a separate cafe located next next door to the focacceria. The utensils come wrapped in a bag on which is printed the restaurant's fascinating history (Garibaldi ate here!).

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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Palermo: Antica Focacceria S. Francesco

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