Palermo gluten-free
Palermo, a little gluten free paradise?
With summer only few steps away I figured it was about time I wrote something about last year in Sicily, starting where our plane, from the opposite corner of Italy, landed: Palermo.
I see tons of questions somewhere along the lines of: "what is the most coeliac friendly place you've ever been to?" Well, if I had to answer this, I would say that Palermo, and Sicily in general, at least the western coast, would be on the podium of the easiest and most yummi holidays I had since being diagnosed with coeliac disease.
Right after we landed we got our rent car and drove to Palermo city center, where our Booking room was awaiting for us. Then straight to find the closest gluten free restaurant: Bistrot 107.
Before I get deeper into this a little disclaimer: this is not in any way an all comprehensive guide to a gluten free holiday in Palermo, it's just the places I had the chance to eat something from. In fact, only looking at the map, there are a few new places that opened meanwhile that declare they're gluten free, so, certainly have a look at other sources as well.
First meal didn't let anyone down for sure, one thing was certain: we wouldn't have starved during the holiday ;P
That night was also opening night for Italy at Euro2024, so after that we headed towards the city centre to watch the match (you might get a glimpse of that in the short video).
During half time break I rushed to Cannoli&Co. to get myself some breakfast for the following morning. I loved that fact that gluten free cannoli and brioche (the sicilian way) for gelato are pretty much everywhere (e. we went of course) and they're mostly delicious as they're glutinous cousins.
The following day lunch came after we visited the Cappella Palatina (amazing, highly recommended visit). Busy time on the streets as it was Sunday, I grabbed something at Timilia, specifically a panino farcito that didn't particularly impress me.
The most impressive meal was our last one in Palermo, both for the setting and the delicious food, making it probably my favourite of all the trip. I might add something on this. I was beginning to be a bit nauseos at food at the time, as I discovered only a handful days before I was pregnant. This time, sadly, I can't give you any advice on cocktails and craft beers.
That said, back to my favourite meal in Palermo, during our Sicily roadtrip. As I write this I just discovered that QOC, where we ate in piazza Magione, doesn't actually exist anymore. As new restaurants pop up, I guess it's just normal the some close down. That's a real pity, I won't even post my meal, let's just say it was cold caponata and fish based, to go beautifully with a cedrata. The place was completely gluten free and in a beautiful setting. The Kalsa is a vibrant neighborhood in Palermo, slowly but surely getting safer and really enjoyable at night, with aperitivo bars and bistros like the one we dined at.
In the same square you can find Divino, where I've been told you can eat an amazing gluten free pizza.
Everywhere you go, remember you can always have a granita, which is the perfect summer treat and naturally gluten free.
We had one a few steps away from our place in Palermo, which was fabulous and with many interesting flavours (Messèr Granita).
credits to Stijn Nieuwendijk on Flickr
Curious to know more about eating gluten free in Sicily? Will post about that, stay tuned on this blog 😉
Wanna travel more? Here you can read about some other trips: Portugal and Corfu.