The bustling capital of Sicily boasts more than it’s fair share of decent eateries, delectable wines and some very tasty coffee. However, for te traveler on a budget, Palermo can easily blow out into a wallet-hurting bacchanal. read our guide for finding the best (and cheapest) coffee, food and drinks in this excellent town.

THE COFFEE

Bar Di Maria Agata

(Piazza Ballarò, 29, 90134 Palermo)

Tucked away in the midst of the constantly bustling Bollaró market in the heart of Palermo, Bar Di Maria Agata is everything that you’d want from an Italian café. Stand-up counter, good espresso, a few pastries on the shelves and a very officious woman behind the cash register, you can’t do much better than post up here for a coffee or two whilst wandering theolalro marketplace. We stopped here for an espresso on our way through the marketplaces of Palermo (which you can read more about here.) In my opinion, they serve the most consistent coffee in Palermo, and charge less than the tourist haunts that line the main plazas by half. Set yourself up in the outside patio area and get prepared to people watch - the market is like an organism, people will be wandering past with plates of fish, tiny cuts of chicken and huge clumps of leek and other fresh produce. It’s beautiful and extremely fun to watch.

Looking for a guide to Palermo? Read more here

THE DRINK

taverna Azzura

(Via Maccherronai, 15, 90133 Palermo)

You know the drill. Come to Europe. Pay triple what you’d pay at home for a glass of wine or beer. It’s tiring, hard on the wallet, and thoroughly distracts from the enjoyment of going out for a simple drink. That experience, however, is completely reversed at Taverna Azzura. The Blue Tavern, located just down the alleyway from the Vucciria market, wouldn’t look out of place in a mob film. We arrived at 11 am on a Thursday and the tiny bar area was packed with a few old boys, some of whom looked like they might have known a thing or two about the Mafia back in the day. This place is the epitome of a neighbourhood bar - it’s low on ostentation, high on comfort, and very, very cheap. It’s hard to say who works here and who is clientele - the patrons serve themselves, the barstaff pour whatever amount of liquor they determine is right for each glass. while I had a beer and Carlie tackled a very stiff pour of grappa (see picture), their wine selection is incredible they have some of the best rosé produced in Sicily, and you won’t pay more than 3 euro for a glass. Taverna Azzura is definitely one of my favourite places that I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking, and I’d suggest you check it out - just catch the bus on the way there, you won’t be driving anywhere afterwards.

Heading to Palermo? read our guide to the best markets in town here.

THE MEAL

tRATTORIA TRAPANI

(Piazza Giulio Cesare, 16, 90127 Palermo)

Hungry? Looking to spend less than $20 USD on what is possibly the best meal I ate in Italy? Trattoria Trapani has to be your call. This place is definitely a family affair, run by a tight crew who offer amazing down-home coking for extraordinarily affordable rates. We ate the swordfish linguine and a frutta-di-mare spaghetti - both of which were extraordinary. The proprietor owns a small chilli-farm outside of Noto, the produce of which is included in most meals on the menu. The flavours were indescribable, like a big warm hug. Extraordinary, mouth-watering, food-porn, nostalgia-inducing pasta, mixed with the freshest seafood, purchased that very morning from the markets we had walked through. We paired the feed with an excellent Sicilian Rosé, grown from the Etna region, which was perfect. I cannot recommend this place enough - definitely one of the best meals I ate in Italy.

Any questions about where to get the good-good food in Palermo? Hit us up in the comments below!