Antica Focacceria San Francesco, Palermo

Opened in 1834, the Anticca Focacceria San Francesco is one of the city's oldest restaurants. It sells a wide range of authentic Sicilian cuisine, encompassing pastas, pizzas, seafoods - pretty much every speciality seems to be covered. They also offer a selection of dishes from around the world. The ground floor is a tavola calda - a fast food café, serving ready-made food and snacks and with a relatively limited menu. Upstairs there are a couple of floors of restaurant, where the choice of dishes is much wider and the food made to order. The restaurant thus caters for both casual dining and a more full-on dining experience. The usual thing in Italy is to start with antipasti, then take a first course of pasta and then a second course of meat. Personally I found just a single course plenty with a few antipasti. It was hard not to be tempted by the selection of sweets displayed by the waiter, but I just about managed. The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the quality.

Favorite Dish: We all enjoyed our meal immensely and it would be a shame to choose one dish; I would probably suggest you try Spaghetti alla Norma, a sicilian speciality. From the antipasti, I particularly liked the panelle, which are fritters made from chick pea flour.