It would be 2.5 stars from me. Food: Appetizer - Parmigiana...bland, no flavor other than extreme bitterness. Main - Sardine Pasta...tasty. Service: Chaotic, rushed, could be challenging if you don't speak Italian. Be ready to order when a server approaches, or it could be a while until the next moment. Ambiance: Might be okay for friends/buddies getting together, but definitely not for quiet or intimate occasions. Price: Very reasonable. Extra: While I was eating the pasta, one of the servers moved my table w/o paying attention to accommodate new arriving guests next to my table which knocked down a big bottle of water. It splashed all over my dish and shirt. He immediately took the plate out (to de-do) and provided extra paper napkins, however no apologies were provided and it wasn't my happy moment in a soaking wet shirt... The manager (owner?) looked to be busy in talking loud on his phone rather than fully engaged in the business... read more

Fun local vibes with good service. Good sized portions and reasonably cheap eats - everything we ordered was about 8euros a plate. Fritto mixto could have been crispier. Both pastas were a tad salty side. Tasted like modest Sicilian home cooking! Espresso tasted overly roasted / to verging on burnt. read more

Super fun atmosphere!! The place was lively and full of color and super cheap!!! But that didn't make the food any less delicious. The fried mixed fish was my favorite as it included a variety of different types of seafood all fried to perfection. It didn't feel too greasy at all which is usually the issue I have with fried seafood. The pasta with squid ink was yummy and def worth trying but in all honestly not my absolute favorite dish but I still enjoyed it! Overall the food was very fairly priced and was given in big portions. We luckily did not have to wait in line but for the people that do it sounds like the restaurant gives you free wine as you wait. read more

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Busy little family restaurant with very good food at very reasonable prices. Located very conveniently in the Centro storico.

We went here for dinner. It had many traditional dishes from Palermo. We had the pasta con sarde , which was delicious. Everyone was very friendly. The restaurant is in the heart of Palermo and easy to get to. read more

The food ambiance and service were amazing. Our waiter was very nice and made sure we understood everything, and everyone kept stealing each others food because it was all so good. read more

close to the heart of Palermo. This is a restaurant that presents the best of Palermo cuisine. we tried the tomato salad, seabass, grilled gamberoni, and eggplant Parmigiano. all very fresh and excellent. they all come minimally flavored. so u have to add your own. but if freshness is what u value, this is it. read more

Cute "local" place. Very nice vibe, good food, great staff. Much nicer than the main street. We fully enjoyed it

Excellent food with outstanding wine list. Service was helpful and informative. You can eat outside but I recommend eating inside to be part of the fun. Very popular with local community. Would definitely recommend to anyone. read more

A close friend who visited Palermo a few months ago recommended Ferro di Cavallo. She told me it's an obscure side street that wasn't all that easy to find. Knowing it was there we persevered, and I'm really glad we did! We arrived just as they were supposed to open (according to the sign) and we were seated at a table where nothing happened for the next half hour other than a whole lot of other parties arriving and getting seated. Then, the staff came to life as if someone had thrown a switch, and there was a line of dining hopefuls stretched out into the street... The service was very efficient, and all the staffers were friendly and helpful. The food and wine was all excellent and quite reasonably priced, with all the fish and meat entrées priced at around eight euros. Our server recommended what turned out to be an outstanding bottle of Nero d'Avolo which cost nine euros; it was the perfect compliment to the outstanding cuisine! It turned out to be completely worthwhile having arrived early; despite the half hour wait after we were seated we enjoyed a fabulous dining experience. read more

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Pastas here were the best and also the most affordable we had while in Sicily. Didn't think the other dishes (fish fry, polpettes) were nearly as good. Squid ink pasta here was my favorite! read more

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Four stars for super affordable local food. We came here on a recommendation from a friend, and put out names in for lunch. You need to be a little more assertive than normal to make sure you don't get skipped over, especially if you don't speak Italian. For a table of two, we waited about 20 minutes. Staff would show up periodically and pass around a bottle of prosecco and a basket of appetizers to the waiting crowd. The majority of the crowd seemed to be locals. We ordered the squid ink pasta and the marinera (seafood pasta, not red sauce) as well as a half liter of the house white wine. We also ordered the daily fried fish special, but it never came. The food came quickly and the portion sizes are on the larger end. The squid ink pasta was delicious, tasted fresh and not overly fishy. The marinara was also super flavorful. Our total bill was just over 16 euro. read more

Ferro di Cavallo - Italian Near Me - Palermo, Pennsylvania

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The wait staff was very friendly, explained the menu and highlights of the cafe. I ordered wrong, should have gone straight Sicilian but did a steak with veg. It was good but not great. The wine was very good. My husband had a pasta dish that was delicious, but the portion was small so I did get a bite and left it to hi . read more

Here for last night in Palermo. Man I wish we had the patience to wait for this dinner on our first night. By far the best food we had. Got there at 815pm and there was a wait. We expected that and so did the man running the show. He proceeded to open up bottles of prosecco and hand glasses to everyone, along with some appetizer too. Beware the wait list is not like it is in the United States. He writes your name down and will eventually get to you, but it's chaos. Kind of organized chaos. Once you sit down they put table cloth on and the menu is on it, in Italian only. After ordering 2 appetizers 2 primis and 2 secondis we had to stop eating but our mind said try everything. Including all that food and 3 glasses of wine it was 48 euro. The whole place was packed and everyone was having a great time. It felt like you were not a tourist but a true Sicilian having the time of your life. Oh and we left at 1030 and about 25 people were still in line waiting. Do yourself a favor and be patient and enjoy the ride. read more

Such an amazing Italian restaurant tucked away on a small side street in Palermo. We were so happy to find this gem of a restaurant. There were local/native Italians eating here so I felt pretty good that we found a more local spot rather than a tourist attraction. The menu is printed on the paper "table cloth" and is fully in Italian. We had to use google translate to help us order but we did pretty good with the help of the waiter who spoke some English. We ordered a bottle of wine, calamari, and pasta marinara (which is not really what you at all expect in the USA). Pasta marinara isn't really red at all and actually has seafood in it. This was the star of the show. My husband and I and the other couple we were with loved that dish so very much we were raving about it long after we left the restaurant. We ordered two orders of calamari, two orders of pasta, an order of arancini rice balls, and a bottle of red wine and it came out to be a total of 50 euro. What a deal! We loved the food and would definitely recommend others to give this restaurant a try! P.S. Bring your google translate with you though! =) P.S. They give you delicious bread to go with your meal but one of the people we were with asked for butter to which the wait staff replied, no butter, just olive oil. They brought the most delicious made in Italy olive oil. If I could have, I would have bought some to take home with me. read more

Ferro di Cavallo - Italian Near Me - Palermo, Pennsylvania

This is a very popular local restaurant with traditional Palermitan cuisine. It is fairly priced and gets quite crowded. That being said, service was awful! We waited 15-20 minutes for a waiter to take our order. I will admit, when our food finally came, it was delicious. The pasta nero seppia (squid ink) was the best I have ever had, rich and inky but not bitter. Grilled sardines and swordfish pasta were also very good. We ordered some house red but it was never delivered so we had them take it off the bill. read more

This place is for tourists who really don't understand true Italian food and hospitality. I went there by recommend by a friend despite of locals told me about their bad service and arrogance. This is my first time return the pasta dish( anchovie pasta)that I ordered. So hard to get waiters attention. One final blow was that when I asked for napkin to the owner who was standing at the doorway, he simply pointed me to where napkins. If he is busy I don't think that it was a big deal for me. But he was simply standing at the door. I was very disappointed how he is so arrogant that his business is thriving by tourists and not serving them well. A lot of people just standing and waiting thinking about this is a great place. Think again before you spend your hard earned money. read more

Excellent value, funky type place. We shared table with strangers and it was a comfortable fun experience. The grilled sea bream and the involtini of swordfish were both nicely prepared and tasty. Service was good and the interior decor was eclectic. Enjoyable all around read more

The Nero di Seppia is probably the best i've ever had in my life!!! every time i walk by, day or night, the place is consistently packed. The food is cheap and yummy. read more

Ferro di Cavallo - Nero di Seppia (squid ink pasta) - Italian Near Me - Palermo, Pennsylvania

Excellent address for Sicilian experience ; the atmosphere is 100% typical , the service is efficient and the food is great!!! read more

Ferro di Cavallo - Antipasti : arrancineto and vitello de verduras - Italian Near Me - Palermo, Pennsylvania

great prices. good food and decent service. over all a bit sloppy. over all a bit sloppy

Worst food experience in all our trip to Palermo and Sicily: we ordered and our antipasti arrived ( a flavour-less melanzzane alla parmigiana) and then had to wait +1 hour for our mains. After 3 reminders, the manager recognized that thay forgot to order ot to the kitchen. We decided to leave w/o having dinner. Over rated food and poor customer service. Better options meters away. read more

This is where real Palermo eats. Families with babies, young couples, groups. Fun and earthy. Inexpensive, flavorful. Fresh and authentic. Sardine meatballs awesome! Pasta with sepia the best ever! Grilled shrimp and meat fresh! Best cannoli and cassata in town. Not too sweet!!! read more

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A good quality food for a good price. The service is very fast and friendly. The restaurant is always full which speaks for its popularity. We got a recommendation to go here from a local person and didn't regret to have followed the advice. read more

Glad we turned up early There was a queue 30 deep once we got seated Worth it and very reasonably priced food read more

Ridiculously cheap and great food. How do they do it and why do they do it??? Kindly bought us an English menu. We had the sardine meatballs to start and grilled baby squid and stuffed red mullet with a side of grilled veggies. Add a carafe of wine and we were amazed at our 35 euro bill. Locals get in around 8.30 so 8 is a good time to turn up. Cash only. read more

This place was amazing, arrived early to find it empty and in the process of preparing lunch. Came back 20 minutes later and there was hardly a seat to be had! Fresh honest food, great house wine, and out of this world canolli! fast no nonsense service. On our way out i managed to say a few words of thanks in Italian and the owner shake my hand and gave me a hug. Wow! read more

Edit to previous review. DINING not drinking experience. Although the house red was very good

This is a hip place to eat. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is fun. It's artsy and full of families eating together, everyone having a blast. Very inviting and unpretentious, only difficulty is that you might have to wait for a table because it is so popular. read more

We went for lunch, typical trattoria. Packed small restaurant with lots of Italians. You know it's good when there are locals and not just tourists. The pasta is 5 € and everything else is also reasonably priced. The food tastes excellent. Surprised it's not a 5star. read more

I have had the pleasure to eat at some of the best restaurants in the western hemisphere. I think I found my new favorite. Excellent favors, great wine selection, and awesome owner. read more

Almost perfect ! We were recommended by our sicilian friends and ordered four different spaghettis ...fresh sea food and homemade excellent sauce were so impressive ! Must try in Palermo ! read more

The two of us went here for dinner on a Friday night. It was very busy, and the restaurant seemed to be understaffed. An English menu was available, which was good because the waiter did not take any time to help us order. The food was good - we had a primi, second and side dish each, although we were a little dismayed at the lack of vegetables that seems to be typical of Italian restaurants. With all the glorious vegetables in the markets here, they should be able to offer them in their restaurant dishes! All in all, tasty food, reasonable prices, but I would go earlier in the evening (6 or so) and earlier in the week. read more

Fantastic little local restaurant 1 this place fills up fast! We waited about 2 hours but it was totally worth it. The fish was fantastic, extremely fresh and my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Delicious house wine, would definitely go back. read more

Have been here twice I recommend the Nero di sepia pasta(black pasta) the wine is local very busy place with the locals so you may have to wait but is very reasonable for the quality of food. It's on a side street but a very short walk from via Roma read more

Fantastic! The absolute best, and I mean BEST fried calamari I have ever eaten. Their spaghetti al nero di sepia was very good, but not quite as good as Tratoria del Cavaliere in Catania. Cheap, super cheap prices and great food and experience. Great for families with kids. Like the waiter said "totally f@%^&*g crazy" Bravo! read more

Great food, well served and well priced. Nice people even to the gringo tourists like us. Creative food, great wine also. Great "local" place! read more

My brother in law told us to try this restaurant and we had lunch there. My husband had the pasta con sarde which he loved and I had vegetable soup which was delicious. The service was very good, hope to get back there again before we leave. read more