Delightful in every single way! While visiting Mondello (a suburb of Palermo) in the off season, we…read morewere struggling to find a decent place to eat that was open. We were beyond thrilled to be seated at L'Angolo when we wandered in at 8pm on a Sunday in February. What followed was some of the most attentive service and delicious, creative seafood we've experienced in Italy!
The charming waiter had lived and worked in Miami for several years and was happy to chat with us in English, explaining the menu, making wine and food recommendations, explaining the history and origins of their Sicilian dishes... Did you know, for instance, that caponata takes its name from "capone," Italian for mahi-mahi because this "poor man's" dish was traditionally made with that fish which is ample and inexpensive in Sicily? We had their version with swordfish that was just out of this world! On our waiter's recommendation, we also started with the fried baby squid (my favorite!!) and sardine balls.
My husband and I shared two pastas which they graciously plated individually/in half portions for each of us. The real win of the night though came when I told them that my mother in law didn't eat seafood. Any other restaurant would have scoffed at us and maybe brought a plate of noddles with olive oil. However, our waiter asked what she wanted, and when she declared Alfredo Fettucini (a dish known only in America), he didn't bat an eye. Instead, he took her request to the kitchen and brought out, what I must admit, was a damn good plate of pasta.
Sadly, we were too full for dessert, even though the promise of housemaid tiramisu, panna cotta, etc. was so tempting. We'll just call our amazing bottle of Sicilian D'Avola Nero our dessert and be sure to save room next time!