Osteria Mangia e Bevi

"Culinary Backstreets - Imagine you are Marcel Proust at the beginning of his novel In Search of Lost Time, or the feared food critic Anton Ego in Ratatouille, the Pixar masterpiece that won the 2008 Oscars for Best Animated Film. In the exact moment you taste a madeleine dipped in tea or a forkful of ratatouille, your palate is activated you are catapulted back in time, to that first Sunday morning you tried the dessert or to that time when, after falling off your bike, the dinner your mother prepared you somehow seemed to make everything better. It is this emotion, this involuntary memory flashback, that cousins Nico Virga and Angelo Fascetta had in mind when they opened their restaurant. Located on Via Cavalieri di Malta, behind the Church of San Domenico – known as the Pantheon of Sicilians – Osteria Mangia e Bevi is a charming eatery that offers not only simple home cooking from Palermo, but also a true taste of grandma's cooking. Grandma Antonietta’s, more specifically. "I grew up with my grandparents," says Nico. "My grandmother Antoniette was a great cook, she raised me with the dishes of our tradition. I grew up with this palate; it was her way of coddling me." At 16 years old, Nico lost his grandparents. At 19 he began working in the garment industry, which took him around Sicily and the world, but upon reaching the age of 35 he decided to make a change in his life. "I got tired of always being out and eating sandwiches at the gas station,” he recalls, “and I decided to open this place.” Meanwhile, his cousin Angelo, who also worked in the clothing industry, running two stores, had closed them and moved to Spain following an existential crisis. He returned to Palermo to work as a bartender in his uncle’s restaurant, and as soon as Nico shared with him the idea of opening a restaurant, Angelo jumped on board. "I had my grandmother Antonietta in mind," Nico recounts, "In fact, her soul is in here." They built a menu around the dishes that grandma Antonietta used to cook, staying true to her recipes. For example, at Mangia e Bevi you will not find garlic, not even in the sautéed dishes – precisely because Mrs. Antonietta did not use any in her cooking. Even the suppliers the osteria sources from are the same places where Nico's grandmother used to go shopping. And the desserts, as well as the bread, are homemade. When Osteria Mangia e Bevi opened its doors, Nico was in the kitchen and Angelo in the dining room. They furnished and decorated the place with care, managing to create a unique and distinctive style: you will find glass-topped wooden tables inside which dried beans, pasta of different sizes and Sicilian playing cards are displayed in plain view. On a balcony inside the restaurant, clothes are hung to dry, recreating the typical Sicilian urban and home landscape. After ten years in business, the partners have expanded the space and plan to expand further. They opened a second location in Piazza Marina, following the exact same format. Nowadays, Nico no longer works behind the stove, having delegated the task to his coworkers, but anyone who joins the team at Osteria Mangia e Bevi has only one imperative that they must obey with absolute strictness: absolute fidelity to grandmother Antonietta's recipes, which are respected to the letter. "I am for tradition," Nico states confidently. No gourmet dishes, only typical home cooking: each dish on the menu is a piece of Sicilian history. Here you’ll find the classic eggplant caponata and sarde a beccafico, sardines stuffed with breadcrumbs, pine nuts and raisins. A must-try is the purpiceddi murati, small octopuses drowned in a delicious sauce of peeled tomatoes – don't forget the classic scarpetta at the end: using bread to soak up the sauce. Try pasta with broccoliarriminati, a classic, made not with broccoli but with boiled cauliflower cooked with onion, pine nuts and raisins and a touch of tomato. The whole thing is topped with a generous sprinkling of muddica atturrata, breadcrumbs that are toasted in a frying pan and that once upon a time, in the poorer classes of the population, replaced the much more expensive cheese. Among the main courses, try the mangia e bevi, which gave the osteria its name: rolled spring onions with pork tips, which are traditionally roasted over the fire during picnics in Sicily. Pittinicchi, on the other hand, are pork chops that are slow-cooked in sauce, a real delicacy. But if there is one dish that represents both Osteria Mangia e Bevi and, more importantly, Sicilian home cooking, it is pasta fritta: fried pasta. Pasta fritta is both irresistibly tasty as well as a brilliant remedy against food waste. It is, very simply, leftover pasta that is fried in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. The result is a kind of large noodle omelet with a black, crispy crust on the outside that tickles any palate. At Osteria Mangia e Bevi you will find it in two variations: spaghetti with tomato sauce and fried eggplant, or again with broccoli arriminati. It’s a delicious dish – the type that will catapult you into an involuntary flashback, just like Marcel Proust with madeleines in tea or Anton Ego with ratatouille. Except that Osteria Mangia e Bevi's pasta fritta will make you feel like you’re at grandma's house, just like when Nico and Angelo were children. "

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"Big outdoors place, local food, recommend by our host."

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"In pieno centro città, ottimo per assaggiare la cucina tradizionale palermitana. Disponibilità anche del senza glutine. Carino non elegante, aperto anche a pranzo "

@flav.olosa_glutenfree

"Buon ristorante di cucina tipica palermitana"

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"Genial !! Je recommande. Mon adresse préférée à Palerme. Merci aux serveurs pour leur bonne humeur. "

@loriane.26

"Trattoria tipica palermitana "

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"29/03/2024, notre premier contact avec la gastronomie Sicilienne. Sand a été un peu déçue des polpete. mais les panel étaient bien ainsi que les sfincione. terrasse appréciée néanmoins "

@cygau.tieril

"Plus d'infos dans le Cartoville Palerme 2024 (Quartier C) !"

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"Un des meilleurs restaurants de la ville "

@benjam1.joseph

"One of the restaurant's highlights is a unique version of Pasta alla Norma that sees spaghetti with tomato sauce, eggplants and cheese fried and served directly in the pan."

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"Osteria Cuisine sicilienne"

@agathederoque

"Bon choix de plats Pas trop cher et très bon "

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"Muy reomendado, pasta frita, pescado. Se llena mucho, mejor reservar"

@bertis

"Ristorante senza pretese. Pasta alla Norma cui mancavano melanzane arrosto e ricotta salata. Personale abbastanza scortese. Menu carente di verdure. "

@cat.palmucci

"pasta con le polpette polpette buone, sugo un po' acido, pasta al dente non ci tornare "

@waccos

"Osteria mangia e bevi L.go dei Cavalieri di Malta, 18"

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"Consiglio di Daniela: posto molto carino, semplice e con buoni prodotti - ha il plus di essere attaccato ai grilli dove c'è sempre musica e casino dopo cena."

@smerald

"Posto bello caciarone e vivo. Fantastico il mangia e bevi e la braciola mangia e bevi."

@leobraz

"Restau Sicilian dans le top 3 des recos de Gaia ! "

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"Provato tutto il menu, niente da dire. Prezzo onesto e mangiato tantissimo, consigliatissiml il nero di seppia"

@e.clissii

"Recommandé par pretty hotels https://www.pretty-hotels.com/the-best-hotels-and-beaches-in-sicily/?lang=en"

@valeeztravel

"Delicious Sicilian food, with quick service and less tourists."

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"100% local y casero ⭐️ pasta fritta (ración para 1: 7€, para 2: 12€) o la pasta con polpette (9€). Los segundos de pescado (bacalao, atún) rondan los 12€. Y para la espera, pipas de calabaza. Suele estar lleno, así que es buena idea acercarse y reservar para esa noche o para el día siguiente."

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"Sélection wine enthusiast "

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"Partodamilano/ padella di pasta croccante "

@gbianchi51

"molto raccomandato (da palermitani)"

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"TRATTORIA TRADIZIONALE AUTENTICA"

@rosa.catalani

"Cena tipica easy prezzi ottimi "

@paola.seghezzi

"Recomm Giorgia: recommended by a friend from Palermo for dinner, Mediterranean/tipical Sicilia"

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"Délicieux. Salle a l’intérieur atypique. Repas traditionnel pas trop cher."

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"Cibo top buonissimo posto molto carino economico personale pessimo "

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"Recettes siciliennes, spécialité des fried pasta "

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"Recommandé Giulio et Benedetto. Si complet, il existe une deuxième adresse près du port. Spécialités siciliennes, pasta fritta testée. Vraiment pas cher. "

@clmarion

"Sicilian / pasta Luke should eat"

@karinastolf

"cibo tipico, ottimi prezzi"

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"Cucina tipica, fantastico "

@foronifederico

"Prezzi bassissimi cibo top!!"

@alessiadileo145

"Da andarci assolutamente. Osteria siciliana "

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"Pasta alla norma in piazzetta nel centro di palermo"

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"Sarde al beccafico: molto delicate. Sfincione e panelle: buono Pasta fritta con melanzane: buona croccante, mentuccia sulle melanzane, non indimenticabile. Pasta con le sarde e Finocchiaro: non super 🔝"

@salvatoreariano

"Chiedere di mangiare dentro (locale tipico) "

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"Recommended by Danilo - nice atmosphere, appetizers were good but pasta wasn’t. Quite cheap. "

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"resto plutot bien fréquenté et in gamba malgré les apparences. vpir le cpte insta plus à jour"

@fgenovese24

"Assolutamente consigliato da locali "

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"Per una cucina che parla siciliano, come amano definirla da sè, vi consigliamo l’Osteria Mangia e Bevi, dietro la bellissima piazza San Domenico. Pasta c’anciova (sugo e mollica abbrustolita) (6 euro), cipollotto arrotolato nella pancetta alla griglia (5 euro), cannolo scomposto (3,50 euro) sono solo alcuni dei piatti tipici che propone questa rustica trattoria. Se siete in città per 24 ore, Mangia e Bevi, grazie al tradizionale menu, permette di assaggiare tutte le migliori ricette siciliane."

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"caciocavallo allo Sfincione buono, ma non mi sono piaciuti i bucatini alle sarde "

@nadia.agrillo

"Easy e si mangia bene. Vicino ai Grilli dove c’è musica e movida dopo cena. "

@ingrid.magnoni

"They moved to Piazza Marina 24-28 Palermo"

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"Osteria Mangia e Bevi - le célèbre "manger et boire" Palerme grillé et de bons antipastini siciliens."

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"Pasta fritta con melanzane"

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"Tortino di melanzane, panelle e sfincione, baccalà in sfincione sono speciali"

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"Pasta con le sarde e antipasti buonissimi"

@giorgin4

"Très bon, que des italiens. Linguine al sarde "

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"Antipasti con mangia&bevi (cipolle e bacon), arancine di mare, caponata di melanzane. Paniedda nica (piccola padella) con pasta fritta e spaghetti d’anciova (con le acciughe). Circa 12€ a testa. Sede di piazza Marina. Provata anche sede centrale con bucatini con le sarde alla palermitana."

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"(€) best of: pasta c’anciovie, caponata, cannolo scomposto "

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"Padella con frittata di spaghetti , antipasti buoni"

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"Tratoria spécialité pasta alla Norma "

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"https://www.puntarellarossa.it/2016/09/23/palermo-in-un-giorno-guida-rapida-alla-citta-tre-posti-per-fare-colazione-pranzo-aperitivo-cena/"

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"Un po’ bisunto ma piatti della tradizione. Locale dentro molto carino. "

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"Sfincione, panelle, spaghetti bottarga. Poco ventilato, servizio lento bella atmosfera 8/19"

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"Centrale. Consigliato prenotare. Piatti abbondanti, giusto il prezzo. Personale giovane e alquanto originale."

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"Osteria carinissima. Gentili, gustosi i piatti, bella la sala principale e le piccole. Pieno centro, tanto gusto. Posto consigliatissimo."

@vincenzo.garofalo

"Classifica 9'. Prezzo. € 25"

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"Consigliato dalla proprietaria"

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