The Restaurant

“Officina del Gusto” is for its patron Antonio Barraco a dream come true after many years. It is the physical and symbolic return in the beautiful historical heart of his beloved city. It is his “made-up time” and is the materialization of a concept woven with beauty, local cuisine, and good taste. Hence, the repossession of his roots cannot have a more charming and representative location other than the old Cassaro, which has seen the happiest and most rousing moments of Palermo. It has witnessed the darkest and dramatic pages of its history, an authentic expanse of magnificent eighteenth-century palaces, glowing baroque churches as well as astonishing aristocratic residences.

The restaurant is in the exquisite and functional “Hotel Quintocanto”, which stands on the vestige of a patrician sixteenth-century palace. The restaurant welcomes its guests into elegant lounges or in a cozy and shaded garden adorned with palms and flowers. On the walls one can admire the beautiful pictures of Pucci Scafidi, a professional photographer with an international reputation. The pictures, characterized by enchanting Sicilian themes, from the fishermen to ancient bottles of Marsala wine, from food ingredients to scenes of daily life, give an additional touch of brightness to a comfortable and relaxing environment, where light tones, in accordance with wrought iron and glass tables and comfortable white chairs, prevail. The modern and functional open kitchen represents another distinctive element of the “Officina”, which aims at strictly interpreting the aphorism “by means of food one can donate happiness and smile”.

The ingredients are of excellent quality and dishes are daily worked on by its competent and talented staff of cooks, in the sign of the seasonal nature, biologic and biodynamic. These properly live on in the courses by virtue of a light and respectful cooking, which return their essence and fragrance, their unequivocal identity and authenticity, without unrealistic ambitions and deprecable confusions.

The service in the restaurant is coordinated by the patron and sommelier Antonio Barraco. He is assisted by multilingual and highly experienced staff who, with grace and discretion aim to make the stay of their guests as pleasant as possible.

For the wine lover it is worth mentioning the distinguished cellar, which offer, for a very attractive price, the best of Sicilian, Italian and international enology. By virtue of special attention to the most recent and vintage wine, an expression of the world of natural and biodynamic wine can be experienced.

All of this occurs in a pleasant, fine and relaxing environment. And – as Stendhal used to say – “beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness”. One can in turn adapt this aphorism to the “Officina del Gusto” and agree with the remarkable statement of Marcel Proust, according to whom “the possibility of pleasure may be a beginning of beauty”.

Nino Aiello