Palermo Restaurant Italian Cucina

My wife and I found ourselves at this place for the first time on Valentine's Day. The decor and ambiance were unremarkable...nothing fancy and the place is located in a somewhat shady part of town just west of hwy 99 on H Street. Also, the dining area is a bit small, and the way the tables are situated made me feel like people were standing right over our table as the place started to get busy. Interestingly, the menu is on the table top located between the table and a glass top with lots of dishes to choose from.So, what they lacked in decor and ambiance they certainly made up for in flavor and service. The wait staff were very friendly and engaging, definitely knew the menu, answered questions, and gave excellent recommendations. As for our meal, for starters, we had the fried calamari 4/5. It was a little bland but it was breaded perfectly and cooked perfectly. Nothing a little extra seasoning in the breading wouldn't fix. One drawback, though, was that it comes with basic tartar and cocktail sauce served in a plastic "to go" cup like you would put salsa in from a local taqueria. Even the Parmigiano cheese is served in the salsa cups.My wife ordered the Fettuccine Rocka 5/5, which came with sundried tomatoes, shrimp, and scallops topped with a delicious creamy sauce. I have never had Cioppino, so I ordered the Cioppino Soup 4/5, which was definitely a soup and not what I expected from viewing tons of photos on Yelp. It didn't come with crusty bread for dipping like I have seen in so many pictures. I also think they were a little lite on the amount of seafood they put in the dish, but THAT BROTH! OH MAN, IT WAS THE BOMB! SO much flavor!All in all, we had a pleasant time and will definitely eat here again to try other things on their vast menu, and the portions are generous. Btw, they do make pizza, which ironically is not listed on the menu. They get 4/5 stars from me, not so much due to little things like the salsa cups, but due to their price point. I think it is overpriced for such a lack of amenities as of the date of this review. It could be a deal breaker for some, as you will see when you expand the menu pic. Like I said, I will eat here again, just not too often.

Ok how do i start this review? The location is very sketchy. It's not in the best area of Modesto but I wanted to know the yelp hype. I wanted to see if this place was really worthy of all them stars. We walk in and there were two families enjoying meals. So far that's a good start. The interior is nothing fancy. We were quickly greeted and seated. We glanced over the menu and I was wowed. So many delicious options. So many that I had the waitress pick between two options. She suggested the spaghetti carbonara. There is only one bathroom. The weird part is there is a sofa seat in front of the toilet. Is that the waiting chair for the toilet? HahaAs we waited for our food, the waitress brought out bread. Now if the bread is good, you know darn well the food will be good. The bread was DELICIOUS! I am screwed. One piece turned to two pieces. I had to cut myself off of the bread. I would keep eating it. The food came out and it's time to eat. Everyone please be quiet while I enjoy this delicious meal. This food was delicious. The pasta was cooked perfectly. The sauce was thick and creamy. Talk about not judging a book by its cover or let's say location. This place was so good that the wife and I want o bring the kids in to enjoy. We es it was that good. A huge shout out to our waitress. You were WONDERFUL!

A little hole in the wall place that provides fantastic clam chowder, chicken marsala, and there's Seafood ravioli is outstanding

Italian night!We arrived shortly after opening time and were the second table to be seated. We were greeted as we stepped into the restaurant and were told to take any open table. Hot rolls and olive oil and balsamic were brought out as we perused the menus that were on the table under glass. The rolls were excellent while hot and still okay as they cooled. The server offered additional rolls to the other tables, but we didn't finish ours, so we weren't asked. She wanted Crab Cakes. There were two Crab Cakes to the order. They were cut in 1/2 and laid out with sauce under and on top. Half of the plate was taken up with Salad. For the price point, the Crab Cakes were okay, but the salad was even better, especially after we dragged it through the warm sauce from the Crab Cakes. Kind of like a creamy Italian Dressing with Capers. I think that if they had laid the Crab Cakes on top of the sauce and not put more sauce over the Cakes, they would have been crunchier and more to my liking. She like her Linguine and enjoyed the quantity of seafood that it came with. I thought that my risotto was okay albeit a bit salty, but then I'm salt sensitive. Service was decent. He gave us as much time as we needed to figure out what we wanted and then checked back with us several times. I guess we must have looked full. No dessert menu was offered, so we paid and left.

This place was so good. Took my husband here for his birthday. Great service and amazing food. I will definitely be back soon.

First time here and we really enjoyed it. It's not in a great neighborhood, but.. we felt safe & we were able to park car right in front of restaurant. Its on the west side just across 99 hwy. The restaurant is clean but don't dress up because it's just one of those, (that we in the foodie world) say, "hole in the wall" place.but don't let that stop you from this homemade food. I ordered the eggplant parmigiana (crispy) at the advice from our lovely server Chendre. **I love it when you have a server who knows the menu & you walk away feeling like you made a friend because they are honest, attentive and personable**The eggplant was delish. Crispy is the way to go for sure. The sauce on the spaghetti was also good and spaghetti was perfect-- not too over cooked. Don't be surprised w/the card fee when bill comes... (because most restaurants are now adding a card fee if you don't pay cash). And, they do not serve tap water with ice... only bottled Crystal Geyser that is $1.50 each. I haven't experienced that in a restaurant locally to date. I think when you ask for water, you should be told it is only bottled and the fee upfront. And, maybe counteract that cost by saying there is not a fee for that delicious bread basket? Just a thought. Im a person who does not like surprises.My bf had the linguini & clams and it was also very very good in the white wine garlic sauce. The bread basket that came to the table piping hot was soooo good. The dipping sauce was a perfect blend of oil, vinegar and Italian spices. We had to pull ourselves away from it. we were pleasantly stuffed when we left. Definitely will be back and looking forward to it.

Best clam chowder we've ever had! Everything here has been amazing! The bread and oil & vinegar they serve is delicious as well.

This place is great! The area is obviously a little sketchy but! They have a parking lot right next to the restaurant. You will be perfectly fine Decent amount of seating inside. Not huge tho! When we went 2 parties where there and eventually we were the only people there. Group of 8 by the way. The menu is huge! Tons of pastas. Calzones. Polo dishes. Yum. The customer service is perfect! They give you warm bread. One of my most favorite Italian places!! You have to try it out if you haven't yet.

Quality isn't the sameChicken parm was small chicken breast The sauce was canned and not fresh.

Yes! This place is outstanding! It's clean, prices are very reasonable, and service was excellent!They serve a little basket of yummy bread to start, which I value because, aren't we all hungry when we arrive at a restaurant? I'm a diehard fan of spaghetti in meat sauce, so that's usually my go-to. Some restaurants will simply put some spaghetti in a bowl and then ladle the sauce on top, but I don't like that. Thankfully, here at Palermo, they don't like that either, because they toss it together before serving it! Now THAT is the way spaghetti should be! And the sauce is magnificent! Out server was delightful and the restaurant is quaint and lovely.