Vino e Pomodoro

Second time, from States. Great local wine list. Pizza Margarita excelent, service great. Convenient with inside/​outside dining.

English speaking waiter was a rare find and they even had a menu in English. They lured us over with a free glass of wine and couldn’t have been nicer. We ordered the clams sauté and bruschetta for an appetizers. Both were pretty good but the entrees… While they looked appealing, they were barely edible. There is some kind of gel they use in their risotto with clams and spaghetti with clams and mussels. I have no idea what it is but it was everywhere — almost like a thick paste but once it touched your lips, the stomach turning experience made the meal pretty much over. We both left our plates nearly full of food. Big no-​no in Italy but we couldn’t handle eating fish tasting glue.

Quick glance:
+ central location
— average food
— pushy, abrupt staff
— long wait time during dinner service
We visited Vino e Pomodoro in September 2012. We were wandering around central Palermo around dinner time and came across this street filled with restaurants. As we were walking down the road, staff from various restaurants were hunting down tourists, persuading patrons into their patch. We were greeted by a charming fella who spoke English and we decided to eat at Vino e Pomodoro.
Once we were seated, we were greeted by another waiter. This guy spoke fewer words of English and was definitely grumpier. When we asked about wine, he very abruptly said the only choices were red wine or white wine, and you would love it. No details about what region the wine is from, what varietal of grape, or anything. Just wine, and you will enjoy the said wine.
We ordered one pizza and one salad between the two of us. This was a busy Sunday evening with most of the tables inside and out completely full, so a bit of waiting time is expected. But I was not impressed that it took over one hour for our food to arrive. If a restaurant cannot cater for that many clienteles, they should not have set up so many tables…
It was a shame, then, that after a long wait, the pizza was only mediocre and the wine of less-​than-​average quality (at € 22 a bottle). The salad was also disappointing, with squidgy croutons and rocket leaves that seem to have seen better days.