Aja Mola - Trattoria di mare

Very daring and experimental seafood restaurant. Aspiring female head chef looking to get her first Michelin star and deservedly so! I had the spaghetti with scampi, shellfish bisque, cocoa, black garlic, paprika, mantis shrimp and shiso. A little on the rich side but very enjoyable. To start I had the med fritto misto which was a great start! I asked for a little salt though. All and all would definitely go back to explore more of the menu

The restaurant was recommended by a friend and the food was nice, modern as the chef is experimenting with new tastes and textures (it might not be to everyone’s taste ) the portions were small. Service was excellent and very accommodating.

Suck the brain. A bold motto - as is the tasting menu. Unfortunately, bold does not mean good in this case. The menu started off with a small fried triangle that contained burning hot oil to burn your entire mouth. Taste was fish/prawn - alright. Off to a good start. Next up were raw prawns with an oyster mayonnaise that didn't taste like oyster at all. Actually quite good but more focus on the prawns would've been great. Next we had to "suck the brain". The question is: Why? Just putting two severed prawn heads on a plate and telling us to suck it is just low effort. There was no special taste, smart modification or even spice on it. Just cooked heads. This is their statement dish and it just doesn't make sense. The mackerel with tuna was good although the oregano sauce was tasteless and thin. Then it got worse. Pasta with cocoa sauce, a slimy piece of prawn (intestines?) and a few pieces of lobster. Terrible dish. Unbalanced, way too rich. It is not fun to eat and it tastes outright bad. I get the idea but the execution is just not right. The pasta itself was on point though. Next up squid. The 100% guarantee of sea-based food didn't matter anymore apparently. Chicken jus and sweetbread. This dish was pure fat and two of us couldn't finish it because it was so rich. Even the mushrooms tasted just like fat. Again, not enjoyable at all. The fish of the day was more mackerel and it came with sardella and raisins. The sauce tasted like the cocoa sauce from the earlier dish again and didn't harmonize with the fish at all. Bitter, unpleasant. Then we were served some blueberry(?) sorbet with olive oil and capers. We got no explanation what it is (even though we asked, they just left). The sorbet wasn't sweet and adding the capers made no sense. It was neither good nor enjoyable. The highlight of the menu was the dessert. Not only because you're finally done with tasting the menu but because it's actually good. Buttery, sweet, smooth with a nice crunch. The staff was unmotivated, unfriendly and most of all absent. We weren't served any drinks for well over an hour. They just put the plates on our table, read the dish name and left immediately without any explanation of what we were served and what the chef wants us to experience. At least we got more cutlery for every dish than we could ever use (two forks and a knife for the pasta?). The wine recommendation was a frizzante which was fine. Overall I recommend staying away from this restaurant and go find another one. Palermo has so much more to offer.

Had a really delicious meal with great service. The raw platter and eel ragu pasta were standouts. The service was extremely friendly and helpful. Probably the best meal I had in Palermo, especially if you like seafood. There was an English menu, the servers were fluent in English, and they were great about accommodating allergies

Modern and complex cuisine where everything still has a touch of true Sicilian tradition. They were very kind to let us share dishes. Highly recommend it!

Aja Mola is a fresh and modern restaurant that offers a brilliant alternative to the classic trattorie so common in Palermo. We went for the seven-course tasting menu, and it was a delight from start to finish. The waiters were attentive throughout, and the sommelier took the time to truly understand our wine preferences. Special mention goes to the dessert: a playful pane, burro e alici transformed into a sweet dish with butter ice cream, crisp bread wafer, and anchovies—one of the most original and memorable desserts I’ve had in a long time. Absolutely recommended.

The fish fillet was tasty but really embarrassingly small. However the selection of raw seafood was simply beautiful!

Everything we ordered was amazing—from the super fresh tuna tartare and fusilli with tuna, to the crispy panko cod with babaganoush. The Riccia with caprino and pear was delicate and delicious, and that dessert (crumble with gelato and anchovies!) was wild—in the best way. Great vibes, friendly service, and some of the most interesting flavours we’ve had in Italy. Can’t wait to come back!