Palermo Restaurant Italian Cucina

The food is outstanding — truly. The bread alone is phenomenal, and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone based on the food alone. Unfortunately, my experience was affected by an interaction with one staff member. When I arrived, my waitress was initially friendly and accommodating. As I was leaving, I asked for restaurant recommendations in the area since I travel for work. While she did offer a few suggestions, she then looked me up and down and began commenting on dress codes. I was wearing sweats to a casual restaurant on a Sunday night (which I had researched beforehand), and in that moment I felt judged and embarrassed. I didn’t speak up at the time, but I hope this feedback reaches her. Please be mindful of how comments and mean looks can affect guests. You never know what someone may be going through or why they are dressed the way they are. That evening, I was dealing with a very difficult mental health battle and simply wanted a quiet dinner to feel better. A little awareness and kindness can go a long way. Sincerely, The girl in sweats dining alone.

The inside is a little small. The food was PHENOMENAL. I got the pollo Alfredo. The bread comes with garlic olive oil and balsamic with herbs in it. I asked for extra garlic and they nailed it. I have had so many Alfredo’s and I’m very picky. This is hands down the best one I’ve ever had. I even like the mushrooms. I hate mushrooms!! My boyfriend got the linguini seafood extra spicy. He was just as pleased. It was loaded with seafood and so flavorful. We will SO be back.

This place is well worth a visit! The staff are friendly and helpful. The food is excellent and served fresh. Expect to wait a bit while they prepare your food because they are freshly baking items like bread, calzones, etc. They serve freshly backed bread and provide oil and balsamic vinegar while you wait. The portions are generous and the flavors are rich! This place doesn't look like much from the outside, but you will definitely find the food to be far beyond the outside appearance. While the bars on the windows can attest to this place maybe being in a slightly rough area of town, we went during the day and didn't really see anyone loitering on the streets. I did ding the place a little for Atmosphere because of the appearance of the neighborhood in general, being a bit run down, the outside of the restaurant not looking like a nice restaurant (bars on the windows don't help), the inside not having booths, and the decor and ambience not quite hitting the marks. That being said, it is a restaurant and the food is completely worth the visit. Try it yourself and you'll know!

Excellent find! Family owned, and run. Large number of choices on the menu, very reasonable prices, and service was excellent as brother cooked, and sister served. Highly recommended!

I went here for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago and the food was spectacular, I had the chicken picata over mashed potatoes and the vegetables it was all fantastic. Yes it's a hole in the wall and in a not so desirable side of town but inside is quaint and cozy just like restaurants I've been to in Italy the price is moderate 2 to 3 dollar signs depending on what you order. I highly recommend giving this gem in Modesto a try.

I liked that they had oldies playing softly. Made for a nice atmosphere. Waitress was friendly, answered all our questions and made some great suggestions. They serve warm slightly crunchy great tasting bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I enjoyed every dish that was ordered. I’ll definitely be back if only for the warm bread.

Great food, servers. I had the seafood linguine, clam chowder and the wife had the chicken pesto calazone. It was huge and she liked it. We sat down and the server brought fresh hot bread with oil/balsamic to dip. Will definitely go again.

Pleasant place,more of a traditional family eatery. beer and wine selections. Outdoor seating available. Not many vegan options. Fresh bread, olive oil/vinegar(delish) while you wait. We had a meatball and spinach Calzone- although we found no spinach in it, it was still good. And an antipasto salad. Both were large portions.

I just had a birthday lunch at Palermo Restaurant. It was WONDERFUL! Food as well as staff were simply AMAZING! I highly recommend Palermo and it is my go-to for Italian food and an extremely comfortable environment.

We celebrated my moms bday a day earlier due to us not all being together for her actual birthday. She absolutely loved the food! We all did. They are not stingy when it comes to serving wine, the service is great only one server handling it all so smoothly. They have a drive thru too! That is so awesome, they implemented it during Covid era and have stuck with it. The restaurant is small but cozy it's located in not the best of neighborhoods, but that street has two great restaurants Lao's kitchen and this one. We will definitely be back and try more of their menu.

The food is outstanding -- truly. The bread alone is phenomenal, and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone based on the food alone. Unfortunately, my experience was affected by an interaction with one staff member. When I arrived, my waitress was initially friendly and accommodating. As I was leaving, I asked for restaurant recommendations in the area since I travel for work. While she did offer a few suggestions, she then looked me up and down and began commenting on dress codes. I was wearing sweats to a casual restaurant on a Sunday night (which I had researched beforehand), and in that moment I felt judged and embarrassed. I didn't speak up at the time, but I hope this feedback reaches her. Please be mindful of how comments and mean looks can affect guests. You never know what someone may be going through or why they are dressed the way they are. That evening, I was dealing with a very difficult mental health battle and simply wanted a quiet dinner to feel better. A little awareness and kindness can go a long way. Sincerely, The girl in sweats dining alone.

I have never been disappointed with any meal here! I love the penne paisano the most! the service is so great too! the waitress knows exactly what we want everytime we go.

Was our fist time here due to good review everything we order was excellent and taste really good ... customer service needs a lot of work didn't get ask if we like a refill or even ask to take our order we had to let the girl know we were ready to order didn't come ask us if we need anything at all. Over all the food was good but service can be a lot better and friendlier

Small place but the food is great. The service was excellent. The bread and vinegar was excellent

Food was very filling and delicious!! Tasted like pasted down recipes ! Recommend if you want Italian food!

Amazing lasagna and calzone. Iced tea is excellent. Service perfectly done Small place Off street parking

Delicious food! This is the second time I attend and I have enjoyed their pasta. Their clam chowder is delicious as well as their chicken Alfredo. The waitresses are very nice and attentive. The only dish I disliked was their calamari.

Very good food. Not cheap though. And the neighborhood is poor. Take out available.

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.

Wow, The best Italian food ever. I had the chicken cacciatore my wife have a lasagna. Best clam chowder. We will definitely be back at least once a week. Our server Chendre was amazing. thank you so much for the amazing food and great service.

Sorry, what I meant to say, was chicken parm. It was amazing!!! And again the service was amazing, the drinks were amazing and the ambiance was amazing.

Hella Bomb Food! Waitress was very nice and helpful. Highly Recommend!! Diamond in the ruff for sure.

Was good a lil unsalted but good over all a 4/5! The service was good and all Was very cozy

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? Haha As 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!

We love Palermo! Its our favorite spot for special occasions. Everything we order is delicious, prices are reasonable and service is always great.

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.

Service is good. I cannot thank our server enough. Food has become not good. I have had chicken Parmesan many times and it is now consistently tough and barely able to be cut. We came back one more time to give it a final chance. I then had spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were pasty and seemed like a frozen product. Was not good at all. $12 for Bread pudding and out the door at $67 for 2 pasta dishes. Though service good, food isnt and unfortunately we will not return. Its a shame. We liked this place alot. We are done. .

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.

My first visit and won't be my last. Upon arrival the outside area looked a little sketch and didn't want stop but thank goodness we did. The place was packed and for good reason. The food we ordered was amazing and plentiful, enough to share with each person at our table. They started us out with fresh homemade bread, I think focaccia with a herb infused oil and vinegar dipping sauce. We had the Farfella Gratinate, Chicken Parmesan and Penne Paisano it was all too good. The service we received was EXCELLENT!! My hope is to go back and try everything on their menu. Enjoy!!

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.

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

Best Italian food I ever had. The clam chowder was amazing. A diamond in the rough for sure! Give this place a try, you will love it.

Never ever disappoints this place!! Great food, cutest server. Great service and atmosphere. 10/10

I love this spot. It truly is a hidden gem in the West side of Modesto. Good side bread, good pasta and good service :) Very big portion sizes too My go to is the spinach and cheese ravioli. Come here with your boo thang. You won't regret it

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

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.

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

I consider myself a cioppino connoisseur. I try it in every restaurant that offers it. Phil's, in Moss Landing, was my go-to, ultimate cioppino. I'd dream about it. However, that is no longer the case. The cioppino at Palermo in Modesto is by far the best I have ever had. If the bowl had been a little bigger, or if I were a little smaller, I would have jumped into the broth and swam around. IT IS SO GOOD. The hostess/waitress is friendly and helpful. Ambience is nice. Parking is right next to the restaurant. My husband had the linguine and clams. He is a chef by trade and makes this dish often. He loved it ! We will be back.

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

This Hass to have been my 20+ time visiting this location. The thought never occurred to send a review regarding my experiences. I can only think because the food is so good. I never had a room to think otherwise. This review is long past due. This location has amazing customer service, amazing flavors. I can literally come here once a week. Well, I think Italian food in Modesto area. This is the only location I would come to. I hope that my review will influence many to come and give them an opportunity to impress your pallet . I typically get chicken or seafood today. I tried eggplant, parmigiana, and I am not disappointed whatsoever. I literally just told the gentleman here that no matter what it is I guess it's all very tasty. I wish Yelp allowed us to get more stars. This place deserves it. Hoping that Yelp will allow us someday to give a gold star to amazing locations that stand on customer service an amazing flavors. Great job Palermo I will be back again and again

Delicious scampi Alfredo. I would definitely recommend this place. Location is kind of a sketchy neighborhood.

Menu has many options. Food is delicious. The marinara sauce is amazing! Ten times better than local Italian franchise. The service was excellent! I will be going back soon for sure

The best Italian food I had in a long time! So glad I found them on here, was craving Italian food for a while and it definitely exceeded my expectations! Great service as well!

Such delicious and authentic Italian! I always get the pollo d' Parma, it's so delicious, cooked just right with delicious mashed potatoes, the creamy sauce is perfect and the veggies are on point!

My husband and I went there for the first time a few days ago after reading great reviews about Palermo. The food was delish, the service was excellent, and they had a fairly nice wine list. Also, I had called the day before as I'm vegan, and the woman I spoke to was super friendly and helpful in suggesting certain items on the menu. We will definitely be back!

This place is so underrated. I have driven by this place 1000 times and always said I would go and today was the day. They start you off with soft and flavorful garlic bread with a balsamic vinegar dipping sauce. For dinner, I had a Pollo Parmigiana with Alfredo sauce . So much favor and it felt like home. The waitress we had was very helpful and friendly which makes a place that much more enjoyable. It's very quiet and calming in itself despite the outside environment. They even have a drive through window for call ahead orders.

We went here for the first time tonight and I have to say the food was delicious! It was better than my favorite Italian restaurant in San Jose...the staff were so incredibly nice and the service was great! The restaurant was clean and quaint, so excited to find this gem. We will definitely be regular visitors! Thank you for making my daughter's birthday extra special this year!!!

Great Restaurant! Superb Service! Food was also very good. We came after a wedding so our party was about 11 they were expecting us. Upon arrival instantly Bruschetta, and Caprese along with warm bread and dipping sauce (basil,lemon,balsamic, oil) We also had a bottle of Cabernet that was delicious. We ordred the alfredo sauce with pene pasta amd shrimp and the other option was a bow tie red sauce with chicken. Both delicious! I can't give prices since I did not pay but from looking at the menu that was on the table it looked pretty reasonable moat plates were under $20

I have been coming here for years!! My husband have date nights here as well. Our servers are always pleasant and make you feel like family. I told co-workers about this place and we have come several times. It does not disappoint. Their food is DELICIOUS and the staff is EXCELLENT! Oh and you can call in your order and drive through to pick it up. LOVE IT!!

Service was Excellent all orders were prompt and correct. Nothing crazy expensive BUT CRAZY GOOD!! They do offer Catering.. they will be catering our office party of apprx 75ppl. Sure to delight everyone. We all had to like the food sooooo.. how better to determine that?? It was very very good. Our server was on it.... she was all alone but didn't skip a beat.. couldn't recall her name..SWEET SHE WAS THANK YOU

Wonderful little Italian restaurant. Our server was really nice and gave great recommendations for us being 1at timers! Good house wine and homemade bread and balsamic dip was amazing. Not in the best section of town, but we went when it was still light out. White sauce and meat sauce were great. Spumoni had tons of cherries in it and was the best we have ever had. The only thing I would like any different here, is I would love to hear some authentic Italian music. Other than that, we will be returning soon!

This is my go to spot for awesome conversation, the waitress Shawndra (oh dear I hope I got that right) will remember you a year later...she is amazing. The food...oh my...my favorite item is the lemon picatta chicken with no potatoes. I love the lemon capers and that white wine sauce is almost drinkable. The fresh bread and the balsamic vinaigrette is irresistible. Palermo is a world recommend any day of the week. And don't get me started on a spaghetti "to go" that'll stand up in the fridge and be just as good the 2nd day for a leftover. Try it..you may like it as much as I do.

A gem of a find ... was looking for someplace to take our parents to celebrate 65 yrs and didn't want to do a chain restaurant! Service: EXCELLENT FOOD: EXCELLENT Ambiance: was just right, it has the feel of a mom and pop restaurant done just as you'd expect an Italian restaurant to feel! Odds of returning: Absolutely yes Favorite dish was chicken parmigiana

Ordered takeout more than once and it was amazing! Everything was fresh, they did not forget anything, and we all ate TOO MUCH!We'll be back!

What a treat! The customer service Liz provided to us was amazing. She took time to share her favorites with us and shared about the restaurants history. Our food was absolutely delicious and so flavorful. The portion size was good as well. We also enjoyed to bread appetizer they serve. Large menu selection. For reference, it's all table seating. Can't wait to go back..oh and they offer their menu to go.

Okay this place is a hidden treasure if I've ever found one. Let me tell you it's delicious, the food is so fresh and flavorful, it's exactly what you're looking for trust me. Not to mention the service was impeccable, super welcoming and friendly right as soon as we walked in. Then from then on you would've thought we were family visiting from out of town, Chendre was so attentive and helpful. This was the vibe and I'm so glad to have found it. Definitely a new favorite spot, can't wait to bring people here.

Stopped in tried out some dishes and the food was ok, not bad or great. Friendly service in a nice clean place. The only problem was the outside of this establishment is located on the wrong side of town. No shade in parking lot.