FUD Palermo: Sicilian Burgers on Piazza Olivella
Who founded FUD Bottega Sicula, which Sicilian meats and cheeses go into its burgers, what they cost, and where else to eat a burger in Palermo.
The FUD Palermo burger is made at FUD Bottega Sicula, Piazza Olivella 4, a short walk from the Teatro Massimo in Palermo’s historic centre. Andrea Graziano, a former food blogger, opened the first FUD in Catania in 2012 with one idea: American burger classics built only from Sicilian ingredients. Want a burger in Palermo that tastes of the island rather than of a global chain? Start here. Of all the burger addresses I researched in the city, FUD is the one with a named founder, a dated history and a stated origin for its key ingredients.
Looking for Ciccio Sultano’s burger in Palermo? There isn’t one. The two-Michelin-star chef cooks creative fine dining at Duomo, Via Capitano Bocchieri 31 in Ragusa Ibla, roughly 250 km by road from Palermo, and burgers are not on his menu (Michelin Guide, checked 3 November 2026). His only Palermo address we found is at the airport: see the FAQ below.
FUD Palermo at a glance: key facts
FUD Palermo is a Sicilian street-food restaurant serving burgers, panini, pizza, salads, cured meats and cheeses, with continuous service from 12:00. I checked every line of this table against the official site and Italian press coverage on 3 November 2026.
| Name | FUD Bottega Sicula |
| Address | Piazza Olivella 4, Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
| Founder | Andrea Graziano |
| Founded | 2012, Via Santa Filomena, Catania |
| Palermo venue open | By 2015 (reviewed by Dissapore in October 2015) |
| Historic Palermo partner | Gianluca Cigna |
| Concept | American classics, Sicilian ingredients only |
| Service | Continuous from 12:00 |
| On the menu | Hamburgers, panini, pizza, salads, cured meats, cheeses |
| Pizzeria next door | Since 14 December 2023, dough with Ciro Salvo of 50 Kalò |
| Official site | fud.it |
Sources: fud.it, Forbes Italia, Dissapore, Scatti di Gusto.
Map of FUD Bottega Sicula at Piazza Olivella 4, Palermo, a few minutes’ walk from the Teatro Massimo and Via Roma. (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
Andrea Graziano, the founder behind FUD
Andrea Graziano opened FUD Bottega Sicula on Via Santa Filomena in Catania in 2012, after years writing a food blog. His rule, as he told Forbes Italia: “Le cose buone devono essere per tutti.” Good things should be for everyone.
That sentence is the whole business plan. The format is American; the meat, the cheese and the onions are Sicilian, and in 2015 a burger cost between €5.90 and €8.90. The formula paid off: Forbes Italia put FUD’s revenue at over €6 million in 2018.
From Catania to Palermo and beyond
Within three years FUD went from one Catania shop to a brand in Sicily’s two largest cities. The Palermo venue on Piazza Olivella was open, and already reviewed by Dissapore, by October 2015, with Gianluca Cigna as the local partner.
Not every experiment lasted. In June 2018 FUD opened a summer seafood bar at the Nautoscopio on the Cala, Palermo’s old harbour, with Cigna and Claudio Bica alongside Graziano (Balarm). A month later it reached the Navigli in Milan with burgers and panini (Scatti di Gusto). The official site now lists only Catania and Palermo, so I treat the Cala and Milan venues as history, not as places to visit.
What makes a FUD burger Sicilian
A FUD burger is Sicilian because its meat, cheese and vegetables all come from the island, most of them from a named town or mountain range. The 2015 Palermo menu used Sicilian beef, Modicano chicken, Nebrodi black pork, donkey from Chiaramonte Gulfi and buffalo.
A Nero dei Nebrodi black pig near Capizzi in the Nebrodi mountains, the breed used for FUD’s Porc burgher. Illustrative photo, not from FUD’s supplier. (Photo: OppidumNissenae, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capizzi\_scrofa\_0002.jpg)
The cheeses and vegetables read like a map. Provola from the Madonie mountains, east of Palermo. Ragusano DOP from the south-east. Sweet onion from Giarratana, in the Hyblaean hills. The menu even spells English the Sicilian way: “burgher”, “Checiap”, “Am burgher”. It is a small joke, and I like it: this kitchen is serious about its ingredients, not about itself.
Wheels of Ragusano DOP, the Sicilian PDO cheese from the province of Ragusa that topped FUD’s Porc burgher. Illustrative photo, not taken at FUD. (Photo: Popaitaly, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ragusano\_Cheese.jpg)
FUD Bottega Sicula menu: the signature burgers
The Bec, the Shek and the Porc are the burgers that defined FUD Palermo, each built around one Sicilian meat and one Sicilian cheese. Here they are as Dissapore described them in October 2015.
| Burger (2015 menu) | Meat | Toppings | Price in 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bec burgher | Sicilian beef | Seeded bun, provola delle Madonie, crispy guanciale | €8.90 |
| Shek burgher | Donkey from Chiaramonte Gulfi | Smoked buffalo mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, sweet Giarratana onion, barbecue sauce | €8.90 |
| Porc burgher | Nebrodi black pork | Confit tomatoes, cabbage, Ragusano DOP, raw onion, fennel seeds | Not stated |
| Cis burgher, Checiap, Am burgher | Entry-level burgers | Classic builds | From €5.90 |
These are 2015 prices, not today’s. FUD does not publish its current Palermo menu or prices on fud.it, and I could not confirm them on 3 November 2026. Expect them to have risen, and check the board at the counter before you order.
Burgers and pizza: FUD Palermo since 2023
FUD Palermo is now a burger bar and a pizzeria. On 14 December 2023 it opened a pizzeria next to the Piazza Olivella venue, with a dough developed with Ciro Salvo of 50 Kalò, the Naples pizzeria, in a space designed by André Ballà (Gambero Rosso).
Can’t agree on burger or pizza? On Piazza Olivella, you don’t have to.
Is FUD worth the visit? My verdict
Yes, if you want a burger that tells you where you are. FUD is the only Palermo burger venue I could document with a named founder, a dated history and a stated Sicilian origin for its key ingredients, across coverage by Dissapore, Forbes Italia, Gambero Rosso and Scatti di Gusto.
There is no rating here, on purpose. We rate only places we have reviewed against our own method, and with no published menu or prices I cannot score what you will be served today. What the sources do show is an idea held for more than ten years: local meat, local cheese, fair prices. My advice: order the donkey or the Nebrodi pork if either is on the board. You will not find them in a chain.
Other burger spots in Palermo, Sicily
Beyond FUD, Palermo’s burger scene splits between local independents and the global chains. I list only venues whose facts I could check on their own pages.
- Ciccio’s Burger started in March 2021 as a delivery-only dark kitchen and now has sites at Via Isidoro La Lumia 30, Viale del Fante 50 (Stadio) and Via Boris Giuliano 21 (Sperlinga), plus Terrasini. A 100% gluten-free lab opened at Via Principe di Paternò 15 in March 2026. Burgers use a 170 g beef patty and cost €6.50 to €11.90 (cicciosburger.it, checked 3 November 2026). Despite the name, it has no link to chef Ciccio Sultano.
- Tritalo, Via Principe di Belmonte 84/A, opened in May 2017 as a gourmet burger restaurant founded by Melania Caruso and Vincenzo Manrico Pecoraro. It now trades as Tritalo Mediterraneo, a meat-cuisine restaurant (Italia.it).
- Burger King on Via Roma is the chain option: see my Burger King Palermo guide with Via Roma address, hours and menu.
Burger prices in Palermo, in euros: FUD’s 2015 menu (€5.90 to €8.90, Dissapore) against Ciccio’s Burger’s current range (€6.50 to €11.90, cicciosburger.it). FUD’s 2015 prices are historical. (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY 4.0, data from Dissapore (2015) and cicciosburger.it (checked 2026-11-03), rendered with QuickChart)
Names such as Encanto Burger, PPP Burger, MAD Sicily and Mignòn appear on aggregator lists, but I could not verify them against official sources, so I leave them out. For every burger address we cover in the city, see our best burgers in Palermo city guide. For how a Hamburg sandwich ended up with Nebrodi pork in Sicily, read our history of the hamburger.
FAQ: FUD and burgers in Palermo
Who founded FUD Bottega Sicula, and when? Andrea Graziano, a former food blogger, founded FUD Bottega Sicula in 2012 on Via Santa Filomena in Catania. The Palermo venue followed by 2015.
Where is FUD in Palermo, and when is it open? FUD Palermo is at Piazza Olivella 4, in the historic centre near the Teatro Massimo. The official site says it serves continuously from 12:00; check fud.it for closing times and closing days before you go.
How much does a burger cost at FUD Palermo? Current prices are not published online. In 2015 burgers cost from €5.90 for the entry range to €8.90 for signatures such as the Bec and the Shek; treat these as historical.
What makes a FUD burger Sicilian? Its meat, cheese and vegetables come from Sicily: Sicilian beef, Nebrodi black pork, Chiaramonte Gulfi donkey, Modicano chicken, provola delle Madonie, Ragusano DOP and Giarratana onion.
Is FUD Palermo a burger place or a pizzeria? Both. Since 14 December 2023 a FUD pizzeria with dough by Ciro Salvo of 50 Kalò sits next to the Piazza Olivella burger venue.
Does Ciccio Sultano have a restaurant in Palermo? The only Palermo address we found is I Banchi, an airside Sicilian restaurant at Falcone Borsellino Airport run by Autogrill, open since 17 July 2023. It serves caponata, pasta con le sarde, arancini, pane e panelle and cannoli, but no burgers (Dissapore). His two-star Duomo, open since 2000, is in Ragusa Ibla.
Are there gluten-free burgers in Palermo? Yes. Ciccio’s Burger opened a 100% gluten-free lab at Via Principe di Paternò 15 in March 2026.
