Restaurants in Campania
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Ristorante da Ciccio
Sublime local seafood and charming host Carlo make this atmospheric place a heart-stealer. Highlights include tubattone pasta with clams and pecorino cheese, and a zesty mussel soup topped with fried bread and chilli. The wizened man sitting out the front was once the chef. These days he spends his evenings cigarette in one hand, glass of wine in the other, happily muttering to himself.
reviewed
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B
Pizzeria Da Franco
More deli than pizzeria, with hams hanging from the ceiling and bottles of olive oil squeezed onto the shelves, this hugely popular place does the best pizza in town. Served on a metal tray with plastic cutlery, the house speciality comes with tomato, mozzarella, rocket and Parmesan. Expect queues most summer nights.
reviewed
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C
Da Michele
As hard-core as it gets, Naples’ most famous pizzeria takes the no-frills ethos to its extremes. It’s dingy and old-fashioned and serves only two types of pizza: margherita (tomato, basil and mozzarella) and marinara (tomatoes, garlic and oregano). But boy are they good!
reviewed
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D
Nennella
NennellaCasareccio (homestyle) cooking and Neapolitan theatricality collide at loud, unmissable Nennella. Give your name to Ciro and wait for the boisterous staff to call you in. Inside, roguish waiters serve up uncomplicated gems like crispy fried sardines, lip-smacking spaghetti con lupine (spaghetti with lupin) or insalatona nennella (rocket, bresaola and radish salad).
reviewed
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E
Lombardi a Santa Chiara
From J-Lo lookalikes to cantankerous nonni, Neapolitans clamber to get into this faded favourite. Perche? For classic pizza, hearty pasta and finger-licking seafood. Vegetarians are spoilt for choice, with satisfying salads and an artfully combined platter of courgettes, artichokes and buffalo mozzarella. Weekend queues are long, so book ahead.
reviewed
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Gay-odin
Not so much a chocolatier as an institution, Gay-odin concocts some of the city’s finest cocoa creations, including oh-so-Neapolitan chocolate ‘cozze’ (mussels). For a punch to the palate, try the chocolate-coated coffee beans or the fiery peperoncino-cioccolato (chilli-chocolate) combo. This branch also sells Gay-odin’s creamy-licious gelato.
reviewed
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La Stalla
Go up the grand staircase to the large, open-air terrace covered by bamboo awnings and flanked by an orchard of lemon and orange trees. Here a small army of waiters works tirelessly, serving pastas and pizzas, meats and fish. The pastas are fine but it's the wood-fired pizzas that stand out.
reviewed
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Mondo Bio
Flying the banner for organic vegetarian food, this bright shop-cum-restaurant serves a limited range of meat-free dishes. The menu, chalked up outside, changes daily but might include zuppa di soia verde (soybean soup) and polpette di tofu (tofu balls).
reviewed
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Kukai
Sick of spaghetti? Then join the urban-savvy for fresh sushi and real-deal temaki. Sip green tea and choose from a menu that a Tokyoite couldn't fault. As for the takeaway and delivery service - it's as brisk as a Bullet Train.
reviewed
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Pintauro
Another local institution, the cinnamon-scented Pintauro peddles perfect sfogliatelle to shopped-out locals.
reviewed
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Da Cicciotto
Perched on a cliff in the fishing village of Marechiaro, low-key yet elegant Cicciotto is a seasoned charmer. Edible highlights include a sublime carpaccio antipasto (thin slices of raw seafood drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil), lightly battered courgette flowers stuffed with ricotta and a pacchetti pasta dish served with local crab and cherry tomatoes. Desserts such as crostata with lemon cream, wild strawberries and Chantilly cream are equally mesmerising. There’s a warm-weather terrace, and a free courtesy shuttle ([tel] 338 380 93 75, in Italian) servicing various city hotels. Book ahead.
reviewed
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Melius
Beef up the larder (or picnic hamper) at this luscious gourmet deli, where local delicacies include fresh mozzarella di bufala, Graniano pasta, sopressata Cilentana (smoked salami from Cilento), citrusy Amalfi Coast marmalades and liquore alla mela annurca, a liqueur made using Annurca apples. For a self-catered treat, pick up some fragrant bread, a bottle of local Falanghina and some ready edibles; the peppery marinated aubergines and pizza di scarole (escarole pie) are equally divine.
reviewed
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La Taverna del Buongustaio
A stroll through La Pignasecca is bound to whet your appetite. Mercifully, this low-fuss, Totò-loving, white-tiled dining room is a fork plunge away. Written menus are traded in for fast-talking, white-capped cooks who speed through the daily specials with seasoned dexterity. Don’t stress! It’s all fresh, faithful home cooking, from the moreish fritto misto (mixed fried seafood) to the sublime spaghetti alle frutte di mare (spaghetti with mussels and clams). A local favourite; it’s best to book ahead.
reviewed
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Tarallificio Leopoldo
Made with pepper, almonds and pork fat, oven-baked tarallini mandorlati (savoury almond biscuits) are dangerously moreish and readily available at this fourth-generation bakery- pasticceria. For a sugar hit, try the buttery taralli zuccherati (sugared taralli); the ones without the icing sugar are best. Taralli’s traditional rivals are also available here, from babà to a wicked cannoletto crammed with chocolate butter cream and dipped in dark chocolate.
reviewed
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Da Giona
Right on a sandy beach with views of Procida and Ischia, this retro, sun-bleached restaurant enjoys cult status in Naples (book ahead on weekends). The seafood dishes are simple, fresh and lingering, from the antipasto misto (which might include fried courgettes and prawns, marinated carpaccio and octopus salad) to an unforgettable spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams). If the weather’s on your side, request a table on the raffish deck, and while away the hours with a local Falanghina.
reviewed
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Il Garum
The kind of place you keep coming back to, this cosy osteria (wine bar that serves food) blends whitewashed walls, linen-clad tables and softly glowing wrought-iron lanterns. Delicately flavoured, revamped classics are the order of the day in dishes like rigatoni with shredded courgettes (zucchini) and mussels, and an exquisite grilled calamari stuffed with vegetables, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan. All the cakes are made on the premises and there’s live Neapolitan music once or twice a week.
reviewed
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Antica Cantina di Sica
While the softly lit vaulted ceilings and genteel vibe recall central Italy, this wonderful gastronomic hideaway is true to classic regional fare made with salutary attention to detail. The generous antipasto is an inspiring introduction (think tender tripe in fragrant tomato sauce and buttery melanzana parmigiana), while the frittura mista (mixed fried seafood) stays crispy to the last bite. The homemade desserts (try the velvety cassata napoletana) are equally inspired.
reviewed
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Europa Mattozzi
A dignified dining institution that has wowed the best of them – Anita Ekberg signed the plate in the window. Colourful ceramic plates line the walls, while seasonal classics line the menu. While the antipasto misto (mixed antipasto platter) makes for an inspiring prologue (we adore the delicate artichoke and potato frittata), trust your waiter’s suggestions – whether it’s the grilled squid with endive or the soothing pasta Genovese, you’ll be toasting like a Swedish goddess. Book ahead.
reviewed
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Di Bruno
Discerning palates flock here for upper-crust Italian fare, a 350-strong wine list and impeccable service. Seafood is the undisputed star, with offerings such as a show-stopping spaghetti ricci e cicinielli (spaghetti with sea urchin and whitebait) guaranteed to please the picky. The pasta is made from scratch, as are the desserts, which may include a spectacular tortina di cioccolato (chocolate tartlet), best accompanied by a glass of Barolo Chinato.
reviewed
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Q
Antica Osteria da Tonino
Just shy of 80, the quick-witted Tonino (nicknamed JR by his wife, who still runs the kitchen) is still going strong, just like his heirloom osteria. At the front, time-pressed signore pick up their takeaway orders and a bottle of red. At the few packed tables, Rubinacci suits, old-timers and the odd Nobel Prize winner (Dario Fo ate here) tuck into hearty, honest grub like rigatoni ragù e ricotta (rigatoni in a meat and ricotta sauce).
reviewed
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Ristorante Palazzo della Marra
Sit down to innovative regional cuisine under the vaulted ceiling of this tastefully restored 12th-century palazzo. The menu strikes a good balance between seafood and meat with dishes ranging from paccheri with sword fish and prawns to smoked duck with fennel cream and beef fillet in thyme. Desserts are also given a creative touch, as in tiramisu with cream of pistachio. The lunchtime menu, comprising a pasta, main course and side dish, is good value.
reviewed
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L.U.I.S.E.
A chic little deli that’s a gourmand’s playpen, L.U.I.S.E. peddles everything from plump local cheeses to homemade foodstuffs and bottles of luscious wine. In the back room, lunching nine-to-fivers tuck into warming osso bucco, nourishing risottos and homemade gnocchi. Busy travellers can take away, with freshly fried pizza fritta, crisp arancini and sugar-dusted pasticcini crema amarena (pastries filled with cherry cream).
reviewed
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Scaturchio
In a city infamous for belt-busting temptations, this vintage pasticceria enjoys cult status. While you’ll find all the local classics (including a particularly luscious babà), the star attraction is the ministeriale. A dark-chocolate medallion invented in the 19th century, the ingredients of its liqueur-laced ganache filling are a closely guarded secret. At the time of research, a frescoed tearoom was set to open upstairs.
reviewed
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Maktub
Mandolins and wall plates? Try yellow paper lanterns and a gnarled tree trunk growing out of the dining room floor. Add barrel-vaulted ceiling, candlelight, DJ and a laid-back crowd, and you start to get the picture. Go for the scialatielli con pomodorino (pasta with cherry tomatoes) or zucchini e pancetta (pasta with tomato, courgettes and bacon) and finish off with the naughty sbriciolona di Nutella (chocolate salami).
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Ristorante Scarabeo
Behind a veritable jungle of lemon trees lies the venerable kitchen of Signora Battinelli. With husband Francesco, she whips up classics like fritelle di basilico (fried patties of bread, egg, Parmesan and basil) and home-made aubergine-and- provola ravioli. They breed their own rabbits, make their own falanghina (a light, fruit-forward white wine) and it’s all yours to devour under a pergola of bulbous lemons.
reviewed
