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Eating
Neapolitan cuisine consists of simple dishes cooked with fresh, healthy ingredients . Also, as city is not primarily a tourist-geared city, most restaurants are family-run places used by locals and as such generally serve good food at very reasonable prices. There’s no better place in Italy to take pizza, at a solid core of almost obsessionally unchanging places that still serve only the (very few) traditional varieties. You’re never far from a food stall for delectable snacks on the move, or you can always pick something up from the city’s street markets in La Forcella or the fish market at Porta Nolana.
Restaurants and pizzerias
Alla Brace , Via S. Spaventa 14-16. Good, cheap alternative just off Piazza Garibaldi that has well-priced pasta dishes and main courses. Closed Sun. Antica Trattoria da Carmine , via Tribunali 330. An unobtrusive trattoria which boasts a great central location and serves up tasty standards - Don Carmine’s seafood is particularly good. Closed Sun.
Antonio & Antonio , Via Francesco Crispi 89. A cheery no-nonsense place which dishes up enormous pizzas from L5000/¬2.58. No closing day.
Bellini , Via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli 80. One of the city’s most famous and longest established restaurants, though it’s whispered that the place may be resting on its laurels. However, it still dishes up delicious pizzas and a very good selection of other, especially seafood, dishes. It also has a great convivial outside terrace on the street, screened by foliage. Closed Sun evenings.
Bersagliera , Borgo Marinaro. Fine food, especially seafood, though inevitably you pay for the location, slap next to the Castel dell’Ovo, and for the ” O Sole Mio ” minstrels who wander between the tables outside. Closed Tues.
Brandi , Salita Sant’Anna di Palazzo 1-2, off Via Chiaia. One of Naples’ most famous pizzerias, said to be where they invented the pizza margherita in 1889 in honour of the visiting Queen Margherita of Savoy. Very friendly, serving pasta and (excellent) pizzas from L8000/¬4.13. In the evening, the tables outside in the candlelit alley are a lovely place to sit. Closed Monday.
California , Via Santa Lucia 101. Another city institution, though a rather different one, serving a menu that’s an odd hybrid of American and Italian specialities. Best for its full American breakfasts. Closed Sun.
Canterbury , Via Ascensione 6. Strangely titled Chiaia restaurant near the Pignatelli museum that is one of the best-value places in the area. Pasta dishes are particularly good - try the penne alla vodka . Closed Sun.
Da Ciciotto , off Via Marechiaro, Posillipo. Hole-in-the-wall place where in fine weather you can sit outside and enjoy the bay. Good seafood and fish. To get there, follow Via Marechiaro to the end, where it opens out onto a small piazza. Take the steps off the far end that lead down to the sea. Turn sharp right at the bottom of the first flight. Closed Wed.
Dante e Beatrice , Piazza Dante 44. A long-established restaurant that trades slightly on its reputation, not least in its rather brusque service, although its menu of traditional city specialities is still not at all expensive - and you can take outside. Closed Wed & late Aug to mid-Sept.
Da Ettore , Via Santa Lucia 56. An inexpensive, no frills, favourite neighbourhood restaurant. Short, reliable menu includes pizza, with wines from Campania, Sicily and Tuscany. Closed Sun.
Da Gennarino , Via Capuana alla Maddelena 1-2. Again among the best pizzerias in the city, well situated (opposite the Porta Capuana) for hungry arrivals by train. Closed Mon.
Gorizia , Via Bernini 29. Unpretentious Vómero restaurant close to the Centrale and Chiaia funicular stops that does good antipasti, great mini-pizzas as well as a good selection of main courses. Try the speciality of the house - veal wrapped around prosciutto and mozzarella. Closed Wed.
Lombardi a Santa Chiara , Via B. Croce 59. Another well-known and well-respected pizza restaurant, and with a varied menu besides pizza. Closed Sun & most of Aug.
O Marenaro , Via Casanova. Around the corner from Piazza Garibaldi, opposite the CTP bus station, this is a great place to try zuppa di cozze , with a couple of tables outside. No closing day in summer; closed Wed in winter.
Di Matteo , via Tribunali 94. A terrific and well-located pizzeria - one of the best and most famous in the city; Bill Clinton popped in for a pizza during the 1994 G7 summit. Closed Sun.
Da Michele , Via Cesare Sersale 1-3. Tucked away off Corso Umberto I in the Forcella district, this is the most determinedly traditional of all the city pizzerias, offering just three varieties (allegedly the only three worth eating) - marinara, margherita and ripieno . Don’t arrive late, as they sometimes run out of dough. Closed Sun.
Da Pasqualino , Piazza Sannazzaro 79. Inexpensive Mergellina restaurant with outdoor seating and great seafood and pizzas. A good bet also for takeaway pizzas if you’re staying at the nearby youth hostel. Closed Tues.
Da Peppino Avellinese , Via S. Spaventa 31. The most welcoming and best value of the many options on and around Piazza Garibaldi, with terrific antipasti. Used by tourists and locals alike. Closed Sat in winter, otherwise open every day.
Port’Alba , Via Port’Alba 18. Old-established pizzeria just off Piazza Dante that has a wide-ranging menu including very good fish dishes, besides its excellent pizza. Said to be the oldest pizzeria in Italy. Closed Wed.
Spaghetteria , Via G. Paladino 7. Inexpensive plates of pasta in a youthful restaurant patronized by students from the nearby university. Also features a great-value menu turistico (L14,000/¬7.23). Closed Sat lunchtime & Mon evening.
Da Tonino , Via Santa Teresa a Chiaia 47. Friendly and frenetic restaurant with large tables, around which everyone sits. Try their pasta e fagioli and pasta e ceci soups and, on Fridays especially, the seppie in umido - steamed cuttlefish. Closed Sun.
Trianon (da Ciro) , Via P. Colletta 46. Lively Forcella pizzeria that is a nearby rival to Da Michele (above), but serving a wider range of pizzas. Open daily.
Al Triunfo Mario , Vico Il Duschesca 10. Great, cheap and favourite eatery just off the Porta Capuana end of Piazza Garibaldi. Cheap pizza and pasta, and spit-roast chicken. Always full of locals and workers. Closed Mon.
Umberto , Via Alabardieri 30-31. A long-time favourite choice among the professional classes of the Chiaia district, serving marvellous food in somewhat smooth and old-fashioned surroundings that belie the moderate prices. Closed Wed.
Cakes, snacks, cover cream
Attanasio , Vico Ferrovia, off Via Milano. Bakery that specializes in sfogliatelle (ricotta-stuffed pastries). Gambrinus , Via Chiaia 1-2. The oldest and best-known of Neapolitan cafés, founded in 1861. Not cheap, but its aura of chandeliered gentility - and outside seating on Piazza Trieste e Trento - makes it worth at least one visit.
Café Letterario , Galleria Principe di Napoli 6-7. An elegant café inside the galleria, within striking distance of the Museo Nazionale. Also sells books and posters, and has Internet access (L5000/¬2.58 for 30min; L10,000/¬5.16 for 1hr).
Remy Gelo , Via F. Galiani 29a. Off Via Caracciolo, near the hydrofoil terminal, this place does superb cover creams and granite .
Scaturchio , Piazza San Domenico. Another elegant old city standard, it’s been serving coffee and pastries in the heart of Spaccanapoli for decades. Has a small back room but is mainly a place to grab a quick coffee and pastry and move on.
