5 Best Restaurants in Centro Storico, Naples

Set on a corner of the chicly bohemian Piazza Bellini for more than 70 years, this staple Neapolitan restaurant is worth visiting just to observe the waiters, all of whom seem to have just stepped off the stage of a Neapolitan comedy. Although the neighborhood is a bit scruffy, this place proudly retains an old-world feel, with options that include a fine (if rather small) pizza and classic seafood dishes such as linguine al cartoccio (baked in paper) or con mezzo astice (a type of small lobster). Go up the narrow stairs to the spacious dining rooms, or squeeze in at one of the outside tables in summer.

This restaurant's name translates roughly to "room of taste," but the tastes here are many and extend from the traditional to the gourmet and ultramodern. Start with the antipasto di pesce (seafood appetizer), experience the glory that is Naples in the gattò delle due Sicilie (cake of the two Sicilies; Sicilian eggplant with a cheese fondue and a pesto mustard), or bow to contemporary sensibilities with the menu vegetariano km zero (all local vegetables of the season). With its recycled chairs and tables and vintage-style ads outside, this place exhibits a strong but pleasing personality. The cheese-and-wine parlor downstairs has an easygoing ambience, while the room upstairs is more of a slow-food den.

As its name suggests, this gracious trattoria atop a flight of steps on a small side street near Naples's main university is popular with the artsy intelligentsia, but it manages to remain welcomingly low-key. Warmed with touches of wood, it prides itself on its fresh interpretations of Neapolitan classics, with excellent salami, mozzarella, and frittura appetizers, cabbage soup fragrant with good beef stock, and meat and fish grilled over wood. Desserts include Sicilian cannoli—crisp pastry tubes filled with dark chocolate mousse or ricotta cream. Finish your meal with a choice of liqueurs or Neapolitan moka coffee.

Conveniently close to the archaeological museum yet surprisingly off the tourist beat, this small eatery is patronized by professori from the nearby Academy of Fine Arts and theatergoers from the Teatro Bellini next door. A specialty here is the blend of seafood with vegetables—try the mezzanelli con cozze e peperoncini verdi (long pasta with mussels and green peppers) or paccheri al baccalà (large pasta tubes with codfish). If you prefer meat, try the brasato alla genovese con funghi (braised beef with mushrooms). The service at Osteria is both swift and obliging, and they have one of the best wine lists in the city.