49 Best Restaurants in Naples, Italy

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.

Opposite the Palazzo Croce, once the home of philosopher and historian Benedetto Croce, this is one of the city's most famous pizzerias, packed night after night. The young crowd heads down into the more boisterous basement, while the atmosphere upstairs is calmer and more congenial to conversation at standard decibel levels. On the ground floor you can watch the pizzaioli working the pizza dough, manipulating each pie as if it were a live creation. If it's not too cold there are tables outside on the pedestrian zone.

Just around the corner from the Borgo Marinaro and the Hotel Vesuvio, this famous restaurant and pizzeria offers up its delights in a cool white-and-blue room. Try the house specialty pizza Sant'Anastasia, with cherry tomatoes and lots of premium fior di latte cheese. A range of pasta, meat, and fish dishes is also available. A wide sidewalk and the partial pedestrianization of Via Santa Lucia make this a pleasant venue for alfresco dining in summer.

Patrons of this local institution have included the filmmaker Federico Fellini and that truly Neapolitan comic genius and self-styled aristocrat Totò. It's in a fairly seedy area, but it's worth taking a taxi (especially at night) to get here and sample updated versions of such classics as grilled octopus or tubettoni (short, tubular pasta shapes) with sausage-meat, mushrooms, and provola cheese. There's often a short line of diners waiting to be seated, and the tables are somewhat squeezed together, but the atmosphere is lively. This is not so much a see-and-be-seen place as common ground for the famous and the unknown to mingle, feast, and be merry.

Established in 1936, this quartiere Chiaia favorite is the locals' choice for classic Neapolitan pastries like babà (rum-soaked sponge cake), torta caprese (chocolate-and-nut cake), pastiera (tart), and sfogliatelle (shell-shape pastry), freshly baked bread and panini for picnics and buffet/pastry trays for parties.

If you're trying to keep to a budget but want to enjoy a seafood feast alongside the yachts of the Borgo Marinaro harbor, head to this former tobacco store, now a family-run trattoria. While your eyes feast on all the pretty boats, the Lungomare hotels, the Castel dell'Ovo, and Vesuvius, you can savor classic Neapolitan seafood spaghetti or an impepata di cozze (mussels with pepper and garlic, available May–Aug.). Or just opt for the special made with the fish of the day.

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.

Here you can dine under vaulted ceilings in the former stables of a 17th-century mansion, eat outdoors overlooking the grand Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, or feast from a table on the roof terrace, facing the giuglia (obelisk) di San Domenico. Options include pizze or pizze fritte—with classic or unusual toppings—as well as robust salads and antipasti.

This café is beloved not only for its excellent coffee but also for its beautiful cakes—concoctions of cream, chocolate, and fruit whose swirls of color make them look like abstract Expressionist paintings. There's also a lunch menu.

A hidden gem in the Quartieri Spagnoli, A Pignata is a favorite with locals for its typical Neapolitan cooking. Each antipasto of land and sea is a meal in itself, but save space for the grilled calamari or involtini di cotica di maiale, rolled pork rind stuffed with garlic, parsley, pine nuts, and sultanas. Wash it all down with a bottle from the extensive wine list.

A favorite haunt of students from the adjacent school of architecture, Giuliano has an old-style glass cabinet where it keeps the arancini (fried rice concoctions the size of tennis balls). You'll also find deep-fried pizzas, which are filled with mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto, or ricotta and can truly fill that yawning void in your stomach—though you have to sit down on the steps in the square afterward to recover.

Come here to taste traditional Neapolitan ragù, a meat-based sauce generally served with pasta and prepared from cuts of beef and pork. Here, local cervellatine sausages are included in the sauce, and the young, enthusiastic staff keeps the mood lighthearted and fun. Enjoy your ragù with ziti spezzati (broken ziti pasta) and Parmesan cheese, and mop the sauce up with the celestial Neapolitan rustic bread. There are outdoor tables, and also branches off Piazza del Gesù and in Vomero.

This family-run trattoria exudes a calm, relaxed atmosphere, offering traditional Neapolitan dishes without fuss or ostentation. Try the excellent fish or the pasta dishes, which are cooked with a light, modern touch, especially those with verdure (fresh leafy vegetables) or with patate con la provola (potatoes and smoked mozzarella). Close to Teatro San Carlo and aptly decorated with playbills and theatrical memorabilia, both ancient and modern, this is an excellent place to stop after a visit to the opera house. Look for the entrance almost immediately on the right as you go up Via Nardones from Piazza Trieste e Trento; ring the bell outside to be let in.

A small low-key entrance on Piazza Vanvitelli opens into a labyrinth of underground cellars and a large covered courtyard surrounded by palazzos. This bustling eatery suits a range of palates and budgets, though its pizzas and several variants of filetto (fillet steak) come highly recommended. Portions are large, so be conservative when ordering.

Just 50 yards from the main Capodimonte gate, this no-nonsense eatery is favored by locals as well as day-trippers to the park and museum. The friendly owners will talk you through the day's specialties, and there's an inexpensive lunchtime set menu. Fish is a favorite, with fried calamari and alici always available.

Across the street from its archrival Da Michele—but without the lines stretching outside—this is a classic pizzeria with a simple yet upscale Art Nouveau ambience expressed in soothing tile and marble. More relaxed and upscale than its competitor, Trianon does the classics (Margherita, marinara) in an exemplary manner, but you can also feast on pizza with sausage and broccoli (friarielli). The signature pizza Trianon comes with eight different toppings.

Right outside the Museo Archeologico, this handy lunch stop offers a vegan and vegetarian menu that will appeal to all tastes and dietary preferences. Arched and airy, with white walls, a stone-tiled floor and a profusion of houseplants, the restaurant offers a range of dishes including soups, salads, pizzas, and pastas and has an agreeable air of chat and low-level bustle. Watch out, though, for the elevated prices for the extras.