8 Best Restaurants in Naples, Italy

In the Neapolitan smorfia, a list of numbers used to analyze dreams (and play the lottery), "50" means bread, and kalò is the Greek for good. And good dough is on the menu here, with this airy pizzeria gaining accolades since opening in traffic-busy Piazza Sannazaro in 2014—the New York Times hailed the pizza among the best in Italy. Along with all the favorites, third-generation pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo’s creations include a selection of vegetable pizzas with locally sourced toppings including cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and capers. The wine list is worthy of the best restaurants, and there's a good range of beers.

For a hot-out-of-the-oven sfogliatella, Naples's tasty ricotta-filled pastry, try the justifiably famous Attanasio (you can grab one as soon as you get off the train). Note, though, that this place is slightly hidden away off Piazza Garibaldi and shouldn't be confused with the touristy restaurant of the same name on the piazza itself.

You may recognize Da Michele from the movie Eat, Pray, Love, but for more than 140 years before Julia Roberts arrived, this place was a culinary reference point. Despite offering only four types of pizza—marinara (tomato, garlic, and oregano), Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, and basil), cosacca (tomato, pecorino, and basil), and marita (half marinara, half Margherita)—plus a small selection of drinks, it still manages to draw long lines. The low prices may have something to do with it, but the pizza itself suffers no rivals, so customers are good-humored while waiting. The sounds of the boisterous, joyous atmosphere and the aromas of yeast and wood smoke waft out onto the street; get a number at the door, and then hang outside until it's called.

There are a few restaurants called Sorbillo along Via dei Tribunali, but this one is world-renowned. Order the same thing the locals do, namely a basic Neapolitan pizza (try the unique pizza al pesto or the stunningly simple marinara, with just San Marzano tomatoes, wild garlic, and oregano) that's cooked to perfection by the third generation of pie makers who run the place. The pizzas are enormous, flopping over the edge of the plate onto the white marble tabletops. Be warned though, there is no booking system, and you'll have to line up for a while, but an entrepreneurial local on a nearby balcony often entertains the crowds with Neapolitan songs.

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.

This century-old pasticceria is famed for its fiocco di neve (snowflake), a delicious pastry ball filled with cream and ricotta cheese, created in 2015. Chocolate and pistachio are among the recommended variations.