The best restaurants in Naples right now (2024)

Run by the charming Alfonso Mattozzi, who greets all his customers like old friends at the door,Europeo Mattozziis a properinstitution. The wood-panelled dining room, decorated with historic prints of the city, is a second home for a cross-generational mix of professionals at lunchtime. By evening, itdraws a sophisticated crowd of regulars who can count on Alfonso’s simple but high-quality home-style cooking for a low-key night out.

Price:Mid-range

Trattoria da Nennellais Naples’s best-known trattoria, not so much for its food as for its loud and chaotic atmosphere where purposely rude waiters play up to their unruly reputation by dancing on tables, throwing plastic plates of ragù across tables and – as you may have heard – serving fruit at the end of your meal in a big ceramic toilet seat. Afterwards, dip into equally rowdy Bar Cammarota for a spritz to let off some steam.

Price:Bargain

Neapolitans take meal times extremely seriously, meaning there are a plethora of tiny trattorias that cater to workers unable to get home for a warm meal.Cibi Cottiis a historic lunch spot tucked away in the Mergellina covered market. It serves freshly made staples such as gnocchi alla sorrentina, parmigiana and grilled vegetables to builders, shopkeepers and lawyers from nearby offices.

Price:Bargain

Located inMercato della Pignasecca, one ofthe city’s most historic and lively open-air markets, at first glance Pescheria Azzurra seems like any ordinary food stall sellingseafood. But this market gem, recognisable for its eclectic blue tiles, Madonna statues, and sparkling string lights transforms into an open-air, casual restaurant with folding chairs and high-top tables for a memorable weekend lunch or late-night al fresco dinner. While the service is nonchalant, the menu offers a range of simple and some of the freshest seafood platters, from fried calamari and decadent plates of spaghetti with clams to marinated salmon and anchovies. Accompany the meal with a cold beer or pitcher of house wine for a wholesome Neapolitan experience.

Price: bargain

Easily mistakable as one of the bassi– ground-floor apartments – that punctuate the narrow alleyways of the Old Town, thestoried Cantina della Sapienza, formerly a wine cellar, appears unchanged since it opened more than a century ago. Fewer than 10tables are crammed into the warmly lit dining area, where workers chat in thick Neapolitan dialect as they enjoy large bowls of pasta e patate and tumblers of cold red vino sfuso.

Price: Bargain

At the top of several steep steps, a single lantern marks the vine-covered entrance to this tiny restaurant. Knock at the door, and you’ll be welcomed with open arms by Marcellino Amato, a former insurance broker who in retirement made it his aim to establish one of the city’s best Italian restaurants. Alongside young chef Marco di Martino, he has succeeded at Taverna dell’Arte.

Price:Mid-range

‘Garum’, an anchovy concentrate used by the Romans, now gives its name to Ristorante Il Garum, one of the best fish restaurants in the historic centre. Tucked inside the picturesque Piazza Monteoliveto, opposite the stunning Renaissance façade of Chiesa di Sant’Anna dei Lombardi, this well-located restaurant makes the ideal spot to watch the world go by. Enjoya carefully curated selection of fresh fish dishes and drink local Greco di Tufo white wine.

Price: High-end

Add’u Fratemo is a true favourite among locals, whopass the time smoking out in the street or watching the football on a TV propped up in the corner. Just off the Pignasecca market in Montesanto, this cosy restaurant’s specialitiesinclude abundant sea food antipasti and linguine ai frutti di mare.

Price: Bargain

Behind the fruit and veg market in upmarket Vomero is Trattoria Malincolico, marked by a simple faded sign above the door reading ‘Vino e Olio’, nodding to its former life as a grocery store. The family who owns the place serve Neapolitan classics with a refreshingly laid-back approach to service. The clientele comprises visitors and local market sellers refuelling after a long morning’s bartering.

Price:Bargain

Before the cholera outbreak in 1972, Marina di Santa Lucia was home to generations of co*ckle-farming fishermen. Today the small harbour is filled with an array of elegant sailing boats, around which you’ll find some of the city’s smartest restaurants. While away an afternoon at La Scialuppa overlooking the water and indulging in fresh fish and pasta dishes served on traditional Vietri plates.

Price:Blowout