26 Best Restaurants in Naples, Italy

In the evening, this fourth-generation fish shop becomes a trendy spot to enjoy an aperitif and a light meal. If you want to experience superb Neapolitan sushi and cold wine while sitting on a buoy stool, get here early: service is 7:30 pm–10:30 pm. A full fish lunch is served Tuesday–Sunday.

Run by the Di Porzio family since 1916, Umberto is one of the city's classic restaurants, combining the classiness of its neighborhood, Chiaia, and the friendliness one finds in other parts of Naples. Try the paccheri 'do tre dita ("three-finger" pasta with octopus, tomato, olives, and capers); it bears the nickname of the original Umberto, who happened to be short a few digits. Owner Massimo and sisters Lorella and Roberta (Umberto's grandchildren) are all wine experts and oversee a fantastic cellar. Note that Umberto has been catering to diners with a gluten allergy, as well as to vegetarians for years.

Named for Neapolitan character Pulcinella’s girlfriend, this gem is in the one-time oratory of the adjoining church, which became a sawmill in the early twentieth century. The high tufo arches and period fittings have been maintained, and the food is to-die-for----pizza is the popular choice, with an adventurous menu, and there is also a selection of pasta dishes. The owners grow much of the produce on their farm in nearby Sant’Agata dei Goti.

Just off Via Toledo, this simple restaurant with outside tables in summer serves good pizza and other southern Italian favorites. Try the gamberoni alla Posillipo (prawns in a seafood sauce made with cherry tomatoes) or the pignatiello di mare (octopus, calamari, prawns, and other seafood on fried bread).

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 baccalà alla Siciliana, made with potatoes, tomatoes, olives, and capers. Wash it all down with a bottle from their extensive wine list.

Just off bustling Via Toledo on the basalti flagstones of a narrow Quartieri Spagnoli street, this small trattoria does superb-value, classic Neapolitan dishes. Take a seat at one of the small tables with checkered tablecloths and ask the amiable staff about the day's freshest seafood, meat, and vegetable dishes, while taking in the atmospheric surroundings.

At Ambrosino, ideal for a quick snack, you can take your pick of the pizzas and pasta dishes, or ask the owners to whip up a panino made from the excellent cheeses, vegetables, and meats on display. The uniformly high-quality ingredients make up for this place's spartan surroundings.

Favored by meat eaters who can't abide another bite of bream, this dimly lit cozy dining den is known for dishes such as tender carpaccio with fresh artichoke hearts. There are also excellent house-made pasta selections, including orecchiette with chickpeas or alla barese (with chewy green turnips), but the highlights are the extravagant grilled meat plates. Finish up with a babà or slice of pastiera for desert.

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; this place is hidden away off Piazza Garibaldi.

Since 1938, this place has been popular with kids (and decidedly not with health-conscious adults) thanks to its greasy brown-paper bags filled with deep-fried eggplant, zucchini, zucchini flowers, zeppole dough balls, and potato croquettes—the Neapolitan versions of French madeleines. Forget all that stuff about the Mediterranean diet being so healthy and indulge in some oil-drenched bliss.

This stylish place took the Naples dining scene by storm a few years back, and it remains popular thanks to the innovative cuisine of master chef Diego Nuzzo. A bar runs the length of the restaurant, where salami and other glorious tidbits are served. But for the real deal, take a table and be pampered with subtle dishes such as insalata di aragosta e gamberi alla catalana (lobster and prawn salad garnished with citrus). Large groups can book a private room.

The premise of this innovative eatery is to weigh the delicacies diners choose from the adventurous buffet and charge by the pound. In recent times they have introduced a menu of fixed-price bowls, a Neapolitan variation of Hawaiian poke—the squisita (exquisite) includes rice, octopus, hummus, and cherry tomatoes, and there is also a vegan option. The open kitchen looks over a large communal high table with stools, and outdoor seating overlooks the throbbing Piazza Beliini.

At this perfect place for a lunchtime snack, you point to what you want in the tempting glass counter, and pay for it at the cash desk. Among the specialties are the usual frittura, tangy cheese pies (sfoglino al formaggio), pizza scarola (an escarole pie with black olives), and slices of omelets stuffed with spinach, peppers, or onions. If you can't find a seat, you can stand against the wall, as some customers do, or just get your order to go and enjoy your meal outside.

This well-known trattoria–wine shop sees everyone from foodies to students and professors from the nearby university. The menu on the wall's blackboard changes daily, but there is always a good selection of pastas, meat, fish, and vegetable side dishes. Go for a plate of pasta e fagioli or octopus salad and fried anchovies with a carafe of a good local wine.

With a balanced array of mainly land-based cuisine, owner-manager Gaetano's unpretentious eatery attracts students and young professionals, mainly regulars from the school of medicine around the corner. It's busy and small (expect to share a table—and if your fellow diners are not shy, why should you be?), but the prices can't be beat and the daily selection of a good dozen vegetable side plates merits a detour of its own, even if you're not a vegetarian.

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 actors, but it manages to remain welcomingly low-key. Warmed with touches of wood, it prides itself on its fresh interpretations of Neapolitan classics: excellent salami, mozzarella, and frittura among the appetizers, cabbage soup fragrant with good beef stock, and meat and fish grilled over wood. Typical Neapolitan desserts, such as babas and the familiar crunchy almond cookies called quaresimali, are served with house-made liqueurs.

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, the Pizza Anastasia, with cherry tomatoes and lots of premium mozzarella. A wide sidewalk and the partial pedestrianization of Via Santa Lucia make this a pleasant venue for alfresco dining in summer.

Right on Piazza Gesù, this restaurant is a good place to sit outside, relax, and people-watch after a tour around Spaccanapoli. It caters to diverse palates and budgets: pizzas are served here at lunchtime. Alternatively, opt for the single dish linguine al coccio, combining pasta with locally caught fish.

The classic address for sfogliatelle is Pintauro, which rarely disappoints. Try one of these fresh from the back-room oven.

Famed for its fiocco di neve (snowflake), the deliciously creamy pastry ball was created in 2015 by this century-old pasticceria.

The bright, clean, and simple decor reflects this place's lighter take on traditionally heavy Neapolitan food. The soupy pasta e piselli (with peas) is a wonderful surprise for anyone who has bad memories of pea soup, and the penne alla scarpariello (pasta with fresh tomato, basil, and pecorino cheese) is a specialty to set taste buds quivering.

This cheerful trattoria seems to be run for the sheer pleasure of it, and chatting locals give it a buzzy Neapolitan atmosphere. Try the excellent fish or the traditional (but cooked with a lighter modern touch) pasta dishes, 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.

Just 50 yards from the main Capodimonte gate, this no-nonsense eatery has photos of its dishes prominently framing its entrance. Favored by locals as well as day trippers to the park and museum, the friendly owners will talk you through the day's specialities, as well as offering an inexpensive set menu. Fish is a favorite, with fried calamari and alici always available.