Restaurants Overview

As the birthplace of pizza, Naples prides itself on its vast selection of pizzerias, the most famous of which -- Da Michele, Sorbillo, or Trianon -- deserve the encomium "incomparable." Many Neapolitans make lunch their big meal of the day, then have a pizza for supper. Note that "pizzerias" in Naples does not simply mean the linoleum-floored, neon-lit ones you'll find back in New York City. Here, they range here from hole-in-the-walls to full-scale restaurants.

When it comes to i secondi (main dishes), you can find a first-rate chicken offering, but the reason visitors to Naples want to eat seafood is a good one: geography. Naples's position, hugging a rich bay, has guaranteed that marine creatures feature prominently on local menus. Marinated seafood salad (insalata di frutti di mare) is a classic antipasto, as well as marinated white anchovies (alici). Spaghetti con le vongole veraci (with clams, garlic, and a baby's fistful of chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley) is of course a popular and dependable standard, as are myriad variations on linguine or fresh pasta with mixed seafood (mussels, shrimp, clams, and so forth), usually "stained" with fresh cherry tomatoes.

As for seafood Neapolitan style, the best -- spigola (sea bass), pesce spada (swordfish), and, if you can find it, San Pietro (sort of a sole for grown-ups) -- is grilled simply and ennobled with a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Fresh calamari, kissed lightly by a grill, can be exquisitely delicate, but the fried version, which can be uniquely satisfying, is, alas, too often done these days with frozen squid.

There isn't a surfeit of expensive, luxury restaurants in Naples for one simple reason -- the city's rich and fashionable prefer to dine at Naples's circoli, or private clubs, rather than at restaurants. No matter. When it comes to Neapolitan food, veterans know that the best restaurants are the simplest. But wherever you head, you'll be delighted. After all, you're in Naples, and the mise-en-scène -- Vesuvius as a backdrop to your flambéed chicken -- can't be beat. Note that many restaurants in Naples close for at least a week around August 15th to celebrate the Ferragosto holidays.