A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Naples

  Neapolitan Pizza

For eating and drinking, few other places come close to Italy. Sometimes, though, this love of food can translate into high prices. But (from the budget traveler's point of view, at least) Naples gets the balance just right between great food, relaxed surroundings and attractive prices.

Attracting fewer visitors than some other Italian cities, eating out in Naples can be a genuinely authentic experience. Family-owned ‘trattorie’ and charming old neighborhood ‘enotece’ (wine bars) line its attractive historic streets.

Napoli is famous for being the home of the classic ‘Margherita’ and for the general quality of its pizzas. And the difference? It’s all in the crust. Unlike elsewhere in Italy, where the crust tends to be thin and crunchy, a slightly thicker, softer crust is preferred in Napoli.

But the city’s got much more to offer than just pizza. With its location on the edge of the Mediterranean, there’s also a plentiful supply of fresh fish, as well as all the other wonderful dishes you’d associate with Italian cooking.

One of the best, most scenic (and busiest) spots is near the Castel dell'Ovo in the Borgo Marinaro region of the city. Here, there are many small and pretty ‘trattorie’ to choose from, all offering a good selection of typically rustic, southern Italian fare.

Out to the east in the Mergellina, the Piazza Sannazzaro has plenty of good places to choose from, while the smart suburb of Chiaia also has several excellent places to eat.

But the best place to find budget food in Naples is the city’s pleasantly dilapidated ‘centro storico’. Dotted around the narrow streets of the Quartieri Spagnoli (around Via Toledo), great quality food is served - and sometimes at incredibly low prices - to a largely local clientele.

Across the Spaccanapoli (and especially in Via dei Tribunali), there’s another concentration of cheaper places to eat, including the odd spot where you can still get a pizza served to you by the slice and over the counter for next to nothing.

An even more affordable option is to head for one of the city’s markets. In the streets of La Forcella (to the east of the Piazza Garibaldi), you can stock up on some cheese, crusty bread and a bottle of good cheap wine and then make for the Villa Communale or the Parco Virgiliano.

Naples is also known for its sweet tooth and there are few better ways to escape a typically sweltering, southern Italian day than in one of the many ‘gelaterie’, perhaps over a bowl of the classic ice-cream that bears the city’s name – the Neapolitan.

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