Naples Food Favorites: 25 Must Eat Dishes

Naples is famous around the world for its pizza. However Naples has so much more to offer food travelers…. and we’re not just talking about the food in Naples which also happens to be some of the best food in Italy.

Home to the world’s oldest operating opera house, numerous castles, a stunning bay and a majestic yet devastating volcano, Naples is a city where graffiti covered buildings stand next to historic churches and crumbling ruins.

It’s also just a short ride away from Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Royal Palace of Caserta, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

But Naples’ greatest claim to fame transcends its prime geographic location, notable architecture and storied past. This is the city where Pizza Margherita and a slew of tasty Italian food staples were born.

While most travelers visit Naples specifically to eat pizza, savvy travelers explore Napoli’s local cuisine, including pasta and desserts, that rivals some of the best in Europe and beyond. In fact, these Napoli dishes combine to make Naples one of the best food cities in Italy as well as the world.

Discover more of the world’s best food cities.

What’s the best way to eat the food of Naples? Some visitors spend their time grazing through the antique yet chaotic Centro Storico while others make reservations at trattorias and Michelin-starred restaurants.

There’s no right or wrong way to eat in Naples so long as you avoid tourist traps. The city is a mecca for food travelers who enjoy digging into a streetside snack as much as relaxing during a three course meal.

Neapolitan locals and tourists tend to eat all day long. And who can blame them? Thanks to its Mediterranean location and close proximity to volcanic soil, Naples has access to some of the best food products in both Italy and the world.

What these foods have in common is that they’re all better versions compared to what you can find at home… unless you live in Naples. Pizza

The words ‘Naples’ and ‘Pizza’ are inexorably tied together with the city’s pizza rating among the best in the world. Accordingly, you’ll want to eat as much pizza as possible when you visit Naples whether you follow our detailed Naples pizza guide, book a street food tour or attend an interactive pizza-making workshop.

Whichever approach you decide to follow, be sure to eat the following two Naples pizza favorites:

1. Neapolitan Pizza

Neapolitan pizza is famous around the world and Naples’ most famous pie, the Margherita, has become the stuff of legend. Though many attribute the pie’s invention to Queen Margherita’s famous visit in 1889, locals may have been adding the tomato sauce, cheese and basil trio to their pies up to a century earlier.

You can eat this historic pie all over Italy and around the world. But, not surprisingly, the best Margherita pizzas are only available in Naples.

Pizza shops all over the city serve Margherita pizzas made with the same three toppings (fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil) baked to a blistery brown in high temperature wood-fire ovens. They also serve cheese-free Marinara pies topped with tomatoes, garlic and oregano.

Most Naples pizzerias offer additional toppings and pie variations beyond the two standard bearers and some of these toppings, like buffalo ricotta, anchovy, sausage and fresh yellow piennolo tomatoes, are showstoppers. However, you should start your Naples food exploration by eating a Margherita pie and a Marinara pie. Everything after these two will be a bonus.

Where to Eat Neapolitan Pizza in Naples
Pizzeria Concettina Ai Tre Santi, Pizzeria da Attilio, 50 Kalo, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and Pizzaria La Notizia

Pizza Fritta is proof that frying tasty food like pizza is usually a good idea. Most Naples pizza shops serve this pizza variation in addition to pizzas baked in wood-fired ovens.

To make Pizza Fritta, pizzaiolos in Naples fry stuffed pizza dough in hot oil until ‘GBD’ (golden brown and delicious). Typical ingredients include cheese (ricotta, provolone and mozzarella) and meat (salami and ham).

You will find Pizza Fritta at many of the best Naples pizzerias as well as at takeaway stands along Via dei Tribunali in Centro Storico. Whether you eat Pizza Fritta with a knife and fork at a table or in a paper wrapper on the street, eat it right away. Like most fried food, Pizza Fritta tastes best when it’s fresh and hot.

Where to Eat Pizza Fritta in Naples
Antica Pizza Fritta da Zia Esterina Sorbillo, Antica Pizzeria e Friggitoria Di Matteo, Isabella De Cham, La Masardona, Pellone, Pizzeria dal Presidente, Pizzeria da Concettina ai Tre Santi and Pizzeria Tutino

While Pizza Fritta may be the popular street food in Naples Italy, the variety of snacks available at food stands and restaurants is astounding. We recommend sampling the following treats as you graze your way around the city:

3. Frittatina

The Frittatina is proof that pasta fries up just as well as pizza. Neapolitan figgitorie (fried snack stands) and pizza shops sell these deep fried pasta fritters all day, every day throughout the city.

More than just fried pasta, a crispy Frittatina includes ingredients like bechamel sauce and peas. Expect to pay a euro if you buy a Frittatina from a friggitoria and double that at pizzerias.

Where to Eat Frittatine in Naples
Top pizzerias like Pizzeria Concettina Ai Tre Santi and 50 Kalo offer some of the city’s best Frittatine as starters. You can also eat Frittatine at Antica Pizzeria e Friggitoria Di Matteo, Friggitoria Fiorenzano, Friggitoria Vomero and Pizzerias Around the City.

Unlike America where meatballs are served with spaghetti, Napolitanos eat meatballs called Polpette as starters without pasta. They typically fry them up or smother them with savory tomato sauce. Sometimes they even eat them on a cuzzetiello sandwich.

You can eat fried Polpette as a protein-forward snack food while you’re touring Naples or eat the ragù-topped version at a local trattoria. If you want to try the latter, order Polpette in Sugo when you see it on the menu.

Where to Eat Polpette in Naples
Osteria Della Mattonella, Spiedo d’Oro and Tandem Ragu

Available in both sweet and savory versions, the Taralli is a classic Neapolitan snack food sold at bakeries throughout the city. Locals also buy bags of the ring-shaped delicacy at local grocery stores and market.

We first ate savory Taralli made with lard and almonds during a Naples food tour and later bought a small version called Tarallini at a neighborhood supermarket near our apartment. Sometimes we munched on them between meals and other times we paired them with cured meat and cheese.

How you eat Taralli in Naples is up to you. Be warned! They’re addictive!

Where to Eat Taralli in Naples
Antico Tarallificio Poppella, Leopoldo Infante, Panificio Coppola, Tarallificio Esposito, Tarallificio Leopoldo and Local Markets like Conad and Superò

The long and winding history (both fictional and non) of pasta transcends Italy and involves Marco Polo, China and even Thomas Jefferson. The American founding father first ate macaroni when he lived in Paris. That, apparently, is true. In reality, Italians have probably been eating pasta for millennia.

While pasta’s origins and history is debatable, there’s no debate that the versatile food is a staple in modern Italian cuisine. Each Italian region has its own approach to pasta and Naples is no exception to this rule. This is a city where grocery stores devote entire rooms to boxes of dry noodles and chefs skillfully boil pasta al dente.

The question isn’t if you’ll eat pasta in Naples but rather which pasta you’ll like the most. To find your favorite, we recommend ordering the following pasta dishes when you see them on a Naples menu:

6. Pasta Ragù

Ragù rivals pizza when it comes to ubiquity in Napoli cuisine. The meaty tomato sauce graces a myriad of menus, capitalizing upon the quality of tomatoes grown on nearby volcanic soil.

Pasta Ragù pairs the meaty red sauce with pastas like ziti and rigatoni. Cooked low and slow, Pasta Ragù is commonly eaten on Sundays in Neapolitan homes – a tradition that leaped the pond to northeastern states like New York and New Jersey. However, restaurants in Naples serve the dish all week long.

Plan to eat Pasta Ragù in causal restaurants at tables covered with red-checker tablecloths and make sure you save some bread to sop up the last bits of sauce. The final piece of bread is called scarpetta (or shoe) and will surely be the best bread of your meal.

Where to Eat Pasta Ragù in Naples
Da Ettore, Osteria Della Mattonella, Salumeria Upnea, Spiedo d’Oro, Tandem Ragu and Trattoria da Nennella

Possibly inspired by traders from Genoa centuries ago, Pasta Genovese is a Neapolitan food staple with no definitive connection to the northern Italian city. Onions take a prominent role in this pasta’s meaty sauce after simmering for several hours. Once the onions melt, the result is a rustic, luxurious, sweet, saucy, meaty bomb.

Make our Pasta alla Genovese recipe in your home kitchen. It’s delicious.

After eating solid versions at two local restaurants, we hit the Genovese motherlode at Pizzeria Concettina Ai Tre Santi (served in a Frittatina and on the side for good measure) where we literally wanted to lick the bowl. The Genovese sauce was that good.

Where will you find your favorite Genovese version? We recommend trying several in your search for the best pasta in Naples.

Where to Eat Pasta Genovese in Naples
Locanda del Cerriglio, Osteria Della Mattonella, Salumeria Upnea, Spiedo d’Oro and Tandem Ragu

Depending on with whom you’re speaking, Linguine al Cartoccio was invented in Abruzzo, Naples or the Amalfi Coast. Regardless of its specific origin, the dish is an Italian classic that involves cooking a mishmash of seafood, pasta, olive, oil, tomatoes and white wine in foil or parchment paper.

One of the possible inventors of the dish, Ristorante Bellini is the place to eat Linguine al Cartoccio in Naples. Expect your pasta to be joined by fruits de mer like mussels, clams and shrimp after the server dramatically unveils the dish at your table. It’s a showstopper.

Where to Eat Linguine al Cartoccio in Naples
Ristorante Bellini

Although Spaghetti alle Vongole sounds exotic, the name literally translates to Spaghetti with Clams. And that’s exactly what the dish includes plus a few extra ingredients like olive oil, garlic and the occasional volcanic tomato.

Enjoyed all over Italy but invented in Naples, Spaghetti alle Vongole is easy to find at trattorias around the city. It was the last dish we ate before leaving Naples since we needed a break from pizza. Simple and filling, with a lightly slightly briny sauce and just a hint of fresh tomato, it did not disappoint.

Where to Eat Spaghetti alle Vongole in Naples
‘A Figlia d’o Marenaro and Trattoria Toledo

Much of Neapolitan cuisine developed during times when the city and its region (Campania) were poor. Pasta e Patate con Provola is a great example of this culinary history since home cooks prepare the dish with pantry items like potatoes, pasta, root vegetables, olive oil and cheese rinds.

Since we don’t have an Italian cucina (kitchen) or nonna (grandmother), we scratched our potato pasta itch by eating Pasta e Patate con Provola at a neighborhood osteria on a rainy Naples night. You’ll want to do the same if you like comfort food that warms you up from the inside out.

Where to Eat Pasta e Patate con Provola in Naples
Antica Latteria, Osteria Della Mattonella, Osteria Il Gobbetto, Trattoria da Nennella and Trattoria Tufò

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is a Neapolitan pasta with a past. This past may or may not involve whore houses but nobody knows for sure. However, they and we know one thing for sure – Puttanesca is a true pasta powerhouse.

Make our Spaghetti alla Puttanesca recipe in your home kitchen. It’s a flavor sensation.

No wimpy wallflower, Spaghetti alla Puttanesca adds olives, anchovies and capers to create a savory tomato sauce. Just like its home city of Naples, the resulting flavor is big, bold and totally satisfying.

Where to Eat Spaghetti alla Puttanesca in Naples
Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba and Ristorante da Ettore

With a location that kisses the Tyrrhenian Sea, Naples has abundance of seafood that locals and visitors can eat with pasta, in soup or on a plate. The truly pizza-obsessed can even eat seafood on top of pizza.

We recommend the following dishes when you crave seafood in Naples:

12. Cuoppa

In Naples, Cuoppo is the sweet spot where seafood and street food temporarily live in harmony inside a paper cone called a cuoppo.

Expect to eat a Cuoppo with a cornucopia of fried items including proteins like cod, anchovies, shrimp and squid as well as vegetables like squash blossoms, zucchini and eggplant. The veggies make the Cuoppo healthy – that and it’s fish – at least this is what we pretend to believe.

Where to Eat Cuoppo in Naples
Il Cuoppo Friggitori Napoletani and Pescheria Azzurra

Considering the availability and quality of seafood dishes in Naples, you might think that salted cod wouldn’t be a popular dish. You would be wrong. Similar to Portuguese cities like Lisbon and Italian cities like Venice, salted cod or Baccalà is considered a luxury item.

Coined the fish that saved the world by author Mark Kurlansky, imported cod from Norway is especially popular in Naples on Fridays during Lent and on Christmas Eve. Locals eat Baccalà with tomatoes and olives in Baccalà alla Napoletana, with pasta in Spaghetti alla Ghiotta and in creamy Baccalà Mantecato.

Where to Eat Baccalà in Naples
Baccalaria

Like Sushi in Japan and Ceviche in South America, Pesce Crudo is a luxury food in Italy that involves raw fish. In many ways, the simplicity of the dish provides a great counterbalance to carb-heavy dishes like pizza and pasta.

In Naples, the addition of a little acid and a little salt elevates lush local fish to higher levels. If you have time to eat Pesce Crudo in Naples, be sure to pair your meal with a carafe (or two) of local wine. The combination is a winner.

Where to Eat Pesce Crudo in Naples
Pescheria Mattiucci and Crudo Rè

Enhanced by a unique terroir that comprises Mount Vesuvius and the Mediterranean Sea, the Campania region, with Naples at its heart, has some of the richest agriculture in the world. It’s also a great place to explore the staple foods of Italy.

Products include fruits and vegetables which are grown all over the world but somehow these Italian staple foods taste better in Campania. The same goes for meats and cheeses that make food lovers fly half way around the world.

As two of those food lovers, we implore you not to miss the following local products in Naples:

15. Tomatoes

Tomatoes aren’t indigenous to Naples or even Italy. That honor goes to the Americas. But once those tomatoes seeds were transported to the volcanic Vesuvius soil – Voila – Magic!! Plus, rumor has it that Napolitanos were instrumental in adding tomatoes to pasta.

You don’t have to look hard to find tomatoes in Naples. Restaurants and pizzerias use tomatoes in many of the city’s most popular dishes. Cans of San Marzano tomatoes along with multiple brands of tomato passata in glass jars line supermarket shelves. And multiple varieties, both big and small, tempt all who walk past market stalls around the city.

Eat as many tomatoes in as many ways as possible when you visit Naples. The only tomatoes you’ll regret are the ones you didn’t eat.

Where to Buy and Eat Tomatoes in Naples
Local Markets, Restaurants and Pizzerias throughout the City

Known as Broccoletti in Rome and Broccoli Rabe in American cities like Philadelphia, Friarelli is a leafy green vegetable in Naples that’s sautéed with olive oil and garlic and served as a side dish. Friarelli is especially popular during the cooler months of the year.

Unlike sweet figs and tomatoes grown in Campania, Friarelli has a bitter flavor. When we’re at home, we like to pair sautéed Friarelli with garlic and Italian sausage. However, when we’re in Naples we just call it sausage.

Where to Buy and Eat Friarelli in Naples
Local Markets and Restaurants throughout the City

While cheesemakers produce buffalo mozzarella all over the world, only cheesemakers in Campania can produce Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. Recognized as a DOP, IGP and DOC product, Campania’s mozzarella has earned respect and protection both within Italy and beyond the country’s boot-shaped borders.

Unlike Fior di Latte which is produced with cow’s milk, Mozzarella di Bufala uses milk from domesticated water buffalo. Expect to eat the hyper-local cheese on Neapolitan pizzas and in Caprese salads. However, the best way to savor the tangy flavor is to eat Mozzarella di Bufala with a fork.

Insider Tip – Upgrade your pizza from Fior di Latte to Mozzarella di Bufala whenever you see the option on the menu. It’s a high value upgrade.

Where to Buy and Eat Mozzarella di Bufala in Naples
Local Markets and Restaurants throughout the City

Sharing a charcuterie plate and a bottle of wine is a great way to start an evening from one end of the boot to the other. Whereas Bologna is known for Mortadella, Naples is all about Salumi.

Local Salumi produced in Campania includes ingredients like pork, black pepper and spices, but it’s not the only cured meat in town. Expect to eat meats like like Lardo, Speck and Prosciutto from other Italian regions like Emilia-Romagna, Trentino and Tuscany when you order a tagliere during a Naples aperitivo session. If you’re partial to Bologna’s Mortadella, that will probably be on the board too.

Where to Buy and Eat Cured Meat in Naples
Local Markets and Restaurants throughout the City

Eating Naples has its challenges that including deciding where to eat and what to order. Another challenge is saving room for dessert – a must since Neapolitan desserts rank as some of the best in Italy and the entire world.

We’ve eaten enough of them to write a guide featuring the best Neapolitan desserts and pastries. While we recommend that you eat them all, the following sweet treats are the ones you must try if you’re limited on time and/or stomach space.

19. Sfogliatella

For the uninitiated, a Sfogliatella is an addictively tasty pastry that comes in two main styles – Riccia and Frolla. Order a Sfogliatella Riccia if you prefer eating a flaky, layered pastry or a Sfogliatella Frolla if you’re partial to a shortcrust pastry shell.

All Sfogliatellas are stuffed with cream filling made with sweet ricotta. Some Sfogliatella variations feature preserved fruits like amarena cherry and spices like cinnamon.

Whichever version you choose, pair your Sfogliatella with coffee to create an ideal Naples breakfast The best sfogliatella are freshly baked and hot out of the oven.

Where to Eat a Sfogliatella in Naples
Sfogliatella Mary, Antico Forno Fratelli Attanasio, Pasticceria Giovanni Scaturchio, Antica Pasticceria Vincenzo Bellavia, Carraturo, Pasticceria Giovanni Scaturchio and Pasticceria Madonna

Invented and perfected at Naples’ Pasticceria Popella, the Fiocco di Neve appears to be nothing more a cream filled brioche dusted with powdered sugar. But after one taste, you’ll know why this seemingly simple pastry is quickly challenging the Sfogliatella as the pastry to eat in Naples.

Order a vanilla Fiocco di Neve when you visit Pasticceria Popella during your first visit. You can then try varieties like chocolate and pistachio to find your favorite flavor.

Where to Eat a Fiocco di Neve in Naples
Pasticceria Poppella

Gelato wasn’t invented in Naples but the frozen dessert is as prevalent in the southern Italian city as it is in the rest of the country. Relatively low in fat and high in flavor, a Gelato cone is particularly refreshing on hot summer days.

You won’t have to look hard to Gelato in Naples especially if you follow our Naples gelato guide. The city has both chain gelaterias and individual shops all over the city. Try several cones to find your favorite flavor.

Where to Eat Gelato in Naples
Casa Infante, Fantasia Gelati, Gay Odin, Gelateria Valenti, Mennella il Gelato and ROL Gelateria

Drinks in Naples flow as deeply as the city’s history. A range of enoteche, beer bars and cafes keep the residents and visitors happily hydrated from morning until night.

Food travelers will want to try a range of drinks beyond Negronis during a trip to Naples. We recommend starting with the following beverages:

22. Coffee

The novelty of drinking coffee at a Naples cafe ranks with eating Neapolitan pizza and visiting nearby Pompeii. The unique experience typically starts with a barista manually pulling espresso shots and continues with espresso drinks served at a standing bar.

Plan to start your day with a Cappuccino and pastry. Later in the day, you may want to stop for a quick Caffe or a refreshing Shakerato. Check out our coffee guide if you want the full scoop on drinking coffee in Naples.

Where to Drink Coffee in Naples
Caffè Mexico for a traditional Napoli coffee experience and Ventimetriquadri for artisanal specialty coffee in Vomero

Created in Campania, the Nocciola is a coffee drink that easily justifies an afternoon break. Since baristas craft this drink with espresso coffee and hazelnut cream, a Nocciola is as sweet as it is potent.

Although most Neapolitan coffee bars include the Nocciola on their menus, Il Vero Bar del Professore is the most famous spot to imbibe this particular specialty drink. You’ll want to drink one here during a busy day of touring for a sweet jolt of energy.

Where to Drink a Nocciola in Naples
Caffè Mexico, Gran Caffè Gambrinus and Il Vero Bar del Professore

One of the most popular liqueurs in Italy, Limoncello is easy to find in Naples. This availability makes sense since Italy’s most famous lemons are grown in nearby Sorrento.

Plan to drink chilled Limoncello in tiny ceramic cups after dinner in Naples. Despite its sweet flavor, the lemon liqueur provides a boozy kick with a 30% ABV. Order Crema di Limoncello if you’re in the mood for a richer liquid dessert.

Where to Drink Limoncello in Naples
Limoné and Restaurants throughout the City

Campania may not be as famous for viticulture as Italian regions like Tuscany, Piedmont and the Veneto but the region still produces great wines. As it turns out, Campania’s wine is as quaffable as it is affordable.

Local winemakers grow grapes in the shadow of both Mount Vesuvius and the Mediterranean Sea using techniques honed over centuries. Typical varietals include Aglianico, Falanghina, Fiano and Greco.

Most Naples restaurants serve carafes of house wine for under €10, not much more than the cost of water. However, you may want to splurge on a bottle instead. Whether you order red or white is up to you and your taste buds.

Where to Drink Wine in Naples
Bars and Restaurants throughout the City

Useful Naples Facts

Check out our guide to eating in Italy as well as our picks for the best Italian foods and the best Italian desserts before your trip so that you don’t miss a delicious bite.

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