17 Best Neapolitan Dishes: Food in Naples, Italy
Want to know what to eat in Naples? The traditional food in Naples, Italy, you should not miss? The best of Naples street food? And the restaurants with the authentic Neapolitan dishes that you’ll dream about when you return home?
It’s all here in this Naples food guide!
I am a chef, a food travel blogger, and I grew up in an Italian family. My grandmother’s side was from the area around Naples, so I’ve eaten most of these dishes since childhood.
Yet, each time I return to the Campania region of southern Italy, I learn more about the food of Naples. Now I’m sharing that intel with you.
Tomatoes, olives, and fresh seafood are common ingredients in the food of Naples, Italy.
Food in Naples, Italy
Emilia-Romagna is the food valley of Italy, and Bologna is known as the country’s food capital. How can the Naples food scene compete with that?
Well, I think any place known as the birthplace of pizza has got to be one of best food cities of Italy! But there is so much more unique and delicious food to explore in Naples.
What food is Napoli known for?
Naples is famous for many traditional Neapolitan dishes in addition to pizza. In fact, numerous dishes that Americans think of as part of classic Italian cuisine are creations of Napoli cuisine.
Therefore, my list of the best food in Naples, Italy, includes some familiar dishes like spaghetti with clams and eggplant parmigiana.
But keep reading, because you’ll also want to try such lesser-known specialties as pasta omelettes, mashed potato pie, and seafood cones!
Best NeApolitan dishes
Pro tip for eating in Naples: Share as much as you can! There is way too much delicious food to eat one dish at a time!
My husband and I often split a starter, then a primi piatti (first course), and then a secondi piatti (second course).
Just because the menu lists items in courses doesn’t mean you have to order them all by yourself!
Food in Naples, Italy: Pizzas
Pizza is considered a main course in Italy, and usually a dinner. Some pizzerias are only open for dinner, so make sure you check the hours of any you may be interested in before heading there for your meal.
1. Pizza Napoletana
Pizza Napoletana is the most famous Neapolitan dish.
If you want to know what to eat in Naples, the number one answer is authentic Neapolitan pizza. The art of making pizza Napoletana has even been recognized by UNESCO!
The pizza in Naples is the best I’ve ever had, even better than the pizza in Rome. Even if pizza is the only food in Naples that you eat, your visit will be well worth it.
What sets Neapolitan pizza apart from other types is the world-famous pizza crust. The rim is thick and chewy with just the right amount of char from a wood-fired oven. The dough in the center is thin and soft.
Because it’s all about the crust, toppings tend to be simple, such as those for pizza marinara, which boasts only delicious tomato sauce, or the most famous Neapolitan choice, pizza Margherita, which features tomato, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese.
The best places to enjoy a Naples pizza are located in the centro storico—the city’s historical center. A great place for a Margherita pizza is Antica Pizzeria da Michele, the pizzeria at which Julia Roberts ate in “Eat, Pray, Love.”
If you want more choices for toppings, Antica Pizzeria Di Matteo and pizzamaker Ciro Salvo’s 50 Kalò are two of my other favorite Neapolitan pizzerias.
2. Pizza Fritta
My favorite pizza fritta, with escarole, is a must-try Napoli dish.
Take the best pizza dough, stuff it with one of the regional Italian cheeses like fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella, or provola cheese, fold it in half and fry it, and you’ll have fried pizza, “pizza fritta” in Italian.
It’s the best street food in Naples! My favorite adds greens like escarole or friarelli, a type of broccoli rabe.
You’ll find this Neapolitan street food at any pizza place on Via dei Tribunali in the city center. But master pizza chef Gino Sorbillo has the most famous spot for fried pizza, Sorbillo Esterina.
Food in Naples, Italy: Pastas
Pastas comprise the majority of the primi piatti on Naples restaurant menus. They also make up a good portion of the traditional Neapolitan dishes.
So, sometimes we’ve ordered pasta as a first and second course and have never received as much as a sideways glance from the waiter.
3. Spaghetti alle Vongole
One of the most traditional Naples, Italy, foods, spaghetti alle vongole
Another food Naples, Italy, is famous for is spaghetti alle vongole, or spaghetti with clams. This is one of the traditional foods of Neapolitan cuisine that is a staple of Italian restaurants in the U.S.
The Napoletana recipe is simple: Combine fresh pasta, fresh clams, a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and parsley and you have one of the most traditional dishes of the region.
The go-to Naples restaurant for spaghetti alle vongole is Mimì alla Ferrovia.
4. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Spaghetti alla puttanesca, a popular Neapolitan pasta dish with infamous origins
We cannot talk about the traditional cuisine and food of Naples, Italy, without discussing another Neapolitan pasta dish, spaghetti alla puttanesca.
A typical puttanesca recipe combines some of Naples’s best known ingredients: olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, and fresh tomatoes. Sometimes a little chili pepper will be added to spice things up.
Culinary historians disagree over whether this popular pasta in Naples, Italy, was invented by prostitutes or peasants.
“Puttanesca” in Italian means “in the style of the whore.” But it can also mean “worthless,” as in the ingredients were so common, the pasta was nothing special.
For a puttanesca that is definitely something special, the Napoletana restaurant Antica Trattoria Da Ettore is the ticket.
5. Pasta e Fagioli
This version of the traditional Naples food, pasta e fagioli, adds mussels.
This is not the “pasta fazool” that Dean Martin sings about in “That’s Amore.”
This classic dish of local cuisine does indeed consist of pasta and beans like the Italian-Americanized soup version. But in the Neapolitan tradition, that’s pretty much the whole recipe.
Sometimes the chef may add some mussels or clams, but authentic Neapolitan pasta e fagioli is not going to be chockablock full of veggies or in a tomato broth like the Italian-American version often is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still plenty tasty because (a) it’s Italian, and (b) there’s homemade pasta in the recipe.
Trattoria da Nennella is one of the locals’ favorite Neapolitan restaurants for pasta e fagioli.
6. Pasta alla Genovese
Pasta alla Genovese, a traditional Neapolitan dish from the 15th century
When I first saw pasta alla Genovese on a Neapolitan menu, I thought it was the famous pesto sauce of Genoa. Boy was I wrong!
There are several competing theories about how it got its name, but this delicious pasta dish is definitely a traditional Neapolitan food born in the city of Naples in the 15th century!
Made with an abundance of onions, white wine, and beef, the sauce is simmered until the meat is fall-apart tender and the onions almost melted.
A good restaurant for pasta alla Genovese and other typical Naples dishes is La Locanda Gesù Vecchio.
7. Frittatina di pasta
The yellow morsels shown here are frittatina di pasta, a popular Naples street food.
Frittatina di pasta is one of the few pasta dishes designed to be eaten with your hands. How fitting for a popular Naples street food.
Sometimes also called frittata di maccheroni, frittatina di pasta is a pasta omelette.
Traditional recipes call for mixing eggs with pasta and adding cheese, ham, peas, or whatever is in the fridge. This is one of the Neapolitan foods of cucina povera (cuisine of the poor) created as a way to make use of leftovers. So, anything goes!
Antica Pizzeria Di Matteo on Via dei Tribunali serves a mean frittatina di pasta as well as pizza.
8. Pasta al Ragù Napoletano
The meat sauce in Naples, Neapolitan ragù, uses large chunks of beef and pork.
Italian cuisine has more than one meat sauce. Bolognese, the most famous food from Bologna, is what we see most often at Italian restaurants in the States.
While Bolognese uses finely chopped meat, the meat in Neapolitan ragù is left in larger chunks. There are no carrots, and, perhaps most importantly, the Naples version utilizes a very special ingredient in their meat sauce: San Marzano tomatoes.
Tandem Ragù Ristorante Napoli is the best restaurant in Naples to try the local ragù.
Food in Naples, Italy: Seafood & Meat
The Napolitano dishes below are a mix of starters, street foods, and main dishes.
9. Impepata di Cozze
Impepata di cozze, one of the most typical dishes at restaurants in Naples
Impepata di cozze, or peppered mussels, are one of the best things to eat in Naples.
Mussels are plentiful in Naples, so they also happen to be one of the most affordable dishes.
The recipe is quite simple: steamed mussels seasoned with black pepper, garlic, parsley, and olive oil.
Local restaurants almost always have this menu item as a starter. I never hesitate to order it as I’ve never received a bad plate of mussels; they are consistently fresh and yummy.
The Naples restaurant ’A Figlia d''o Marenaro is a great choice for seafood lovers and thus a great place to try impepata di cozze.
10. Cuoppo
Fried calamari is one of the most popular fillings for a cuoppo (street food cone).
Another popular street food Naples locals love, cuoppo is a paper cone filled with various fried items, most often fried fish.
The tradition of frittura di paranza (fried fish) in a cone dates back to the 18th century.
Back then, the poor people of Naples would buy (on deferred payment) scraps from the fish market, which would be fried and then wrapped in paper in the shape of a cone.
Nowadays you can’t walk the streets of Naples without seeing cones filled with small fish like anchovies, pieces of various larger fish, calamari, and shrimp.
The best place to try a cuoppo is Il Cuoppo – Friggitori Napoletani, where they sell cones and all types of other fried food snacks.
11. Polpette al Sugo Napoletane
One of the most beloved foods in Naples, polpette al sugo Napoletane
My grandmother made the most amazing meatballs, so I never order them in restaurants at home. But if you want to experience the true Naples, Italy, cuisine, you must try the local meatballs in sauce!
No doubt, every Italy famous foods list includes meatballs, so what makes these a must-have Napoli food?
The polpette al sugo Napoletane usually contain a fair amount of cheese: sometimes parmesan, sometimes ricotta, sometimes whatever is left in the fridge. The cheese is either mixed throughout the meatball or concentrated within its center.
As is the case with many Napoli dishes, meatball recipes are passed down from generation to generation and vary from family to family and restaurant to restaurant.
The meat, usually a mix of beef and pork, is combined with egg, breadcrumb, herbs, and the cheese of choice. Each polpetta is gently dropped into a tomato sauce flavored with basil and simmered to tender perfection.
Where do the locals eat in Naples? At Trattoria la Tavernetta Di Vittozzi Antonia E Famiglia, a family-run restaurant in the north end of the city, plenty of locals enjoy polpette al sugo Napoletane—you should join them.
Food in Naples, Italy: Vegetarian
Naples has a rich history of vegetarian dishes. In ancient times, meats were expensive, so the people of Naples found creative ways to make meals from veggies. Nowadays, restaurants may take liberties with these recipes, so if you require these dishes to be vegetarian, ask before ordering.
12. Parmigiana di Melanzane
Eggplant parmigiana, one of the best vegetarian foods of Naples
Eggplant parmesan is another one of the traditional Neapolitan dishes that was a staple in my home growing up. To this day, it’s hard for me to resist thinly sliced fried eggplant layered with cheese and tomato sauce.
In Naples, hold out for a version that uses the local buffalo mozzarella, or “mozzarella di bufala” as they call it. Some restaurants and trattorias will list eggplant parmigiana as a starter, others call it a second course.
For homestyle dishes in Naples like Parmigiana di Melanzane, try La Cantina di via Sapienza.
13. Gattò di Patate
Gattò di patate, a savory potato cake from Naples
Gattò di patate can be a side dish or, in many homes, it will take center stage as the meal itself. It’s one of the most versatile Italian foods.
Like frittatina di pasta, there are various ways to make gattò di patate. The name translates to “potato cake,” and sometimes you’ll see it called “mashed potato pie.” Whatever you call it, it’s always a crowd favorite.
The "gattò" part of the name comes from the French word "gateau," meaning “cake,” which reflects the influence of French cuisine in Naples during the Bourbon rule. The dish's history is also intertwined with the Spanish influence on the region, as potatoes were introduced to Italy by the Spanish in the 16th century.
Osteria Della Mattonella is a wonderful restaurant for traditional Napoli cuisine where you can enjoy this dish.
14. Mozzarella in Carrozza
The best Italian grilled cheese, mozzarella in carrozza
For cheese lovers like me, this will become one of your favorite Italian foods if you’re not already familiar with it.
Rooted in the culinary traditions of not wasting leftovers, mozzarella in carrozza is a way to use up stale bread. But don’t let the stale bread put you off!
This Italian grilled cheese batters the bread and fries it to golden brown perfection. The outside will be light and crispy and the inside will be melty and gooey. Like the traditional Roman dish, it may sometimes contain anchovies.
While mozzarella in carrozza is not necessarily a food from Naples, you are in the land of the best mozzarella, so how can it not be special here?
For fried snacks like mozzarella in carrozza, Antica Friggitoria Masardona on Via Giulio Cesare Capaccio is an excellent choice.
Food in Naples, Italy: Desserts
These Napolitano desserts are the most traditional within this fine foodie city.
15. Sfogliatella
Do not miss sfogliatella riccia, the most famous pastry of Naples, Italy.
The most famous Italian pastry of Naples, sfogliatella comes in two versions. Those with a sweet tooth will want to try both.
The most popular, sfogliatella riccia, looks like a flaky, layered shell and is filled with sweet ricotta cheese. The runner up, sfogliatella frolla, keeps the sweet ricotta cheese filling but uses a shortbread pastry and has a more bun-like shape.
Pastry shops throughout the historic center will sell both. I prefer sfogliatella riccia, partly because that’s what my Italian grandparents served at Sunday dinners.
But, perhaps the best thing about sfogliatella is that it is a perfectly acceptable breakfast in Italy served at any coffee shop in Naples. A great place to try it is Gran Caffè Gambrinus.
16. Zeppole San Giuseppe
Zeppole San Giuseppe, one of the best sweets of Neapolitan cuisine
In Naples, and most of Italy for that matter, you are never far from a dreamy creamy gelato (Italian ice cream). However, the most traditional desserts are at the pastry shops.
The zeppole San Giuseppe filled with pastry cream and topped with a cherry will delight any sweet tooth. The dough is light and airy, and every bite is a treat for your taste buds!
17. Struffoli
Struffoli, the number one Christmas food in Naples, Italy
At Christmastime, struffoli, fried dough balls covered in honey, are a quintessential food of Naples, Italy, that should not be missed.
My family made struffoli every year when my grandparents were alive. They are one of the most nostalgic Christmas foods for me.
Food in Naples, Italy FAQs
Still have questions about the food in Naples? Hopefully, the answers to these FAQs will help!
What is the best Naples food tour?
Is there a better way to learn about the local culture than taking a Naples food tour? I think not! Eating delicious Italian food while seeing the historic sites is a great combo!
The local street food is such a huge part of the must-try foods in Naples list that I recommend starting with them. I think this 5-star tour featuring 10 food tastings and 4 beverages is the best way to go: Street Food Tour Naples.
What is the best Naples cooking class?
In addition to Naples food tours, cooking classes in Naples are a great way to learn about the local markets and food culture.
And since pizza is the food Naples is most famous for, why not take this Pizza Making Class?
Learning to make the most famous Napoli dish at a pizza making class.
Where is Naples Located?
Naples is the largest city within the Campania region in southern Italy. It is located on the Bay of Naples just north of the Amalfi Coast and to the west of Mount Vesuvius (which makes for a popular day trip).
Do they eat gnocchi in Naples?
Yes, you will find gnocchi alla Sorrentino at some restaurants in Naples. As the name implies, this food of Campania hails from nearby Sorrento, and is not, historically speaking, a food from Naples, Italy.
Buon Appetito!
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