global kitchen.global kitchen.

delicious.  139

words carolyn lyons PhotograPhy andrea bosio

nowhere like

Look beyond the crowded piazzas and grand hotel dining rooms – the best of Naples can be found in family-owned trattorias, stand-up coffee bars and bayside stalls.

global kitchen.

delicious.  141

global kitchen.

Clockwise from far left: Galleria Umberto; washing hangs between tall apartments; Piazza Bellini; Chalet Ciro is legendary  for its ice cream, cakes and pastries.  Previous page: quayside at Mergellina.

Neapolitan cuisine is famous around the world. Volcanic soil and warm waters result in the superb year-round produce you can see in the city’s markets. Fresh fish and seafood pastas (no parmesan, please) are core local dishes, plus the three Neapolitan staples: pizza, which was invented here; buffalo mozzarella, which is made here; and coffee, which is different (and arguably better) here than anywhere else.

Restaurants tend to treat their menus like Naples’ drivers treat traffic lights – as suggestions only. Ordering is done verbally from what’s best that day. Don’t speak Italian? No worries. Like everything here, the key is to go with the flow. If you don’t order the right dish or can’t even find the right restaurant (quite likely given Naples’ Byzantine geography), whatever you find will be a pleasure in this city of endless surprises.

seaside sundaysNeapolitans love their seaside, especially on weekends. Head to the quayside stalls at Mergellina, where fish fresh is sold straight off the boat in the mornings. Wander across the road to the free-standing cabins called chalets for coffee, drinks and snacks. Sip pink Campari sodas and munch on complimentary olives, crisps and tiny pizzas at Chalet del Mare (Via Caracciolo 1). Legendary ice cream parlour Chalet Ciro (Via Caracciolo, +39 081 669928) is packed on evenings and weekends as locals load up

A sprawling metropolis in one of the world’s most beautiful natural settings, Naples is a city of contrasts. Combining more than its fair share of Italy’s artistic and cultural riches with high levels of noise and chaos, the capital of Campania province is the kind of place where magnificent palazzi crumble beside busy roads, and a priceless Caravaggio hangs in a shabby church guarded only by a snoozing caretaker.

Look one way and there’s Mount Vesuvius. Look the other, and Capri shimmers on the horizon. Above your head, washing hangs like flags between the cliff-like rows of apartments, while a Greco-Roman street remains intact underground after 2000 years. Slick Chiaia and middle-class Vomero are refuges from the anarchic alleys of Spaccanapoli, Naples’ centre. Further up the bay, the upper-crust of Neapolitan society live on Posillipo’s cliff. Head in the other direction and you reach Pompeii, that unique city of the dead.

Naples has its issues – creaking infrastructure, patchy public transport and erratic opening hours. It hasn’t been gentrified like London or Paris, and a plus is that family-owned trattorias and second-hand bookshops occupy prime land, and bohemians, students and artisans can afford to live in the centre.OPeNiNG PhOtO: J

am

es s

Par

shat

t/g

etty

imag

es CertOsa di saN MartiNO:  

dav

id m

ad

iso

n/g

etty

imag

es Pizza: a

nn

a w

atso

n/g

etty

imag

es

with epic quantities of chocolate bombs, ice cream tortas with ricotta and pear, and creamy volcanoes studded with strawberries. Gelati fans can have their scoops in a cone or, the Neapolitan way, in a brioche.

For Sunday lunch, old favourites include Ciro a Mergellina (Via Mergellina 21, +39 081 681780), with its white tablecloths and veteran waiters, and Don Salvatore (Via Mergellina 5, +39 081 681817) just five minutes down the road.

Alternatively, go to Borgo Marinaro, a marina. While most places on the restaurant strip here are tourist traps, La Bersagliera (Borgo Marinaro 10-11, +39 081 7646016) is the exception. Eat fish on its deck next to famous patrons, such as acclaimed playwright Dario Fo.

The real discovery here, however, is Al Barcadero (Banchina Santa Lucia 2, +39 081 333 2227023), a louche waterside bar where unshaven youths and their sultry babes smoke Marlboros and stare moodily at Vesuvius. It’s a bit like finding Rick’s Cafe in the middle of a shopping mall.

top tablesGood food in Naples comes up from the street rather than percolating down from top chefs in ritzy restaurants, so the best eateries aren’t necessarily the smartest. Even internationally known Dora (Via Palasciano 30, +39 081 680519) is just two plain white-and-green-tiled rooms, with Dora herself (wife of the chef/owner) sitting outside. Order linguine di Dora with shellfish, the antipasti or the catch of the day, but make sure the waiter weighs and costs your choice before cooking.

More luxurious, though a bit dated, La Cantinella (Via N. Sauro 21-22, +39

081 7648684) serves dishes such as ricotta and nettle cannelloni to the local elite, while across town, Mimi alla Ferrovia (Via Alfonso d’Aragona 21, +39 081 289004) attracts lawyers from the nearby courts. Some consider Mattozzi Europeo (Via Marchese Campodisola 4, +39 081 5521323) the ultimate family eatery, while Al 53 (Piazza Dante 53, +39 081 5499372) is a hit with 30-somethings. Located in a pretty piazza, Ristorante Bellini (Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli 79, +39 081 459774) draws tourists and locals for reasonably priced pizza and pasta.

global kitchen.

Clockwise from far left: dora, gallery,  La stanza del Gusto, La Cantinella spagetti

142  delicious.

Clockwise: the simple dining room of dora; La Cantinella serves Naples’ elite; Bar Mexico is a favourite coffee haunt; spaghetti at La Cantinella.

▲

144  delicious.

global kitchen.

centro classicoThe soul of Naples cooking remains in the Old City in small, modest (and modestly priced) places such as La Mattonella (Via Nicotera 13, +39 081 416541). The wife takes your order with a stub of pencil while her chef-husband pops out to buy ingredients for your polpette (meatballs) or pasta puttanesca.

Luciano’s (Castel Capuana at Via Carbonara) is an example of the specialty cafes serving mussel soup, but our favourite lunch spot is La Cantina di Via Sapienza (Via Sapienza 40-41, +39 081 459078) for antipasti, caponata and melanzane fritti (fried eggplant).

The fast-food equivalent of these restaurants come in the forms of tavole calde, where they serve cafeteria-style hot dishes, and friggitorie, fried foods that are designed to be eaten while walking. Rosticceria Vaco e Press (Piazza Dante 87, +39 081 5499424) does both. Point to what you want from the dishes displayed inside – try the salsiccia e friarielli, sausages with the bitter greens exclusive to Naples – or sample the fried foods outside.

Neapolitans love fried snacks as street food and as restaurant appetisers. Old City pizzeria Di Matteo (Via Tribunali 94, +39 081 455262) does them well, while popular patisserie Moccia (Via San Pasquale a Chiaia 21, +39 081 411348) serves upmarket versions of pizza rustica and calzone con verdura (folded pizza with vegetables) to the street-snacking bourgeoisie.

where they you’ll find sea urchin and sushi alongside traditional seafood.

Self-taught chef Mario Avallone, the godfather of this new wave, reinterprets the classics at La Stanza del Gusto (Via Constantinopoli 100, +39 081 401578), a restaurant, cafe and gourmet deli in one.

The latest star is Celeste Cozzolino. Foodies make the trek to Mergellina to dine at his Bannera (Via Giordano Bruno 86, +39 081 681526). As part of his attempt to reinvent Neapolitan cucina povera for modern tastes, once a year he makes a traditional zuppa (soup) of pig’s intestines and chilli – for gastronomic heroes only.

Back in Chiaia, head to Anhelo Caffè (Via Carlo Poerio 47, +39 081 7645764) for fish and eggplant involtini (if it’s on) and the buffalo milk yoghurt. While you’re there, check out the “Lamborghini of coffee machines” handmade by 72-year-old master-craftsman Artillo Bosci.

Avoid Naples’ grand hotel dining rooms, which serve mediocre, overpriced food, and instead take a taxi to Rosiello (Via Santo Strato 10 +39 081 7691288). Rosiello is a rambling hilltop roadhouse with its own vines, olives and market garden, where service is both professional and heartfelt thanks to third-generation owner Salvatore. Go for seafood pasta, such as the lobster in tomato sauce, and pick up a jar of homemade grape jam.

making waves Neither Naples’ restaurants nor its food change much (why mess with a good thing?) but if eating in a 1950s time warp starts to pall, a new wave of young chefs and restaurateurs are revitalising the cuisine. Find them in fashionable Chiaia at tiny Coco Loco (Piazza Rodino 31, +39 081 415482) or visit Terrazza Calabritto (Piazza Vittoria 1a/b, +39 081 2405188)

Clockwise from far left: an expert espresso; the Certosa di san Martino  holds an impressive art collection;  cupolina at Chalet Ciro.

▲

146  delicious.

After all of that fried food, chances are you’ll be thirsty. Behind the green newsstand outside Galleria Umberto (Via San Carlo), Signora Carolina will squeeze you a fresh orange juice, or order limone e acqua and ask for the (baking) soda. The instant she puts in a pinch, down the glass in one gulp.

Neapolitan gelati is another treat not to be missed. Produzione propria means “made on-site”, and no-one does it better than Ciro Otranto (Piazza Rodino 26), which uses the finest ingredients and no chemicals. Try the prickly pear sorbet.

pizza perfectionYou could eat nothing but pizza in Naples. It was invented here and every other restaurant calls itself a pizzeria. Not all are great, though, which is why Antonio Pace, owner of Ciro a Santa Brigida (Via Santa Brigida 71, +39 081 5524072), started a ‘Real Pizza’ association (pizzanapoletana.org). Look for the big red and black signs with a picture of Pulcinella outside places including Sobrillo (Via Tribunali 32, +39 081 446643) and delightfully old-fashioned Marino (Via Santa Lucia 118, +39 081 7640280). Nothing is simple in Naples, however. Some of the city’s top pizza parlours won’t join, claiming the

association is about publicity rather than standards. One prominent non-member is Da Michele (Via Sersale 1, +39 081 5539204), which serves only two kinds of pizza (margherita and marinara) and doesn’t take reservations.

For more of a night out, take a taxi to Gorizia (Via Albino Albini 18, +39 081 5604642) in Vomero, with its charming courtyard. Owner Tonino’s 92-year-old father is the oldest pizzaiolo (pizza-maker) in Naples. He still comes in to eat some nights, and always makes his own.

coffee cultureIf Italy is the capital of coffee culture, in Naples the culture has become a cult. Some say it’s the water, but Naples coffee really is superior. The white-coated baristas at Bar Mexico (Piazza Dante 86, +39 081 5499330) pour it like artists, but don’t even think of ordering a cappuccino here. The coffee always comes zuccherato (with sugar). If you want it without, say “amaro” which means bitter, but be warned: you get what you ask for.

Bar Nilo (Via San Biagio Dei Librai) is a rival local favourite. With a Roman statue of the Egyptian god Nile opposite and a shrine to footballer Diego Maradona on the outside wall, Nilo embraces Neapolitan superstition.

Narrow and crowded, Scaturchio (Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 19, +39 081 5516944) is famous for its sfogliatella, Naples’ signature pastry filled with ricotta and candied fruit. You’ll find

From left: Naples is the birthplace of pizza; scaturchio; torta caprese at scaturchio.

sfogliatelle throughout the city and there are fierce debates about the best. Other Neapolitan delights include rum babas, chocolate and almond torta caprese, and pastiera, a ricotta and fruit flan.

Feltrinelli’s bookstore (Via Santa Caterina a Chiaia 23, +39 081 2405411) keeps a secret: a tiny, quiet coffee shop in its basement where you can sit without paying a surcharge and sip a coffee or a latte di mandorla (almond milk).

Intra Moenia (Piazza Bellini 70, +39 081 5571190) calls itself a “literary cafe” but it’s really a relaxing cafe/bar from cocktail hour until late.

where to stayWith views as spectacular as its rates, Grand Hotel Vesuvio (Via Partenope 45, +39 081 7640044, from $320 per double, vesuvio.it) is popular with presidents and footballers. Hotel Pinto-Storey (Via G. Martucci 72, +39 081 681260, from $195 per double, pintostorey.it) is a reliable old favourite in Chiaia. B & B Tribù (Via Tribunali 339, +39 081 454793, from $120 per double, tribunapoli.com) has three cleverly designed rooms in an old palazzo. Hotel Constantinopoli 104 (Via Santa Maria di Constantinopoli 104, +39 081 5571035, from $335 per double, costantinopoli104.com) is a rare (for Naples) mid-priced boutique hotel with a friendly team, pool and great location off Piazza Bellini. d.

global kitchen.