The 10 Neapolitan trattorias with traditional Neapolitan cuisine.
- Patapans Adventures
- Jun 21, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 5, 2019
Neapolitan cuisine has very ancient origins. It has been talked about since time immemorial, since it was born: it is said in the Greco-Roman era, or perhaps even earlier. It is a cuisine based on traditional recipes that have been handed down for centuries:
Naples is not just Pizza: The Napolitan traditional cuisine has become a wild phenomenon.
The ragù, the Genoese, the spaghetti with clams, the baccalà in its variants, are timeless cult. The Neapolitan trattorias and taverns continue to interpret these dishes still required today, especially by tourists, each according to his taste. There is no neighborhood that does not have its point of reference in terms of classic Neapolitan cuisine and even the great chefs are often put to the test if asked "Can I have a pasta dish with ragù?" In Naples you can be a great cooking genius, but if you distance yourself a little from tradition, or at least you are not able to cook a good dish of Genoese ziti, you are not considered as such.
These are the 10 Neapolitan trattorias that I believe could be useful in discovering traditional Neapolitan cuisine.
Nonna Anna (via Ferdinando Galiani, 24)
Within the Torretta market, in the Piedigrotta area, the over eighty-year-old grandmother Anna cooks for her customers dishes with ingredients that she buys day after day in the same market, so the seasonality is guaranteed. Simple, no-frills cuisine, consisting of basic dishes such as pasta and potatoes or pasta with various legumes, first and second courses based on always fresh fish and there is the embarrassment of choice also for the side dishes. The clientele is mixed, from professionals who at lunch cannot give up a good home-made first course, to diehard aficionados.
Trattoria da Nennella (vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo, 105)
It is the most fashionable of the Neapolitan trattorias. Always very crowded, also renowned among the VIPs who, passing from Naples, often stop for lunch or dinner. The substantial characteristic is the staff who, always with due respect, treat their customers in a friendly and confidential manner. It is located in a popular area of the city: I am in the Spanish Quarter and luckily for us the trattoria has helped to put a place dominated by prejudice in a good light. Also here the menu varies according to the daily expense, with an excellent quality / price ratio. Of note are the former, such as pasta and potatoes with provola cheese.
Osteria Donna Teresa since 1913 (via Michele Kerbaker, 58)
Born just over a century ago at the Vomero, the tavern is now run by the Sorvino family, heir to the woman Teresa who gave birth to this activity in 1913, taking care of it in perfect family atmosphere and based on an old style kitchen. Do not look for a paper menu because there is no: everything will be dictated like a nursery rhyme at your table. Don Luigi takes care of the shopping and some products come from his garden; in the dining room there is his daughter Teresa and his wife Anna takes care of the kitchen. The classics never fail: ragu is a must, then sausages and broccoli, meatballs with sauce and fried meatballs, cutlets and various side dishes.
Osteria La Chitarra (ramps San Giovanni Maggiore, 1 / b)
Giuseppe Maiorano took over this place with his brother Luigi in 1996. Although both come from a completely different world, they put together their passion for cooking, supported in particular by friends and relatives. Today Giuseppe continues his activity together with his wife Anna. He himself defines his ordinary and popular cuisine, consisting of mixed appetizers such as omelette with onions and fried bread balls. Among the first: paccheri allardiati, maruzzara bean soup. The latter are divided into meat and fish: anchovies in cake tins, salt cod with chickpeas, Neapolitan-style meatballs. Desserts are homemade by Anna herself. The tavern also boasts a good selection of wines.
Dalle Sorelle (via Benedetto Cairoli, 1)
This is also a historical establishment founded by Salvatore Spoleto in 1910, always managed by his wife alone. Today the heirs Maria and Rosanna take care of the restaurant, maintaining the basic setting: a typical and traditional cuisine. The main dishes range from hors d'oeuvres like ricotta-filled courgette flowers, to pasta dishes such as pasta and beans, but above all sautésoup. Among the latter we recommend the fried cod and the coroniello casserole.
Osteria della Mattonella (via Giovanni Nicotera, 13)
The name of this tavern is derived from the particular tiles that cover the walls. Antonietta and Massimo Marangio, mother and son, take care of this place born in the Fifties, when Massimo's grandmother, Donna Rosa, took it over with her son Peppino. The appetizers are based on traditional fried foods, from crocchèto aubergine rolls. The flagship of Mattonella is the Genoese. Massimo has a great passion for wines and demonstrates this by showing some heavy labels.
Trattoria ‘A Cucin‘ E Mammà(via Foria, 101)
It almost seems to be a game, but will it be a coincidence if most of the managers or founders of the trattorias in Naples are called Giuseppe? Also in this case it is a Peppe to be the owner of this trattoria in the center of Naples. All family-run, the menu includes fixed dishes every day, but you can twist the patterns if the right ingredients are available. The most popular dishes are those based on fresh fish. The name of the restaurant refers to the way our mothers cook and in this restaurant one feels at home. The quality / price ratio is excellent, but given the high turnout for both lunch and dinner, it's always best to make a reservation.
Le Zendraglie (via Pignasecca, 14)
The kingdom of tripe in Naples is here. The Fiorenzano family is known precisely for their historical tripe in the heart of Pignasecca. The tripe displayed in the banquet located at the entrance becomes, inside the restaurant, a dish that reveals the ancient flavors of the city. Why this name? During the French rule in the Kingdom of Naples the people (especially women) gathered at the Maschio Angioino waiting for the rich to give them what was left, the entrails of the animals, les entrailles, at the end of their lavish banquets. Do not miss the tripe cheese and eggs, and the inevitable 'O pere e ‘o musso, or the pig's foot and snout. The trattoria also offers typical Neapolitan cuisine.
Da Vittorio (via Diocleziano, 67)
In Fuorigrotta Vittorio's cuisine is well known and not only to the inhabitants of the neighborhood. The space is not very large, in fact there are few seats available, but for a poor but good kitchen you can also wait and you will be rewarded. The menu is displayed every day on the blackboard: simple dishes that fully reflect the traditional Neapolitan cuisine. Worthy of mention are the cod and fish based dishes, such as octopus and pizzaiola flagfish, as well as pasta and beans, meatballs with fries “cut by hand and fried”.
Eccellenze Campane (via Brin, 29)
Special mention should be made of Antonio Tubelli, a true master of Neapolitan cuisine and Neapolitan street food. Impossible not to know his fried foods and his timballi of pasta, the famous timpani, or his sartùof rice. Moved for some months to Eccellenze Campane (via Brin, 29), he temporarily suspended his historical activity near Piazza del Gesù, Timpani and Tempura. It is the testimonial par excellence of the culinary tradition of Naples.
And which Neapolitan trattorie do you recommend?
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