10 Best Local Dishes from Naples

The Neapolitan pizza is arguably the most symbolic culinary creation of Italy, originating in the city of Naples during the 17^th century. The basic marinara pizza is topped with a tomato-based sauce with oregano and garlic, while the more famous margarita sees the addition of mozzarella and basil leaves. If cooked properly, the base should be thin and crusty with a puffed-up rim covered in charred spots, known locally as ‘leopard spots’.

You’ll find restaurants throughout Naples serving wood-fired pizzas with all sorts of optional toppings. Artisanal pizzerias such as 50 Kaló and Gino e Toto Sorbillo are 2 of the city's most famous diners, attracting queues of up to 2 hours on weekend evenings.

The pastiera is a classic Neapolitan tart with a buttery crust filled with pastry cream, ricotta, and wheat berries. It’s also made extra flavourful with ingredients like orange peel, sugar, spices and cinnamon. Neapolitans enjoy pastiera as a traditional Easter treat, though you’ll find it all over Naples year-round.

To make an authentic pastiera, you should first boil wheat berries in milk for 2 hours before mixing them with fillings such as ricotta, cream and orange peel. You can speed up the preparation process by replacing wheat berries with grano cotto or simply ordering one from a famous Neapolitan cake shop like Carraturo or Scaturchio.

The simple but delicious Caprese salad is a colourful dish of sun-kissed tomatoes topped with creamy mozzarella and basil leaves. Most restaurants in Naples add a dash of balsamic vinegar to this fresh snack, though vinegar is not essential according to the original recipe.

Caprese salad is best enjoyed on a summer day in southern Italy. Eat it like a Neapolitan by allowing the mozzarella and tomatoes to reach room temperature before digging in.

A basic spaghetti alle vongole in bianco consists of just clams and pasta, though modern versions tend to add ingredients such as garlic and olive oil. While purists may disagree, many foodies love it with tomatoes and chilis.

As a culinary invention of southern Italy, spaghetti alle vongole is available at trattorias throughout the city of Naples. Must-visits include A Cucina Ra Casa Mia and Trattoria da Nennella. If preparing this dish at home, make sure to purge the clams of sand before cooking.

Pasta e fagioli is one of the most popular pasta dishes to have originated in Naples. This pasta and bean stew is a hearty vegetarian-friendly delight, particularly when enriched with celery, carrots, tomatoes and onions. Meat eaters can add pork rinds to this flavourful dish. We also recommend trying it with mussels.

If you want to try an authentic but affordable pasta e fagioli in Naples, grab a table at Totò, Eduardo e ... Pasta e fagioli, which includes its menu highlight in its name. You can use pre-cooked borlotti beans to make an authentic Neapolitan pasta e fagioli at home.

Sfogliatella is the signature pastry of Naples, filled with sweetened ricotta and citrus-scented custard. A popular treat throughout Campania, it comes in 2 delicious variants: ricca (layered puff pastry) and frolla (smooth shortcrust). We highly recommend variations that contain cinnamon and Amarena cherry.

While staying in Naples, you might want to grab a sfogliatella from a traditional Italian bakery like Pintauro, which is just a 4-minute walk from the Teatro di San Carlo. If you want to make sfogliatella at home quickly, you can use sheets of ready-to-use puff pastry.

Ragù refers to a meaty red sauce that’s made from tomatoes grown on volcanic soil in the Campania region. When paired with pasta like rigatoni and ziti with a side of bread for dipping, it becomes ragù Napoletana. This staple dish of Naples is traditionally enjoyed as a Sunday dinner, though you can find it in many local restaurants any day of the week.

If you want to try authentic ragù Napoletana in a traditional trattoria, we recommend grabbing a table on the sidewalk at Tandem, an iconic ragù restaurant in Naples.

Pesce crudo is a luxury food item that includes the use of raw fish. In Naples, restaurants elevate the flavours of local fish with the addition of salt, olive oil and citrus juice. For a lofty dining experience, we recommend pairing your pesce crudo with a carafe or two of Neapolitan wine.

As it’s a high-end delicacy, Pesce crudo is a must-try dish during a visit to Naples. Popular restaurants that serve this raw fish treat include CRUdoRE’ and Pescheria Mattiucci. If you want to make pesco crudo at home, you can use sardines, anchovies, squid, red prawns, scampi, or sea urchins.

The spaghetti alla puttanesca is a classic Neapolitan dish made with spaghetti or vermicelli pasta with tomato sauce and olive oil, anchovies, capers, and spices. Legend has it that spaghetti all puttanesca has promiscuous origins in the brothels of Naples. Regardless of its true backstory, this pasta dish has been a staple of the Naples food scene since the mid-20^th century.

In Naples, spaghetti all puttanesca is a menu highlight at traditional diners through to fine-dining establishments. Our favourite local restaurants include Al Vecchio 53 Restaurant and Trattoria da Nennella, which is also famous for its singing and dancing staff.

Polpette is a dish of Neapolitan meatballs that are cooked and smothered in savoury tomato sauce. It's best enjoyed as a protein-rich snack on a hot summer's day in southern Italy. Counterintuitively, the meatballs are not served with pasta in Naples. They're more often eaten with bread in the Italian scarpetta (dipping in sauce) or as a filling in a cuzzetiello (sandwich).

You’ll find polpette almost everywhere in Naples, from street food stalls to formal restaurants. If you want to experience this culinary treat like a local, try a ragù-topped version at a traditional trattoria like Tandem Ragù, which can attract long lines any day of the week.