Best Restaurants in Sorrento, Bay of Naples

Stylish Trattoria for Traditional Neapolitan Cuisine

Jun 26, 2009

Sorrento has a great choice of restaurants but for a special treat, nothing beats a candle lit dinner or al fresco lunch in one of its most prestigious venues.

Campania is a fertile land of lemon and olive groves, vineyards, and farms full of plump vegetables, gorgeous fruit and freshly made mozzarella. The sea provides an abundant supply of fish and crustaceans.

Pizzas, pasta and seafood have long been the mainstay of traditional Neapolitan cuisine. You find them in every trattoria in Sorrento but the best restaurants add their own memorable touch to the simplest dish. Only fresh ingredients make it into the kitchen to be cooked and presented in a delicate blend of taste, colour and texture.

In the prestigious setting of the Bay of Naples, creativity and tradition go hand in hand, complemented by excellent wines from Campania and beyond.

The stylish trattoria in Sorrento attract a discerning clientele and booking is recommended.

Praised in guides and food magazines, Antica Trattoria is a lovely oasis at the heart of old Sorrento. A discreet entrance leads to the vine pergola and cosy restaurant with individually designed rooms. The atmosphere is relaxed with ample time to choose menu and wine or watch the chefs at work through the glass doors.

According to season, menus may include zucchini flower head with ricotta cheese, red mullet on orange mousseline potatoes with Sorrento olives, tomatoes and capers, Casoperuto cheese and home made lemon ice cream.

Evening guests are serenaded by virtuoso mandolin player Vincenzo and cookery classes are available.

Ristorante Caruso, Traditional Neapolitan Cuisine

Tucked in a lane in the town’s historic centre, Caruso’s is dedicated by his enthusiastic owner to Enrico Caruso, the great Italian tenor. Old photographs, cartoons, records, gramophone, books and Caruso’s voice echoing around the vaulted rooms, all lend a unique atmosphere to this cosy trattoria.

Ristorante Caruso boasts a wide selection of wine, 1700 labels from Campania and beyond, and a refined cuisine with a choice of five menus including a vegetarian option. Among the favourites are home made vermicelli, sea bass with mixed salad and citrus fruit, seafood pasta or hand rolled pasta tubes filled with broccoli and scampi, and layered cream and cake trifle for dessert.

Vela Bianca, Restaurant and Pizzeria

Overlooking Sorrento’s harbour on three levels, the maritime décor of Vela Bianca, or White Sail, has the feel of a sailors’ club. It’s also a popular celebrities’ haunt, as witnessed by myriad photographs on the walls.

Both traditional and innovative, Vela Bianca specialises in local and Mediterranean dishes, with a strong accent on seafood. Choices may include fish soup with clams, mussels and shrimps, fish gratin with olive oil or pasta with artichokes and clams. Naples is just across the bay and the original pizza now comes in a variety of flavours and toppings.

Home made cakes, soaked in rum or with Sorrento lemon cream, complete the picture.

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