We struck out quite a few times on dining in Positano. Which kills me. I love a good gourmet meal with dainty portions and inventive flavors, but for a vacation on the Italian coast I was more looking for capreses, pastas with lemon sauce, and fish marinated in olive oil and herbs. In all fairness, I have been spoiled rotten with life changing meals in the rest of Italy over the past few weeks… but Positano? Dare I say… a waste of the calories?
Unfortunately, Positano restaurants have the luxury of charging whatever exaggerated price they come up with for tourist friendly (read: lacking authenticity & quality) food. After a week of research and trial and error, here is a compiled list of my ‘best of Positano’. Perhaps my most useful blog post I’ve ever written if you’re anything like me and travel to eat.
La Cena
Restorante La Sponda at Le Sirreneuse delivers a wonderful atmosphere with impeccable service, but felt a bit too touristy for my liking. This is where everyone wears their chicest outfit they packed away in their suitcase and spends more for a glass of champagne than they did for their hotel room. The wine selection was impressive, and the meal (while not spectacular), was the best dinner we had on the Amalfi coast.
Al Palazzo at Hotel Piazzo Murat oozes romance. Their outdoor patio featuring the best outdoor stone tables and cantilever umbrellas I have come across is quaint and inviting, yet upscale without being as bougie as Le Sirreneuse.
Al Palazzo seems to attract an older crowd that loves an overpriced tasting menu and wine pairings. Nothing we ordered was in the least bit unappetizing, but the meal was rather unremarkable, and a far cry from what I had been craving on the Italian coast.
Le Tre Sorelle. You go because you can basically put your toes in the sand while you drink local white wine and eat heart shaped bread. The food is good, but again, far from mind blowing. What is mind blowing is ocean front view with the city of Positano carved into the cliffs above you.
Skip: Eden Roc was suggested to us, but when we arrived for our reservations we cancelled on the spot. The atmosphere was depressing at best, even with a balcony overlooking the ocean.
But fret not, what we did absolutely nail was lunches.
El Pranzo:
Casa e Bottega Alright, my LA is showing, but this meal will be such a warm healthy welcome after weeks of bread, cheese, pasta and gelato. Do you like having your food made in front of you by the owner with fresh ingredients she buys daily because – get this – there is no refrigerator? I do. Do you like when your meal is so mind blowing delicious that you question that it’s actually healthy for you? Order whatever fresh ricotta quiche slice of heaven they make that day and then order at least 2 other entrees… Everything is that good. Only open for breakfast and lunch. Reservations suggested.
On Capri there exists this panoramic pizzeria “Restaurante Panorama” overlooking the crystal clear water down below. The margarita pizza rivals any you’ll find in Naples and the spaghetti pomodoro will inevitably be one of the freshest and most delicious dishes you savor on your coastal vacation.
And last, but very certainly not least, the seaside private restaurant at il San Pietro is about as fresh as it is going to get. San Pietro hotel is something out of an ‘inside celebrity vacations’ show on E. Sadly, my wallet probably won’t ever be able to accommodate me at this oasis, but that didn’t stop me from visiting their oceanfront restaurant for lunch with friends who were honeymooning there. The food was superb and the setting jaw dropping. Do yourself a favor and get the squid pasta, a bottle of rose and the burrata and mozerella salad.
