Amalfi and Coast..Eating??
 

With only a few weeks to go, I will follow my usual routine and seek comments on good eating in and around the town of Amalfi which will be our base for the better part of one week.

We are willing to travel by bus/ferry on some nights/days to reach great food prepared with top quality local ingredients.

We are planning one lunch or dinner in Cetara.



Does anyone have comments on these:

Paestum:

Hostaria Antiche Sapori


Amalfi:

Eolo , located in the Hotel Marina Riviera
Da Rispoli
San Nicola
Macchus
Trattoria A Tari
La Caravella

Ravello:

Cumpa Cosimo (worth the trip to eat here?)

And finally, has anyone here dined at either of these two "big name" restaurants:

Torre del Saracino in Vicolo Equense
Taverna del Capitano in Marina del Cantone

Nice atmosphere is a plus, but food is the primary factor. We prefer places that do a local trade and do not focus their efforts entirely on foreign tourists. The budget is flexible but we are not interested in formal "hotel-type" dining.

Many thanks!

Have you read The Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania by Carla Capalbo? It's from 2005 so some places might not exist anymore.

eks: I know you have great taste in food, and I know you don't want hotel food, but I have to tell you that when we were in Positano, the food at the Hotel Poseidon (sat outside on the terrace)was so good, that all four of us decided that we had to eat there a second night.

The dishes that stand out for me were a local potato and cheese whip/mash sort of thing that was outstanding, and a chocolate sauce on the best profiteroles ever. The had such excellent food, and the place was never mentioned in any of the numerous food guides that I garnered info from, for that trip.

It was three years ago, so I would ask if the same chef is still there, but if so, I highly recommend this place for dinner. It was not really formal, and the service was great one night,but spotty the other. The food was consistently excellent.

La Praia da Armandino
Via Praia, 1 Marina di Praia
84010 Praiano (SA)
Campania / Costiera Amalfitana
Italy
tel: +39-089-874087

and Aqua Pazza in Cetara

These are both excellent. At Armandino's the fishermen are at your feet on the wharf, literally, and will bring the fish from the sea to the kitchen to your table.

I should say that Praia da Armandino
is very shall we say, low key? When my Amalfi Coast friend took me there I was leary but now I eat there many times on each trip. It is an experience.

I also like San Nicola for the food and views.

Cumpa Cosimo was very nice too, Ravello itself is worth the trip. Go to the gardens.

Vincenzo knows his restaurants and has excellent taste:
http://www.dine-online.co.uk/naplemap.htm

In Vico Equense I really enjoyed the seafood at
Ristorante Mustafa'

Via Murrano, 9
80069 Vico Equense (NA), Italy

+39 081 8028602ý

But my disclaimer is: I was with a local who spoke to the chef in each restaurant and we got the freshest food of the day. Now I am not sure how a regular customer fares with my recommended restaurants. Do you speak Italian?

You all are the best!! I can read menu Italian well and I certainly could blunder my way through a discussion of food with a waiter.

I have just discovered Vicenzo's reviews so will be putting in some time with them tonight..

I tried, and failed, to get Carla Capalbo's book in the NYC Library. And Amazon did not have it in stock last time I checked..I will try their UK site..

Please keep the ideas coming..not a problem if I have to eat 4 meals a day! (I'm kidding, but just barely!)

Oh, Rispoli (the sisters Rispoli) is not in Amalfi, but in Pogerola, hilltown above Amalfi, easy to go by bus.
It deserves a lunch and a smart way to digest is to come back at Amalfi walking along a path.
During this walk you will cross the Valle dei Mulini and you can visit the Museum of Carta (paper).
San Nicola is a wine bar and it deserves.
Torre del Saracino is a must, meaning you cannot miss it !
Gennaro Esposito is a big (also because of his body !) chef, very clever and to dine there is a delicious experience.
He is a dear friend of mine.
Taverna del Capitano deserves also.
Caputo family are very clever and serious and be sure that at the end of the dinner you have room enough for their "dolci".
Anyway, yes: do not miss both; both deserve !
Don Alfonso 1890 reopened few weeks ago and it could be a must, too. Its location is Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi (I had been living there for 13 years).
One lunch or dinner in Cetara means a very happy problem: where, between ACQUAPAZZA and LA CUOPPERIA DEL CONVENTO ?
May I give you my suggestion ?
The second one. A new name that will become famous soon.

I thank SeaUrchin, he discovered a review of mine that I wrote many years ago: thanks.

Vincenzo

You must get Carla's book before you go. She's a foodie and it reviews 186 restaurants in Naples/Campania, 89 wineries, 78 olive oil producers, 63 cheese makers, 110 agriturismi and scores of artisan producers of meats, chocolate, honey, breads, gelati and pasta (list from back cover of book).

I bought my book at my local Half Price books, but when I looked at their website I can see there isn't one in NY. If you aren't familiar with this chain, they sell out of date books, overruns, and used books. When I clicked their search link and entered author (Carla Capalbo) and title (The Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania)it provided and outside link to ABEbooks.com. ABEbooks appears similar to Amazon in that you can buy new or used books from outside sellers that are registered with the site. There are 6 copies available with one at $6.99 and the rest over $15.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...;x=48&y=12

bookmarking for my trip in September, thanks!

Kybourbon: I just ordered a copy from Abe Books!!

Vicenzo, thank you again for all of your tips. My only trouble will be trying to visit all of these places with no car!! But we will find the great food, one way or another!

I feel very fortunate that I am traveling to the coast shortly after Eks. It is proving to be very helpful with meal planning.

Thanks.

Jami

Vincenzo, do you have any newer reviews we can see on line?

Yes, Vicenzo, please let us know about any of your reviews.

Meanwhile, I found this which looks to be from the Salerno paper. Am I correct that Aquapazza in Cetara is closed for renovation?


http://lacittadisalerno.repubblica.i...nitani/1376150



Do we know the closing days for Cuopperia del Convento and if this is related to the restaurant Al Convento in Cetara?

Five days in the area is beginning to look pitifully short a time especially with no car!

Vicenzo: Since we arrive in Amalfi about 2pm, if all goes well with the flights, I fear that we will be too late for lunch. Is this true?

I should probably reserve for dinner Sunday night, correct??

The only website mentioned in the book for Cetara is www.vivereilmare.it. For the salted anchovy colatura (a sauce close to the Ancient Roman garum) the region is noted for www.delfinobattistarl.it

Restaurants listed in the book for Cetara are:

Acquapazza (tel 089 261606 if you want to see if they are closed) closed Monday.

Ristorante Pizzeria Al Convento (tel 089 261039)closed Tuesday except summer. The book says it's inside the former cloister of the convent. Dessert are prepared at a local paticciere and there are pictures of la delizia al limone. Yum!

Ristorante San Pietro (089 261091)closed Tuesday except summer.

Hotel Cetus and restaurant. The book only talks about the hotel really.
http://www.hotelcetus.com/1e.html

Is Hostaria Antiche Sapori the same as the agriturismo listed as MIVA Antichi Sapori Cilentani? A web site is listed as www.antichisaporicilentani.it, but it rolls over to http://www.masseriamaida.it/ which I think is their retail operation. It also lists www.agrimaida.it as their agriturismo with restaurant.

Amalfi:
La Caravella (089 871029) closed Tuesday. The book says it was the first restaurant in Campania to win a Michelin star.
www.ristorantelacaravella.it

San Nicola (089 8304549) closed Tuesday. Is described as a winebar/cantina.

La Torre del Saracino is listed in Seiano (Marina di Seiano), not Vico Equense. Closed Monday. (081 8028555 -listed as fax and phone).There is also a separate O'Saracino Ristorante Pizzeria listed.

La Taverna del Capitano (081 8081028)closed Monday; Tuesday lunch except summer.

All of the above have reviews in Carla's book. The others I don't see in there. This book is almost five hundred pages and would be a bit heavy to travel with even though it's paperback.

I just got a confirmation for the Capalbo book order and it will arrive the day after I leave!! But that is just the outside date of the 5-10 days to allow for shipping. Although the seller is listed as UK-based, the book seems to be coming from the US, so who knows.

Thank you so much for posting those listings.

I read in a review dated last summer that Da Gemma in Amalfi is closed. Not sure if this is still true.


Regarding the coverage that limoncello gets here, this struck me as funny:

In a review of a restaurant in Amalfi, an Italian critic (Luciano Pignataro) writes:


"....in this wonderful atmosphere you can even ask for a limoncello as the Americans do."

Vicenzo: Is limoncello thought of as a drink for tourists? Would it be commonly drunk after dinner by locals in Campania?

The locals drink it as well as nocino, many of them make it themselves.

In case Vincenzo doesn't answer you, by the time you settle in after 2pm it is late for a restaurant. You can grab something at Cioccolato Andrea Pansa on the square to tide you over. There is a pizza place on the square too. Also sort of hidden is a good small market where you can get some food for a picnic.

You are staying in Amalfi, right?

Yes..in Amalfi. I suspected it would be late for lunch. This is on a Sunday, by the way.

Hold it, I was thinking of
Ristorante San Giovanni on Via San Maria in Pontone for the views, not San Nicola.

Oh, yes.
2pm could be late to have a lunch; it is better that you become ready for a delicious dinner.
The limoncello is a common drink also for us; maybe for us it is more common after dinner and not after lunch and often, still now, it is normal to homemake it rather than buy it.
Also nucillo is common and really traditional and also, and I suggest you: finocchietto, alloro, basilico.
If you want to digest, really alloro is the best.
About my newer reviews they are coming soon all together in a book that I will finish to write at the end of the current month after the next week that I will spend in Campania (especially Paestum) for the freshest updates, several fine tunings and a deppe check about mozzarella di bufala campana dop.
But I do not tell you the title because I do not want to be advertiser of myself and what I do is not my job but my pleasure to do it: my hobby.

Vincenzo

Vicenzo I hope you will have time to report back on your food experiences in Paestum. Will you plan to dine at Hostaria Antiche Sapori? We will look forward very, very much to your book!

SeaUrchin: I read about San Giovanni in Pontone on another post that I will top.. It sounds delightful. How long do you think it would take to walk there from Amalfi?

I didn't walk it the whole way because it got really hot on the trail. I had one of the Sunflower books of the trails in the area, see if you can get one before you leave.

It shouldn't take long, if I can find the book before I will quote it for you.

Sea Urchin: Thanks. Don't g to any trouble, please. We have such a short time that I am certain I am overplanning (what else is new?)

We arrive on Sunday afternoon and leave for Naples on Friday. One day we will do a day trip with a driver, if I can get past those prices! So that leaves 3 free days..I guess most of that time will be devoted to eating!! (only partially joking!)

ekscrunchy - I bought my copy of Carla Capalbo's book at Barnes and Noble in the NY area - maybe give them a call? or try bn.com (It is getting a bit out of date though in some spots...new restaurnts opening *yippee* and some she mentions no longer exist.)

Hi, no trouble, I found the book easily in my Italy stack (!). It says the grade is "easy" and will take 2 hours though the Valley of the Mills (Mulini).

There is so much to do in the whole are of Amalfi Coast, I am always surprised when people say there is only shopping as a pasttime.

The Sunflower books are by Julian Tippett and printed in the UK.

http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/

I haven't been to any of the places in the OP. However, but just wanted to say that I have also been to Mustafa in Vico Equense, mentioned by SeaUrchin, and really enjoyed my dinner there.

I've spent a lot of time in Marina del Cantone, but haven't been to Taverna del Capitano, just because it's really not in my budget or palate range. However, on the road down there is a restaurant called Charlot which I thought was also really good.

http://www.ristorantecharlot.it/index.htm

Buon appetito!

Bookmarking

Thanks for taking the time, SeaUrchin and Hamlet and everyone else who chimed in....

I can't wait! Today took the Fodor's Naples and Amalfi Coast book from the library..now the question will be how many guidebooks/restaurant guides to drag along..(I am trying to reform my past behaviors!)

I'm probably too late with this recommendation but I've eaten several times in Pontone at the San Giovanni-it's a lovely place, delicious food and the owners are great people!I enjoyed a lengthy and leisurely birthday luch there last October- a fond memory. I hope you ake it there!

I highly recommend Rosselinis restaurant at the Palazzo Sasso in Ravello. The restaurant is a 2 star plus its very romantic. Its an incredible view if seated outside.

Oh well. Abe Books cancelled my order for the Capalbo book; it is out of stock! I will just have to blunder along... I don't think we will go hungry with all of these great recommendations.

for goodness sake! don't take ANY exrtra books :-) rip out the pages you want or photocopy them and staple!!! WAY too heavy to bring lots of guide books :-) and...the photo copies can be stapled to include all the suggestions from different books in one little "guide" that can fit in a small purse or pocket :-)

p.s. Da Gemma in Amalfi was open when I was there last August...

A Tari is good too - Da Gemma is MUCH more expensive and more formal...Tari does a very nice fixed price menu...can't remember the price actually...which means it was very reasonable (!) ;-) maybe 25euro? can't recall...but I had a nice pasta and a beautiful sea bass with roasted potatoes and coffee and dessert :-)

I love San Pietro in Cetara...my husband thinks it's jusb "ok" - but sometimes I find it just depends on what you order! I alwasy ask them to reccommend something :-) and they always do a plate of steammed mussles for my 7yr old (who hates pasta!) even though they aren't on the menu. You NEED to make a reservation in summer though...even if you just stop in and ask before they open...usually they will seat you if you promise to be there early (8ish?). hubby prefers Aqua Pazza - I like the more traditional feel (rather than modern) of San Pietro.

Thanks very much for all of your help, Casa! I just discovered your website with the house rental...it looks lovely!

I will try to edit the books!

Please forgive the obsessive tendencies now on view:

We will be arriving on a Sunday in late April, not high season. I am thinking it best to reserve for the Sunday dinner....(we arrive too late for lunch, I am afraid)

I was thinking of A Paranza in Atrani for the first (Sunday) dinner.
Would love to hear opinions of this restaurant, too. About how long a walk is it from Amalfi to Atrani?

Would you like me to overnight my copy to you? You can just mail it back to me when you get back.

That is so very kind of you, Kybourbon. I don't want you to go to that trouble. And I am probably better off having one less book to shlep along! And you already gave me the list of restaurants that I asked about..

Truly, I cannot thank you enough for your kind offer...it looks as if I have so many places already that I will probably get even more frazzled if I start reading that long book!

I really don't mind mailing it if you want. I had planned to spend 11 nights in Caserta in May, but that is being pushed back to fall because I can't take off work right now. I won't need it for months and it really is more detailed than the snippets I've posted. I would consider it a must-read for a foodie for the region.

I only ate at Cumpa Cosima once, in 2003, but I still remember the buffalo mozzarella, still slightly warm, so tender and fresh, sprinkled with just a touch of sea salt. For me, it would be worth returning to Ravello just to eat Cumpa Cosima's insalata caprese.

Is this a romantic vacation? The only other meal that stands out for me was our dinner on the terrace of Le Sirenuse, overlooking the sea, at sunset. The food was good (but not memorable) but the atmosphere was heartbreakingly romantic -- the beauty both natural and designed, the candlelight, and the discreet trio of guitarists who serenaded the terrace... simply spectacular!

Hi, We had a fantastic meal/experience at Ristorante Quattro Passi,via A. Vespucci 13/N, Nerano; www.ristorantequattropassi.it

The food, chef, staff and welcome were wonderful. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks, CHM for the Quatro Passi recommendation.

PP: I guess any of us could use some romance (!!) but I guess I would have to say that the setting is less important than the food itself. I will try to incude Cumpa Cosimo..it does seem to be a favorite of people who visit the area.. I think it has turned up on more "best" lists than any other places!

Ky..your offer is very tempting. But how can I give you my information without posting it here??

If you are a member of TTG you can ezmail me there. If not, use my yahoo mail - kyvinorosso. When do you leave for Italy?