8 Best Restaurants in The Amalfi Coast, Italy

Ravello's best and most popular ice cream is so good it seems to make your baffone (mighty moustache) curl. All the fave flavors are here and pack a punch, including dark chocolate, stracciatella, caramel, and pistachio, as well as novel recipes like cheesecake, caffè, lime cream, and lemon crumble. Served here is the traditional Sicilian specialty of scoops of gelato in a split brioche roll, a popular breakfast-time sweet.

Occupying part of a former convent, this restaurant opened in the 1960s receives glowing reviews for its varied and tasty preparations involving anchovies. For the adventurous there are dishes such as spaghetti con colatura (with a modern version of garum); less adventurous types can try one of the excellent pizzas made in a wood-fired oven. Book a terrace table or take a pew under the soaring arches and faded frescoes.

With an outdoor terrace overlooking the Spiaggia Grande, this is an ideal stop for a coffee, a sandwich, or an ice cream. By night, the latest music pumps from the stereo and the clamor of sporting events blares from the large-screen TVs, as movers, groovers, and soccer fans from around the globe sip cocktails after a hard day on the beach.

In the tiny town square of Montepertuso, 1,500 feet up the mountainside from Positano (call for the free shuttle service to and from), the Ritrovo has been noted for its cucina for more than 20 years. The menu showcases food from both the sea and the hills: try the scialatielli ai frutti di mare accompanied by well-grilled vegetables; the house specialty zuppa saracena, a paella-like affair brimming with assorted seafood; and the lemon tiramisu, perhaps paired with one of 80 different kinds of a homemade liqueur, including carob and chamomile options.

Open since 1949, this airy, popular restaurant on Amalfi's almost-emerald waterfront dishes out reasonably priced seafood and cucina tipica Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast cuisine) such as lemon and zucchine tagliatelle alla Nerano and excellent grilled fish. You can see the boats bringing in the day's catch, and at night pizza is served on the terrace amid the twinkling lights of hills, sea, and sky.

A long spacious terrace overlooking the sea is the main feature of this simple yet superb-value spot—part of the family-friendly Hotel Pupetto, most of whose guest rooms have lovely water views, too. Feast on fresh grilled seafood and tasty pizza under lemon trees along Spiaggio di Fornillo and almost within octopus-tentacle grasp of your lounge chair.

With its white awnings and prime location on the beach (where you can rent sun beds), Stella Maris is likely the first restaurant you'll encounter on arriving in Amalfi. Dine or enjoy an aperitivo on the terrace, in front of the glass walls or on the beach—all the while gazing at the fishing boats bobbing in the bay or the sun worshipers tanning on the shore.

Just south of the Duomo, this airy, unfussy place with coved stone ceilings is a good bet for an informal bite. The pizza al forno di legna with fresh toppings is the star attraction: locals praise it, and even Gore Vidal allegedly approved.