Dining in the Heart of Naples' Illustrious Culinary Scene: Downtown Old Naples

This class-act Third Street South restaurant occupies the historic Naples Mercantile Building and a pleasant Rome-reminiscent courtyard to its west. Inside, you will find an inviting dining area, spacious bar area and large, open kitchen complete with a traditional wood-burning oven. Some of the pasta, such as the pappardelle with braised veal, is made in house. Many of the ingredients - capicola for one of the wood-fired pizza, cheeses and sausage - get shipped from Italy. There's short ribs with smoked tomatoes or pan-roasted black grouper for dinner, chicken and caramelized pear salad for lunch and warm citrus cake with strawberry prosecco jam and fior di latte for dessert.

Part of a small, Texas-based chain of restaurants, it is anything but cookie-cutter. The dining room seems oversized at first, but its popularity fills the warm, welcoming space at the back of Inn on Fifth most nights. They come for their fix of various varieties of crab, lobster, New Orleans BBQ shrimp, miso-glazed sea bass, Scottish salmon bearnaise, cioppino and Idaho trout amandine, plus fine steaks and chops. The restaurant professes a commitment to sustainable seafood. The "Chilean sea bass," for example, comes from South Georgia. Its date night pre-fixe menu for two offers three courses for $39 a couple.

From soupe a l'oignon to the nuts in the apple tarte tatin, everything feels and tastes deliciously francais at this newest addition to the Fifth Avenue South litany of inimitable dining experiences. Chef Vincenzo Betulia, mastermind of two eateries up the street, leaves his native Italy for a rustic brasserie adventure in an art nouveau setting with a massive display kitchen and charming bar offering indoor-outdoor service. the lunch/Sunday brunch menu spans eggs, a $21 prime rib burger, pasta and steak frites. What's for dinner? Start with the oeufs mimosa � deviled eggs with braised Portuguese octopus and napa cabbage � or chopped tartare and cornichons. Both demonstrate Betulia's flair for turning folk food gourmet. Pasta aux fruits de mer, slow-cooked lamb shank, crisp duck leg confit with sour cherry, oven-roasted halibut... the entr�e choices are concise and carefully crafted. Plats du jour add a bit of nostalgia as do classic cocktails and comfort desserts.

Opened in March 2015, 7th Avenue Social soared to immediate success with its "handcrafted food and drinks," its Southern and Latin accents, and a late night menu available until 2 a.m. Its daytime (3 to 10 p.m.), late night (10 p.m. to 3 a.m.), Sunday brunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), and cocktail menus roll with the trends and Chef David Lani's creative whims. Start on the patio or at the bar with an Albino Manhattan (made with white whiskey and vermouth plus a dash of orange bitters) or a craft IPA. Snack on a jar of house-pickled veggies or a shredded jackfruit taco with salsa rojo and cotija. The Apps portion of the menu includes loaded yucca planks and conch sliders. Sandwiches and entrees like the Chorizo Meatloaf Cuban or Pork Belly 'n' Grits feed serious appetites. For Sunday brunch, there's Green Tomatoes, Eggs & Ham; and Smokin' Fish Hash Frittata.

The name means "Yum! Yum!" in Iran, Chef Michael Mir's homeland. He fuses his native background with his experience in fine American kitchens to present an intriguing menu that maintains the authenticity and boldness of Middle Eastern cuisine while employing a few tricks of classic Continental and experimental new American styles. Prepare your palate for a magic carpet ride. The aash, a peasant-style herbed bean and noodle soup, introduces the complexity of the cuisine. Best bets for entrees: the spicy kermani beef, char-broiled lamb kebab, garlic eggplant chicken and duck fesenjune. Dine indoors in a chic setting with subtle Middle Eastern nuances or at a sidewalk table.

The Continental is what foodies term a "meatery," a step above standard steakhouses. Its niche is two-fold: name-ranch steaks and craft cocktails. But yet it is multi-faceted, offering also such original concepts as its daily changing fresh fish and dessert pie menus. The steak takes center stage, however. It occupies one page of the dinner food menu, divided among the restaurant's four beef providers. Each touts its own connoisseur-level characteristics. Yet The Continental is clearly no ordinary steakhouse. Owners break the mold with their menus, but also with the restaurant's design. The dining room, which shows the telltale opulence of a typical steakhouse, opens onto the courtyard, where a convivial bar, bougainvillea-framed setting, cabanas and live dinner entertainment make this something wholly other.

The first dilemma: Sit al fresco and people watch along busy Fifth Avenue South or enter the embrace of "farmhouse chic" indoors, where repurposed barn wood creates warmth and character? Then the food ordering decision! The lunch menu may be small, but it is also packed with wow. Chef Vincent Betulia makes everything himself - from the pancetta on the chicken liver crostini to the fennel sausage tossed with mascarpone cream and torchio pasta. Pizza ranges from classic tomato with basil and mozzarella to the Rustica - grilled radicchio, pancetta and a fried egg. Even the ham and cheese panini has a twist, made with prosciutto cotto and fontina cheese.

A few generations ago, this restaurant location was known as Zoe's, named after local restaurant owner legend Michael Hernandez's daughter. Hernandez is back on the Naples scene with HobNob - a clever name for a perfect place to do just that in a rustic-chic setting of unfinished wood and funky art. Nothing rough or funky about the food, however. Chef Tony Biagetti prepares a well-crafted selection of bar bites, small plates and dishes under headings "Ocean," "Farm," "Pasta," and "Greens & Soup." Everything is fresh and homemade from the pickles to pasta and desserts. Perfect for hobnobbing at the bar's communal table, try the deviled eggs with tomato jam, the truly original shrimp & grits and arancini stuffed with jalapeno cheddar. For serious appetites there are wild "smokey" salmon with cucumber crema, two-way duck with cornbread stuffing and peach and Meyer lemon short ribs. The tres leches bread pudding comes with homemade rumchata ice cream.

"Excellence" describes the new Sails Restaurant from start to finish. From start: Owners meticulously sourced decor items such as a Greek marble bar in the shape of a sail, dish ware, and the finest seafood and steaks to create a modern European coastal setting and cuisine. Guests select their own fresh seafood, its poundage and its preparation: wood grilled, salt baked or seared a la plancha. Artistically presented seafood towers, crudos and tartares launch a memorable experience. Courses of seafood salads, house-made pasta and global entrees ensue. Try the Peppered Tuna Rossini with seared foie gras, black truffle and charcoal-roasted onions; or prime tomahawk rib steak with garlic confit. An exacting wine list and decadent, modern dessert menu are the final excellence icing on this lovely cake.

Chef Fabrizio Aielli comes from a stellar background that covers Italy, the Caribbean and two of his own highly hailed Washington, DC, restaurants. At Sea Salt, he conceived dining centered around the sea. To carry the concept, he stocks more than 100 different varieties of salt and infused flavored salts. Dinner at Sea Salt begins with a three-flight sampler of salt to season dishes to come. Convivial and inspired by chef's Venetian birthright, the setting transitions from the outdoor, pet-friendly patio to indoor casual elegance via a bar that circles outdoor to in. Colors from the beach and sea decorate the sweeping interior. The main menu intertwines cultures - charcuterie, sea urchin poached in duck fat, ravioli stuffed with braised veal, salt-encrusted branzino, akaushi beef and whole fresh fish from the showcase.