Where to find the best pizza and street food in Naples

According to the Neapolitan proverb ‘meglio murì sazzio ca campà diùno’, it’s better to die full than live hungry. Eating and drinking here is a ritual that’s been linking the city’s neighbourhoods for centuries — in the streets in the form of pizza al portafoglio, on the tables of trattorias as a plate of pasta, potatoes and provola cheese and at the counter of bars serving espresso all day long. Neapolitan food is part of the vitality of the city, and one of its defining aspects.

Naples is also the Italian city that’s evolved most in recent decades, notably when it comes to its food and drink. Diners enjoy an endless array of options, including fusion food, fine dining and Neapolitan street food — the latter a smorgasbord spanning such delicacies as the panino napoletano (a soft-bread sandwich filled with cured meats and cheeses), parigina (stuffed pizza) and fried pizza from restaurants such as of La Masardona on Piazza Vittoria.

Neapolitan chefs who flexed their muscles overseas are returning. Among them are Marco Ambrosino, whose Mediterranean restaurant, Sustanza, opened last May, and Gianluca D’Agostino — previously of London’s Locanda Locatelli — with his fun new restaurant and tapas bar, Joca.

Nothing, of course, will usurp pizza as the traditional soul of Naples, but new chefs are doing their best to aid its evolution. At Bro Pizzeria, a family of pizzaioli (pizza makers) has spent five generations perfecting the crispest crust. Standout varieties include cosacca (topped with tomato sauce and pecorino) and seasonal pizzas such as the assoluto di zucca, topped with pumpkin cooked four ways.

Neapolitan cuisine began as a blend of ideas and ingredients, the result of centuries of interchange between people coming and going from this once-powerful port city. It was here that the South American tomato became the most Italian of fruits. Today, Chinese and Japanese cuisines are being grafted with Neapolitan dishes to produce, perhaps surprisingly, perfect fusion food. For example, Mimì Alla Ferrovia, one of Naples’ historic trattorias, serves ragù alla Genovese in a bao bun filled with five-hour-stewed beef, topped with a mustard- and basil-infused caesar sauce.

Yes, this is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and the archeological site of Pompeii, but Naples is also a city that’s fast transforming into one of the world’s most intriguing gastronomic destinations, a place to be discovered bite by bite while orderly chaos and baroque wonders unfold around you.

How to spend a day in Sanità and the historic centre

On the northern fringes of the city’s historic centre, Sanità — once a run-down district — has experienced a renaissance through food. Over the past 10 years, new restaurants, such as Ciro Oliva’s Pasticceria Poppella pizzeria and Isabella De Cham Pizza Fritta, have started to bring in Neapolitans and tourists, reshaping Sanità’s character, while pizza place Concettina ai Tre Santi began a policy of only employing from the immediate area and funding cookery classes for underprivileged local children.

Breakfast is a must at Pasticceria Poppella, which sells a modern classic of Neapolitan pastries, the fiocco di neve (‘snowflake’), icing sugar-dusted dough balls filled with ricotta.

Explore busy streets and alleys including Via San Gregorio Armeno, where you can buy a cornetto, the Neapolitan chilli-shaped good luck charm which adorns everything from keyrings to jewellery. Walk towards the Duomo di Napoli, which houses the revered relic of San Gennaro. Across the street you’ll find Januarius, a trattoria that recently earned its first Michelin star. It’s noted for its traditional Campania-style cuisine, including zito spezzato alla genovese (pasta in a rich beef and onion ragu) and baccalà con scarola (salt cod with Neapolitan-style chicory). Before you leave, stock up on charcuterie and cheese at the restaurant’s delicatessen.

On Spaccanapoli, the street that cuts the city in two, Cornogelato sells excellent gelato. Or head for an aperitif at Hotel Piazza Bellini’s pretty courtyard bar; nearby La Fesseria Street Bar does a great pummarola (a bloody mary made with tequila and mezcal instead of vodka). On buzzy Piazza San Domenico, Palazzo Petrucci Pizzeria sells small fried pizzas, including a perfect marinara with organic tomato, basil, oregano and garlic.

How to spend a day on the stairs and the subway

Naples is woven with more than 200 staircases and stairways, linking various areas of this hilly city. Fuel up for a day exploring them at Ventimetriquadri, which, as its name suggests, is an intimate, 20-by-four-metre space. Order one of its excellent speciality espresso or pour-over coffees, and linger here in the affluent hilltop district of Vomero where you can gaze across the city, as far as the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, then explore the medieval fortress Castel Sant’Elmo.

From here, it takes 20 minutes to descend — via the Pedamentina, a system of 414 steps — to Corso Vittorio Emanuele to visit its high-end boutiques and specialist shops, including bakery Antica Forneria Molettieri, whose puff pastry prussiane biscuits are the standout. Ride the funicular back up to Vomero to wander through the parkland surrounding Villa Floridiana, one of Naples’ few remaining neo-classical residences. Then order pasta with lentils at nearby Trattoria Buatta, which also has a great wine list and a cosy setting in an authentic Neapolitan basso (a small, ground-floor apartment).

Take the metro from nearby Piazza Vanvitelli directly to Toledo: one of the world’s most theatrical underground stations, whose psychedelic walls and ceilings mean it resembles a giant, ethereal swimming pool. This is the jumping-off point for Pignasecca, the city’s largest market, whose Neapolitan smells and colours unfold through narrow alleys full of locals shopping for fish, fruit and vegetables (don’t miss the Amalfi Coast lemons). At Friggitoria Fiorenzano, sample fritto misto (fried seafood) and offal dishes such as o per e o musso, a salad of pig’s feet, calf’s snout and tripe seasoned with plenty of salt and lemon — one of Italy’s oldest dishes.

For dinner, opt for fine dining at Michelasso, near the Galleria Umberto I shopping arcade. The restaurant reinterprets classics like ziti spezzati alla genovese, done here with a touch of cinnamon. Or hop in a taxi to another pizza pilgrimage spot, Diego Vitagliano, next to the port, where the so-called ‘king of dough’ perfects pizzas, including specials topped with ragu.

Where to find the best pizza in Naples

Arguably the world’s best-known pizza, the margherita has been made in Naples since the first half of the 19th century. The mastunicola, which is topped with oregano, lard and basil, dates back even further, as far as 1600. Innovations made over time are more tweaks than reinventions, and pizza represents the city’s culinary past, present and future. Masters of the art dedicate years to working out just how much water works best, changing flour types and cooking times to create different doughs. Current innovators, the Salvo brothers, make classic varieties at Pizzeria Salvo in the Chiaia district, but use two types of flour and seasonal ingredients. Six different varieties of regional tomato top its Pizza ai 6 Pomodori, while the Dream Meat has fior di latte d’Agerola cheese, baby onion, minced Angus beef, grated lemon peel, Sarawak pepper and basil.

Ciro Oliva’s pizzeria, Concettina ai Tre Santi, uses dough made with wheats and grains selected for their more digestible qualities. And Ciro’s deep dive into dough specifics has resulted in no fewer than five different types of margherita on the menu. Another meeting of science and art is found at Ciro Salvo’s 50 Kalò, whose generous use of water in the dough makes for an extremely light crust.