Food and eatery recommendations for beautiful destinations. Find out about personal suggestions and experiences, or learn from our interviews with locals.
There’s something about Matera that makes the town an enigma; church bells ringing poetically at the crack of dawn, dusty alleys leading to houses carved into rocks, the haunting silence when the town lights up for the night. Either way, its presence draws outsiders in like a moth to a flame.
Once shut out to the outside world, Matera has been gaining traction as a tourist spot since biblical movies – and one popular film The Passion of the Christ – made the town its setting. Dig deeper into the intricate network of cave dwellings (Sassi) and you’ll see that the town is littered with trattorias and restaurants. Tourists have yet to discover Matera in full, so the food is still steeped in tradition.
In traditional Matera, Kapunto shines bright in its modern approach to serving fresh pastas. Every morning, pastas and raviolis are handmade and laid out in all shapes and sizes. Pick the pasta that catches your eye, followed by the sauce (butter and sage, bolognese, pomodoro, rapeseed, or black chickpea and octopus cream) to go with it. If you ask the waiter, he would recommend the right sauce for your choice of ravioli.
Il Cantuccio
Where: Via delle Beccherie, 33, 75100 Matera MT, Italy What: Specials of the day For: Lucanian cuisine
Lucanian food is the bread and butter of Il Cantuccio, a small-scale restaurant holed up in a back alley. The seasonal specials are the ones to watch – minced meat ravioli with senise peppers, chickpeas with porcini mushrooms, or goat’s milk ricotta with fig. One of the restaurant owners tends the tables, and he would gladly share the origins of their seasonal ingredients from the region.
L’Abbondanza Lucana
Where: Via Bruno Buozzi, 11, 75100 Matera MT, Italy What: Pistachio pasta For: Smart dinners
You might have to crouch a little to get past the entrance – L’Abbondanza Lucana is housed inside a cave structure. Impeccable service and an exquisite menu reimagined from traditional Lucanian cuisine are what makes this restaurant favoured for corporate dinners and fancy dates. Meals normally start with a glass of prosecco and the chef’s seasonal appetiser, before you indulge in dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
I Vizi degli Angeli
Where: Via Domenico Ridola, 36, 75100 Matera MT, Italy What: Gelato For: An ice cream stop
If you have ever stepped onto the main square of Matera, you would have wandered intoI Vizi degli Angeliafter witnessing the periodic queues. Delightfully rare gelato flavours are what you’ll get at this gelato laboratory – apple and celery, pineapple, avocado and lemon, red wine, and ricotta. The gelato comes in a cup, cone, soaked in coffee syrup, or even wedged between a slice of bread.
Eat well and affordably at Trattoria I Due Sassi, an old-fangled trattoria that does homely Lucanian food that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. A platter of local cheeses, salumi and pickled vegetables (the best way to taste Basilicata’s produce) will set you back €12. For the best lamb, this trattoria’s version falls right off the bone.
The Hollywood guest list at the Amalfi Coast is a never-ending story; the coast is a perennial favourite amongst A-listers for its glamourous Italian beaches, opulent hotels, and of course, divine seafood. The Amalfi Coast is made up of almost 80 km of twisting roads, soaring cliffs, and views that get exceedingly beautiful at every turn.
In summer, days at the coast are long and languid. Stare into the deep blue ocean and you’ll see fishing boats bring in their catch of the day, which will end up on your plate at dinnertime. While you’re on the Amalfi Drive, you’ll find yourself pulling up at unexpected stops for a photo moment. Just by the side of a curb, a man is selling freshly squeezed lemonade. That’s la dolce vita for you.
Look forward to: Seafood
La Strada
Where: Via Gennaro Capriglione, 178, 84010 Praiano SA, Italy What: Seafood risotto For: Romantic dinners
You will find La Strada tucked along the narrow streets of Praiano. There, a staircase at the back hides a surprisingly spacious, panoramic terrace on the second floor. Run by the Gagliano family, most of the menu is dependent on what the family’s trawler brings in from sea. The seafood risotto is outstanding, and other seafood dishes such as prawns and fish come with lemon dressings.
Casa e Bottega
Where: Viale Pasitea, 100, 84017 Positano SA, Italy What: Clean food For: Breakfasts and mid-day snacks
Casa e Bottega is bringing the clean food trend to Positano by introducing organic ingredients to its menu. You’ll find freshly squeezed juices, smoothie bowls, homemade cakes, natural gelato, and an elaborate breakfast menu. They give a healthy dose of vegetables to each dish, and you’ll even find that the eggs come with cucumbers. The café also doubles up as a shop, and you can buy fish-patterned ceramics and fabrics there.
Saraceno d’Oro
Where: Via Pasitea, 254, 84017 Positano SA, Italy What: Vongole pasta For: Casual lunches
Have a meal at Saraceno d’Oro, and you’ll feel like you’re family. This family-run restaurant tops the list for reasonable prices and quality in Positano. The atmosphere is casual, and you’re most likely going to enjoy your vongole pasta while the waiter shares with you the history and ownership of the restaurant.
Franco’s Bar
Where: Via Cristoforo Colombo, 30, 84017 Positano SA, Italy What: Steaks For: Pre-dinner drinks
Franco’s Bar is the bona fide watering hole – no food, just drinks and nibbles to complement. The open space is utterly chic, glamourised by splashes of gold and royal blue. Come before 6 pm (the bar’s opening time) to get a front row view of houses tumbling down Positano’s cliff. It’s insanely photogenic.
Mimi’s Pizzeria
Where: Via S. Francesco, 12, 84010 Ravello SA, Italy What: Pizzas For: Casual lunches
Despite being hidden from the main square at Ravello, Mimi’s Pizzeria still gets swarms of patrons hungry for pizzas freshly baked in a wood fired oven. You won’t go wrong with the classic margherita – just tomato, mozzarella and basil on fluffy, thin crusts. If the classics bore you, go for the Mimi’s specials such as pizza with ricotta stuffed crust, tomatoes, mozzarella and olive oil.
La Bonta del Capo
Where: Via I Maggio, 14, 84010 Conca dei Marini SA, Italy What: Lemon ravioli For: Beef
You will need a car to get to La Bonta del Capo, where chef Fiore Oliveto’s lemon ravioli is the star of the menu. Stuffed with lemon zest and ricotta cheese, this ravioli dish is undoubtedly light and works as a sharing dish so you won’t have to miss out on the other seafood dishes. Choose the outdoor seating area that juts out into the ocean, and you’ll know the drive up the narrow road is well worth it.
Villa Maria
Where: Via Santa Chiara, 84010 Ravello SA, Italy What: Vongole pasta with chickpeas For: Smart dinners
Situated above a garden terrace, the Villa Maria mansion stands out as one of the remaining old world Italian residences in Ravello. The tables in the al fresco restaurant are housed under a canopy, with a view of Ravello’s stunning terraces. The garden is where the chef picks out fresh ingredients. There’s nothing standard about the menu – carbonara with salmon instead of pancetta, vongole paired with chickpeas. Take a walk inside the hotel’s sitting area to marvel at the marble-clad interiors.
Kasai
Where: Via Umberto I, 84, 84010 Praiano SA, Italy What: Seafood For: Casual dinners
You can’t stay past a day in Praiano without your host whispering to you that Kasai is Praiano’s finest restaurant. The menu is predominantly seafood (well, it is the Amalfi Coast after all), so don’t waste it on a chicken thigh. You can have your fill with the €25 daily set, which includes a starter, first course and main course.
La Moressa
Where: Via moressa 1, 84010 Praiano SA, Italy What: Homemade sausages For: Breakfast
La Moressa will satisfy your craving for a good ol’ English breakfast. The homemade sausages are very old fashioned – grilled ground pork shaped into irregular patties. Eggs are rare for breakfasts in Italy, but this café does them fried and as sunny side ups. And bacon, well, it comes in the form of grilled pancetta, but we’re definitely not complaining.
Married to a Florentine sommelier, admirer of Pellegrino Artusi, a food blogger cooking in the suburbs of Tuscany – Emiko Davies is synonymous with the notion of Tuscan cuisine. She’s a Food52 columnist and food writer for The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Jamie Oliver Magazine. Emiko reveals her secret to picking an authentic gelateria, which wineries to go to, and the farm to table restaurant you need to dine at in Tuscany.
What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Tuscany without trying?
This definitely depends where you are in Tuscany, as each town has their unique specialties. In Livorno, it would be cinque e cinque, a baguette filled with chickpea flour pancake. In Florence, it would be a panino with lampredotto, or abomasum tripe, it’s not your regular tripe or your regular panino! Served warm with chilli sauce and salsa verde, it’s absolutely delicious.
In the lagoon town of Orbetello in southern Tuscany, it would be spicy smoked eel or bottarga (cured fish roe), served with some lemon juice and olive oil. In Siena, you’d want to order a plate of pici, or hand-rolled fresh noodles, or pinci if you were in Montalcino. In the town of San Miniato, where my husband was born, it’s fresh white truffles that you need to try.
What about your favourite restaurants?
I am partial to my neighbourhood of Florence and I love the little restaurants in hilltop suburb of Settignano like Caffè Desiderio and La Sosta del Rossellino, full of character and run by people who want to make other people happy through their food and wine.
I also love Canto del Maggio in Terranuova Bracciolini, between Florence and Arezzo. It’s another special place run by a family who grow their own vegetables and make everything from scratch, all set in the most enchanting garden.
In San Miniato, there is a family-run butcher shop called Sergio Falaschi that has created a restaurant out the back behind the counters. They have the most exquisite view over the hills and have a small, appealing menu that changes daily.
The Fioroni family farm in San Gimignano, Poggio Alloro, is also a wonderful place for an organic farm to table meal with a stunning view over San Gimignano. On Saturday nights, they serve their own hand-raised bistecca from chianina cattle.
Name one Italian dining etiquette most travellers miss
I think it can be hard to get used to the ordering of a meal they way Tuscans are used to. You start with antipasto, which is often something shared like a plate of salumi or a basket of broad beans with pecorino cheese. Then, move onto primi, which is either a soup or a pasta dish. Then you have secondi (mains) with various contorni (side dishes) that have to be ordered individually, and are usually portions large enough to share amongst the table.
Some people assume they have to order one of each thing, but in reality, Tuscans themselves may not always do that. It’s a huge amount of food and you may feel more comfortable ordering just two courses, say an antipasto and a main, which is often shared, and saving a bit of space for a simple dessert.
Name some tourist traps travellers should avoid in Tuscany
Unfortunately there are many. Get gelato at a dedicated gelateria – that is, a place that only does gelato. Bars that sell gelato as well as sandwiches and pastries and coffee and everything else probably aren’t making their gelato in house! And remember that good gelato comes in metal tubs, often hidden, it isn’t displayed in huge mounds.
Bars – the Italian word for a café – have different prices for sitting down and for standing at the bar. Italians will stand at the bar for their coffee and pastry. In a few places, this is being phased out in favour of a more Anglo-Saxon style café where you can sit all day long. But in general, and especially in a really classic Italian bar, be aware that there are two different prices depending on where you take your coffee. Many places don’t bother making this known or assume you should know, and some people can get a shock when their bill arrives.
There are so many beautiful parts of Tuscany, but it is a very large region, so I personally would recommend sticking to one small area and getting to know that well.
For example, the Val d’Orcia, a beautiful valley near Siena, has plenty to keep you busy between pretty towns, spa towns and cheese, but you could combine it with an itinerary that takes you to Siena and Florence too.
Or another area that I just mentioned above is Maremma. Maremma is large too, so you could follow it all the way down the coast, even including some islands like Elba Island, which you can reach from Piombino or Giglio Island, from Porto Santo Stefano. You can also stick to the area south of Grosseto and enjoy the hilltop towns, the sea and good, country food.
If you’re in a rush, don’t try to do too much. Just pick one place. Florence, for example, makes a perfect city break for a long weekend because you don’t need to worry about renting a car, it’s easy to arrive by train or plane and you can choose to stick just to the historical centre.
This is something I hope to write more about on my blog soon, as it can be tricky to find places that have a cellar door that are easy to get to or even visit. My husband is a sommelier so we are often visiting wineries but they are definitely not the usual kind that would be easy for a traveller to find!
One of the ones we love, Altura Winery, is on Giglio Island, where you definitely need a car, but there is no cellar door. You can, however, find the wine at the same family’s restaurant, Arcobaleno, on the island.
Places like Montalcino and the Chianti Classico area that are better equipped for visitors and the wineries there make it easier to drop by and visit or taste wine. Another lovely place to try a bit of wine is the beautiful little town of Bolgheri, it’s basically made up of wine bars and wine shops so you can visit the town and taste all the local Super Tuscan wines directly there. Do a bit of research before you go, rent a car and have a designated driver!
What do you mean by wineries with a cellar door?
A cellar door is the term for a sales point in a winery. It could be a room, a shop or a tasting room, sometimes it’s even bigger and there is a restaurant or seating. It depends, but the main thing is that there is somewhere guests can taste and buy wine. Wineries that don’t have this aren’t often prepared to receive visitors. For travellers, it would be easier to go to wineries that have cellar doors.
Name one best kept secret of Tuscany
I’ve just written a cookbook about it, so it is not so secret now, but the coast and islands of Tuscany are incredibly beautiful and have a lot to offer. I particularly love the southernmost coast of Tuscany around Monte Argentario. We lived there for 6 months in Porto Ercole.
Many people have never heard of it, which shows you just what a secret treasure it is. Nearby is Giglio Island, one of the most beautiful places I have visited, and the Maremma countryside from Capalbio to Pitigliano and the towns in between make for wonderful exploring and eating.
One thing is that you need a car and you need to be a bit adventurous, and this is also what makes it so secret. It’s not the kind of place that people can easily wander into or stumble across, you need to have a bit of motivation. It’s for proper travellers and people who love the outdoors, the sparkling sea and eating traditional dishes like wild boar stew, deep fried anchovies and hearty soups.
What should travellers bring home with them from Tuscany?
I always like to bring food or drink as a souvenir, something you can’t find anywhere else. If you are lucky enough to be able to bring fresh goods like cheese or salumi home, that’s a good option and most places will vacuum pack these for you. Otherwise, something like good extra virgin olive oil. Look for the ones in a tin if you are afraid of the glass breaking in your suitcase.
An unusual bottle of wine or something harder to find like vin santo (Tuscan dessert wine) makes a nice memento, especially when accompanied by a large bag of cantuccini (Tuscan almond biscotti), which are made for dipping into vin santo. This is a typical finish to any Tuscan meal, and cantuccini are also very hardy and travel well.
I personally like to bring home a big box of panbriacone, a panettone-like cake soaked in an alcoholic syrup from the Pasticceria Bonci pastry shop in Montevarchi. Many pastry shops in Florence sell it too. It’s divine and always well-appreciated!
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