18 Best Restaurants in Sorrento, Italy
Sorrento overlooks the Gulf of Naples and is a much-loved destination by tourists worldwide because it combines history, culture, food, and wine. This town is undoubtedly one of the most famous Italian localities, the synthesis of that collective imagination that links Italy to a simple, relaxed, and haunting beauty lifestyle; destination of international tourism attracted by the landscapes immersed in the light, colors, and scents of the Coast and by that Mediterranean atmosphere rich in history and traditions.
Read also: Places to Visit in Sorrento
The Sorrentine Peninsula is a corner of Italy dotted with small villages and offers landscapes of great beauty and value, as in the case of the Baia di Ieranto natural area and the protected marine natural area Punta Campanella. The products of the land and the sea are varied and abundant: fish comes from the sea, fruit and vegetables from crops all around, typical products that are the synthesis of the encounter between man’s talent and the treasures of nature. And then again great wines, exquisite desserts, simple and tasty recipes. The gastronomic flavors of the Sorrento Peninsula ideally reflect those of the regional culture: from pizza, to pasta, to fish preparations.
Among the typical dishes and products of Sorrento we remember the Sorrentine gnocchi (fresh pasta topped with tomato sauce and stringy mozzarella); citrus fruits (Sorrento is famous for locally grown lemons and oranges. The “limoncello”, a typical liqueur served after a meal, is extracted from lemons); Provolone del Monaco (hard stringy cheese aged from 6 to 18 months, with a spicy flavor); extra virgin olive oil; walnuts of Sorrento (from which the “nocino”, a liqueur with digestive properties is also obtained).
It is then difficult to go through the center of Sorrento without running into a restaurant. In the heart of Sorrento it is possible to try the typical local gastronomy in more or less panoramic places, but all characterized by a certain care of the location. Neglecting those excessively touristy places, where the quality is certainly lower, here it is possible to savor all the best of Campania cuisine. In Sorrento you can eat well everywhere, in the upper part of the town, in Marina Piccola and Marina Grande.
Let’s see below which are the best restaurants in Sorrento.
Tasso
Via Correale, 11/d – Sorrento – Website
This restaurant, behind the square of the same name, has large capacious rooms, also suitable for groups, and quality cuisine with proposals for all tastes. It is also a pizzeria. The restaurant Pizzeria Tasso is in fact located a few meters from the historic center and the main square of Sorrento. The proposed cuisine is Mediterranean in style; here you can enjoy delicious fresh fish dishes but also the excellent pizza, prepared according to the classic Neapolitan tradition. Try the Gragnano paccheri with lemon clams. Also as regards the desserts it is possible to taste the true symbol of this place: the lemon delight.
Zi’ Ntonio
It is a large restaurant, between Piazza Sant’Antonino and Piazza Tasso, where it is easy to find a seat even without a reservation. The restaurant is very nice, with a prevalence of wood and warm tones, with simple but welcoming decor. The service is friendly and attentive, the dishes are traditional and well cooked. The menu is typically Sorrentine and Campania, with both sea and land courses. Its strong point is the “risotto special” served in large pans: a rich seafood risotto with more lobster and prawns, to be shared between two or more people. And also stuffed courgette flowers (with ricotta and ham) and seared shrimps with black pepper. We have the Ravioloni with clams and yellow tomato and the classic Sorrentine gnocchi as a main course.
0’ Parrucchiano
If you want to eat the most classic of Sorrento cuisine then the right address is the restaurant “0 ‘Parrucchiano – La Favorita”, famous for over a century for its “cannelloni” pasta, invented here in 1870. Restaurant with an ancient tradition, founded in 1868 and became famous in the world for the “cannelloni”, today, together with the traditional dishes, it offers an infinite number of dishes that enhance the aromas and flavors of the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Naples. It is the ideal place to taste the typical dishes of the Neapolitan, Sorrento and other traditions. The staff with their kindness and professionalism will welcome you and will advise you on the dish that best suits your taste. The internal garden and the covered terrace are beautiful.
Fuoro51
If more than a dinner you want something to tease with a good glass of wine, look for this winery in the alleys of the historic center. The restaurant is of contemporary design, while the menu, very intriguing, manages to present the dishes of the house with a trendy touch. The Sorrentine gnocchi are excellent; particularly the burrata and the anchovies that are served in a very refined way. The wine shop is well served and the staff is very attentive to customer needs. Try the vast choice of wines and platters of cold cuts and cheeses. Very high-quality food, highly qualified dining room staff, and a very welcoming environment.
Ristorante Museo Caruso
Via Sant’Antonino, 12 – Website
Set in the central Piazza Tasso in Sorrento, the Caruso Museum Restaurant is an essential destination for those who love the refined flavors of haute cuisine enclosed in a luxurious and refined setting. A retro-style restaurant entirely dedicated to the tenor Caruso who spent his last days in the nearby Excelsior Vittoria hotel. Memorabilia on the walls and a warm atmosphere inside. The different menus offered are presented as a fantastic experience of the senses, and all in the name of experimenting with innovative dishes but always linked to the Sorrento tradition. To accompany the delicious dishes over 1700 labels including wines, grappa, whiskey and cognac.
Trattoria Da Emilia
Via Marina Grande, 62 – Website
Among all the restaurants in the fishing village of Marina Grande, it is the oldest and most traditional one: among its tables some scenes from the movie “Bread, Love and …” with Sophia Loren were shot. Since 1947 this restaurant offers family and home cooking with a sea view. It does not accept reservations: you take a seat at the first available table. The dishes are prepared with the freshest fish. Large portions and low prices. Try the gnocchi with seafood. The wine offered is of the house, and this simplicity conquers. Dehors outside the restaurant that allows you to eat just a few meters from the sea.
Bagni Sant’Anna
It is a restaurant with a bathing establishment: lunch and dinner are served on a platform in the middle of the sea. The restaurant’s menu is mainly dedicated to fish-based specialties, prepared following regional and national recipes with local products carefully selected by the chefs. It is also open in the evening and with the complicity of the lights and scents of Sorrento, the atmosphere is thus even more relaxing and evocative. The menu has a creative touch. The house specialties are pasta with mussels and potatoes, spaghetti with squid, fried fish from the Gulf, fillet of sea bass, as well as the babà with orange. The environment is very friendly and welcoming and allows, in any season, to have a meal while enjoying a breathtaking panoramic view of the entire coast of Sorrento.
Soul and Fish
Via Marina Grande, 202 – Sorrento
The Soul & Fish Restaurant is aimed at those who love fish-based cuisine made with traditional recipes from Campania. For those looking for a restaurant in Sorrento, it offers good food and a suggestive view of the Sorrento coast and the islands of the Gulf of Naples. It has been a guarantee of fresh fish and genuine dishes for two generations, the ideal place for ceremonies, parties, birthdays, and candlelit dinners. The new generation of this historic family of Sorrentine restaurants has completely renovated this restaurant giving it a new modern look while maintaining the traditional spirit. Today it is one of the most refined and exclusive restaurants in this corner of paradise. Only fish cuisine with the beautiful presentation of the dishes. Among the dishes to taste, we have the scialatielli with seafood and tuna with pistachios.
The Garden da Gennaro
Immersed in the lively liveliness of the charming alleys of the historic center, this restaurant has been able to carve out an important role in the Sorrento gastronomic scene thanks to the high standards that have always characterized its offer. The cuisine traces the Campania tradition without being subordinated to it, because it is the daily catch and the availability of the market that inspire the chef Salvatore Formisano. So, together with the Sorrentine gnocchi and the exquisite fried fish, it can happen to taste an excellent risotto with fish and citrus fruits. Wines in line with the gastronomic offer and good desserts and pizzas. The room is well looked after. The highlight is the garden terrace, a real relaxation corner to be booked in advance.
Terrazza Bosquet del Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria
An exceptional location for this hotel restaurant in one of the most evocative structures on the coast. The splendid view of Vesuvius and the Gulf, in the evening even more charming with the illuminated terrace and the refined atmosphere created by the pleasant background music. Chef Antonino Montefusco’s cuisine is a balanced mix of tradition and originality. Among the dishes of greater expression we mention the carpaccio of red prawns, burrata and raspberries and the Caprese ravioli, with cherry soup and San Marzano tomatoes, Sorrento caciotta and marjoram. Wide-ranging and carefully selected wines; possibility of wine pairing that allows you to taste and compare wines.
L’ Antica Trattoria
Via P. R. Giuliani, 33 – Website
Here you can breathe the true Neapolitan welcome, made up of simple gestures such as a welcoming smile, a glass of wine offered, and an abundant cuisine that does not compromise on quality. The restaurant is really nice, in the center of Sorrento, with a flowery terrace and well-kept rooms furnished in a classic style. Ideal for a romantic evening. In the “à la carte” menu we have: lemon tagliolini, served in a lemon; ravioli and linguine with seafood; caprese with buffalo mozzarella, tomato variation, basil pesto and mozzarella in carrozza; “Antica Trattoria” tagliolini with lumpfish roe, red prawns, cream of spinach and white lemon sauce. Second courses equally divided between land and sea, delicious desserts and different tasting proposals.
Il Buco
II Rampa Marina Piccola, 5 – Website
Il Buco Restaurant was built in the cellars of a former Sorrento monastery. It consists of two very elegant internal rooms and one external, adorned with fragrant plants and flowers. Dehors on the ancient stairs overlooking the sea. The restaurant’s cuisine creatively revisits traditional dishes, offering unusual but well-assorted combinations. After the entrées and the excellent bread, here is the buffalo with a variation of cabbage, hazelnuts and lime; bucatini with lemon scorpion fish and dried tomatoes; the flag fish roll on fennel cream. Some of the specialties are the sautéed scallops with burrata and tomato carpaccio; ravioli with mozzarella and lemon in a stew of scampi and sea urchins; half sleeves with fish sauce; the white grouper with spicy broccoli and garlic sauce and the Neapolitan babà mousse with white chocolate. The restaurant’s cellar is full of regional and national wines.
Acqu’e Sale
Piazza Marinai d’Italia, 2 – Website
Located near the port of Marina Piccola, this restaurant offers the pleasant calm of a small place by the sea, white and airy, lit by the colors of the tiles that immediately refer to the nearby coast. The pizza maker studies new doughs and experiments with unusual combinations, drawing on the best of the region, and beyond. The pizzas, which you can enjoy at both lunch and dinner, are very light, the result of great attention to the rising times. Various combinations, from the classics of the Campania repertoire, excellently performed, to imaginative variations (with red and yellow tomatoes, mozzarella cherries and anchovy sauce from Cetara; the Marinara, with a fantasy of Campania tomatoes and Provolone del Monaco Dop), including those seasonal (such as white pizzas with pancetta, broad beans, provolone and pecorino flakes, or with mozzarella, asparagus, bresaola and lemon).
Le Tre Arcate
Piazza Cota, 9 Piano di Sorrento – Website
The territory and tradition reign supreme in this restaurant, with preparations aimed at enhancing the food products of the area. In particular, from the chef, Salvatore Accietto’s proposal, dishes made with technique and care come to the table, between land and sea, including Nerano spaghetti, Felicetti black ones with two cherry tomatoes, red prawns and pistachio, and proposals of the day according to season and imagination. Gragnano pasta with local squid and potatoes. Fried cod in the Neapolitan style. The babà dessert is fabulous to end the meal on a sweet note. Also valid pizza proposal. The wine list is extensive and well selected. Kind and attentive service.
Bagni Delfino
Via Marina Grande, 216 – Website
The Bagni Delfino Restaurant welcomes its guests in a very romantic and maritime atmosphere, which refers to that tradition of sea lovers that still animates the entire Sorrento Peninsula. The dishes are all very tasty and well presented. The kitchen offers very fresh fish dishes, from first courses such as “Risotto Delfino” to second courses such as sautéed clams and mussels, or grilled swordfish, tuna tartare, and mussel soute and fried squid. As a finish, the lemon delight, a typical Sorrento dessert. Accompaniment of excellent local and national wines. The tables are directly on the sea.
Donna Sofia
The Donna Sofia Restaurant is surrounded by lush gardens. It consists of an external room and two internal rooms. The one on the lower floor is dedicated to those who want more intimacy and tranquility. The restaurant is dedicated to Sofia Loren, whose image dominates the great hall. The restaurant has a veranda equipped for the summer and a large garden where a cuisine dedicated to Campania flavors is served. The environment is comfortable and welcoming, the staff are polite and qualified, and the food is excellent. The restaurant’s specialties are king prawns, squid in green sauce and Sorrento cannelloni. The ingredients are very fresh and the combinations of very special ingredients. Note of merit for the paccheri pasta with broccoli and cod.
La Basilica
Via Sant’Antonino 28 – Website
La Basilica Restaurant derives its name from the nearby Basilica of Sant’Antonino. It consists of two large communicating rooms and an outdoor area. The two internal rooms are very elegant and characterized by bright colors. The restaurant focuses on the choice and freshness of raw materials, selected from local products. The chef will be able to offer you very interesting combinations of dishes, with very pleasant presentations of them. At the La Basilica Restaurant you can also enjoy excellent pizza. In addition, the restaurant also offers dishes for those with special dietary needs and preferences. The cellar is full of wines and constantly updated, with 1300 labels of the best Campania and Italian wines and emerging wineries.
Terrazza Marziale
Piazza Francesco Saverio Gargiulo, 2 – Website
The Terrazza Marziale Restaurant, in Sorrento, offers its guests highly sought-after dishes that have their roots in the Campania food and wine tradition. The proposals to be preferred are those of the sea, with mussels in jelly and seaweed, anchovies from Cetara, mezzanelli pasta with anchovies, green chillies and walnuts, and red snapper with broccoli puree. They are timeless classic dishes that the young chef manages to make original and always pleasant. The sommelier will help you choose the best wine to pair with your lunch or dinner.