Amalfi Coast

What are the three dishes I must eat here?

Start with scialatielli ai frutti di mare. This thick, fresh pasta is the local signature. You will find it in every seafront restaurant for €14, €18. The best version comes from Ristorante La Terrazza in Cetara, where they do not drown it in tomato. They use raw local prawns and a touch of lemon. A 2024 wine? Skip that. Drink the local white: Costa d’Amalfi Furore Bianco DOC from Marisa Cuomo. It costs €6 per glass. It smells of sea salt and citron.

Second, alici di Cetara. Small anchovies marinated in lemon, olive oil, and wild oregano. A full plate costs €8 at Trattoria Da Alfonso in Cetara. Order it as a starter with grilled bread. Do not confuse this with the mushy canned versions sold in tourist shops. Those are from Sicily.

Third, delizia al limone. A sponge cake soaked in lemon liqueur and filled with lemon cream. It costs €5 at Pasticceria Pansa in Amalfi. It is not a tourist gimmick. It is the real afternoon sugar hit.

Which wine should I order and how much will it cost?

Order Costa d’Amalfi Furore Rosso if you eat meat. It is a red from the same Furore DOC. It is light, acidic, and slightly salty. Perfect with grilled lamb or swordfish. A bottle in a mid‑range restaurant costs €28, €35. The best producer is Marisa Cuomo. For white, the same producer’s Furore Bianco is the standard. It runs €24, €30 in restaurants.

A warning: many restaurants serve Falanghina or Greco di Tufo. Those are Campanian wines, but not Amalfi coast wines. They are cheaper for the restaurant to buy, and they lack the mineral bite of the local stuff. Ask for “un vino della Costa d’Amalfi DOC” specifically. The waiter will nod and bring the right thing.

A house wine in a trattoria costs €4, €5 per glass. It is usually drinkable. But the leap to a bottle of Furore is worth the extra €15.

Is there a real market where locals buy food? What does it cost?

Yes, Mercato di Minori every Tuesday morning. It runs from 7am to 1pm. Locals buy vegetables, fish, and cheese here. A kilo of cherry tomatoes costs €2.50. A kilo of fresh sardines costs €6. A wheel of caciotta cheese from a farmer is €10.

Bring cash. No cards. Arrive by 9am or the best stuff is gone. Do not buy the pre‑packaged pasta on the tourist stalls by the port. They charge €12 for 250g that costs €3 in the market.

What tourist traps should I avoid?

The ‘limoncello’ tasting rooms in Positano. They offer a “free” shot, then pressure you into buying a bottle for €25. The same bottle costs €8 at a local alimentari 200 meters uphill on Via dei Pastai. The limoncello is identical (often from the same factory in Massa Lubrense).

Restaurants with menus in English and photos. I mean the ones on the main promenade in Amalfi. They have a man in a white shirt waving a menu. The pasta is pre‑boiled. The seafood is frozen. A spaghetti alle vongole costs €18 and tastes of nothing. Go one street back. Trattoria San Giuseppe in Amalfi (Via della Repubblica 12) serves the same dish for €12, with fresh vongole and garlic. They close at 3pm and reopen at 7pm. Check the sign.

The “catch of the day” pricing. Many places say “market price” for fish. This can mean €50 per kilo for a simple spigola (sea bass). Ask the price per kilo before you order. A fair price in summer 2026 is €35, €40 per kilo for wild spigola. If they say “€60,” walk out.

What is the best way to taste local olive oil and cheese?

Visit a caseificio (dairy) in the hill towns. The most accessible is Caseificio La Fiorita in Scala (20 minutes uphill from Amalfi by bus, €1.30). They offer a free tasting of three cheeses: fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and a matured caciocavallo. You buy what you like. A 250g wedge of caciocavallo costs €9. The bus runs every hour from Amalfi bus station. Last bus back at 7pm.

For olive oil, go to Oleificio San Pietro in Furore. They press olives from trees growing on terraces 200 meters above the sea. A 500ml bottle costs €14. They do not offer a tasting room. You buy from the little shop next to the mill. The owner speaks a few words of English. He will let you dip bread in a saucer of oil if you smile.

Can I cook a meal myself? Where do I buy ingredients?

Yes, and you should. The supermarkets in Amalfi are expensive. Go to Alimentari Di Napoli on Via Doglie Vecchie in Minori. They sell anchovy paste from Cetara (€3.50 a jar), 500g of bronze‑die pasta for €2.80, and lemons from a local grove at €0.80 each. You can make scialatielli in your holiday apartment in 15 minutes. Buy the pasta fresh from the same shop for €4 per 400g.

A warning: do not buy “Amalfi lemon” anything in the big supermarkets. The lemons in the nets are often from Sicily. Look for the IGP stamp on the box. The real Amalfi lemons are large, thick‑skinned, and smell like flowers.

What about desserts and pastries?

Pasticceria Pansa in Amalfi is famous for a reason. Their delizia al limone costs €5. It is the same recipe since 1930. They also sell sfogliatella for €2.50. Eat it warm at 10am with a coffee. The queue moves fast. 5 minutes max.

In Positano, skip the overpriced gelato from the stands on the beach (€6 for one scoop). Walk up to Gelateria Bum Bum on Via dei Pastai. A small cone costs €3.50. Their lemon sorbet is made with real Amalfi lemons. It tastes like the fruit itself.

Where to eat a proper sit‑down lunch for a fair price?

Ristorante Da Gemma in Atrani. It is 50 meters from the main square. A two‑course lunch with a carafe of house wine costs €28 per person. They serve scialatielli with zucchini flowers and pecorino (€14). The terrace looks over the old town. The staff are locals, not summer hires. Book a day ahead in July 2026. Phone: +39 089 872087.

A comparison table for lunch options:

Is the food expensive overall? Give me a daily budget.

A good budget day (breakfast pastry and coffee, lunch trattoria, market fruit, simple dinner with wine) costs €40, €50 per person. A splurge day (seafood meal, two glasses of wine, dessert) runs €70, €90. The cheap stuff is the pasta, the vegetables, and the local cheese. The expensive trap is the fish market price game and the view restaurants.

My rule: if the restaurant has a sign saying “English menu” and a man outside, turn around. If the menu is handwritten in Italian on a chalkboard, sit down.

Any final practical advice?

Carry cash. Many small trattorias and shops do not accept cards for amounts under €15. ATMs are common in Amalfi and Positano but charge €5 per withdrawal. Withdraw €100 at once.

Lunch hours are 12:30 to 15:00. Dinner starts at 19:30. Do not eat at 18:00 expecting a full kitchen. You will get a cold plate of antipasti.

And the best wine you will drink on this coast is not in a bottle. It is the limoncello served after a meal at a nonna’s table. If you are invited for coffee, stay. Drink it. It costs nothing and tastes like the whole coast in a glass.