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3 Must Eats! | The Amalfi Coast


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The Amalfi Coast, Campania, has a long history of great food and is responsible for so many dishes now seen as quintessentially Italian. Travelling here is the ultimate opportunity to gorge yourself on all things fresh and delicious, below is a list of my 3 must eats of The Amalfi Coast and 10 must try foods.


Annare'


Annare' is a tiny family run restaurant, Corso Italia, 51, Meta di Sorrento, seating at most 25 people. This restaurant is verified local as on a week night 85% of the people eating here are locals themselves. The atmosphere is cosy, friendly and casual which is also the type of service they provide but the charm doesn't stop there, their menu is handwritten and photocopied with the specials chalked on a board that day.


How about a bit of a story? Annare' cooks only fresh produce that the family grow themselves from the tomatoes to the flour, that they mill, which is used to cook their pasta and pizza. For that reason everything you eat is perfectly in season and grown with love. For me it reminds me of when my mum's vegetable garden is brimming and the tastes that go along with it.


We ate here twice in one week; the first night I ate Pizza Zi Catri which is topped with aubergine, cherry tomatoes, sausage and fior di latte, while Luca ate Pizza Garibaldi topped with Salame, peperoncino, tomato and provola cheese. We split a beer and for dessert we had a creamy-spongey dessert topped with alcohol-soaked berries, all for just over 20 euro!


The second time we ate here we opted for something other than pizza, for starters we had a humongous plate of varying types of salame, mozzarella, rocket, tomatoes and the icing on the cake coccoli (tiny deep fried dough balls). We followed this up with 2 ravioli dishes, I got the Ravioli Napolitana and Luca the Ravioli di Melanzane, both were very similar but the melanzane (aubergine) is much more typical of Sorrento. We shared a bottle of wine and to top of this heavenly meal we had the Tortino di Ricotta con gioccie di Cioccolatio. This time it came to around 35euro!


I can only say good things about Annare' from the service to the food, for me it is one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten in, the price to quality ratio is unbelievable. If you chose any restaurants on this list chose this one.


O'Parrucchiano


O'Parrucchiano stands alone for it's surroudings, in the centre of Sorrento this restaurant is filled with beauty. The terrace is enclosed by beautifully grown trees and flowers and the pergola littered with fairy lights that twinkle as you eat, it creates an incredibly romantic atmosphere. Here need not have any worry about availability as the restaurant is huge with probably hundreds of tables. It's a throw back to many decades past with pastel green table cloths and chairs, old mahogany wood chairs and even complete with four people sitting at a long formidable table spending their night calculating everyone's bill by hand.


Although more expensive than the others, this place is worth the treat. Established in the 1800's and the birth place of Cannelloni, eating here is a dip into Italian culinary history that you shouldn't deny yourself of.


For starters I had the Antipasto Favorita and Luca the Antipasto Classico as recommended by the waiter, both consisting of deep-fried treats, and we split the Parmigiana Melanzane. For mains the choice was obvious, Cannelloni because it would be rude not to and Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. Finally for dessert we both had Delizie al Limone. We shared a little bottle of white wine and water for drinks.


Our meal totalled at around 70euro which is in stark contrast to most of the prices in eateries around Sorrento, but saying that we left waddling as we had eaten so much and the service was incredible. The atmosphere makes dining here an experience and despite listening to the cheers of the World Cup matches from over the high walls we enjoyed every bite of our romantic last meal. The Delizie al Limone being the crowning jewel of this meal, for me, this is another must eat in The Amalfi Coast.


Aqcu'e Sale


Acqu'e Sale is the restaurant you need to approach with a more is less attitude, especially if you're heading there for their famous pizza. Situated in the port area of Sorrento and a long climb or an elevator ride down, this restaurant can offer you a quiet evening on a week night or a much busier lunch. We booked even though it wasn't necessary and enjoyed a quiet dinner with only a few other families around us.


The service here isn't incredibly friendly unlike other restaurants in Sorrento but what they lack in a beaming smile upon welcome is made up for with exciting and intriguing pizzas to try! The kitchen is also an open front kitchen so you can see them cooking your food as you wait in anticipation.

We decided to start with Salmon Bruschetta and we weren't disappointed, although maybe too

little to share, for most people, the salmon was great and it was an easy light starter to follow up with pizza. Luca opted for the Cardinale, with provola cheese, walnuts and prosciutto... it was then topped with another folded pizza on top stuffed with ricotta and sausage; it was a heart attack on a plate and near impossible to finish but this is why more is less here!


I opted for Pizza al limoni di Sorrento, simple and plain wishing it had something more but it was light and easy; it was topped with mozzarella, lemon zest, a mozzarella pearl in the middle and mint (looking back I wish I'd made a more extravagant choice). We had water and beer along with our meal and paid around 50euro, which again sits at more expensive than most of Sorrento.


This restaurant might not be for everyone, the atmosphere is by no means traditional and neither is the food. It infuses modern tastes with traditional recipes but is a hit with people from Campania and came to us highly recommended! If you're a lover of pizza and want to try something with a twist this is the place for you just make sure you take the lift back up to the centre after eating here, the stairs a no go with a full stomach!


10 must try foods in The Amalfi Coast!


1. Gnocchi alla Sorrentino (oven baked gnocchi, topped with mozzarella)

2. Delizie al Limone (the most famous lemon cake)

3. Limoncello Or Cream of Limoncello (typical digestif, not to be drunk as a shot!)

4. Parmigiana Melanzane (Oven baked aubergine with tomato sauce)

5. Mozzarella Affumicata (Smoked Mozzarella)

6. Scialatielli ai frutti di mare (Specific type of pasta with sea food)

7. Anything with fresh tomatoes (in Summer, as they're in season)

8. Coccoli (deep fried dough balls)

9. Sfogliatelle (a typical pastry eaten for breakfast with coffee)

10. Fior di latte cheese (found in most dishes and almost unavoidable)

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