If you are wondering what to eat in Naples, start with the pizza, then keep going. The short list is a Margherita or Marinara at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, a pie on Via dei Tribunali at Gino Sorbillo, a fried pizza from Zia Esterina Sorbillo, a paper cone of fried snacks called a cuoppo, and a sfogliatella and a babà from a proper pasticceria such as Scaturchio.
Naples is a city where the best food is often the simplest and cheapest, and where much of it is eaten standing up. The old centre is compact, so you can walk between most of these places, grazing as you go.
This guide covers the dishes, the places we have confirmed are open, where to find them, and a one-day route that fits it all in. We also pull out the tricks worth stealing for your own kitchen.
Key takeaways
- The art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo has been on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list since 2017.
- Da Michele, open since 1870, still makes only two pizzas: Margherita and Marinara.
- Gino Sorbillo’s historic pizzeria is at Via dei Tribunali 32, on the old centre’s famous pizza street; it closes on Sundays.
- Pizza fritta and the cuoppo are the city’s classic street foods, and both are cheap and filling.
- Finish at Scaturchio on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore for sfogliatella and babà.
Naples at a glance: what to eat and where
Use this table to plan. Every place here was checked against its own website or the current MICHELIN Guide listing before publication, but hours change, so check again before you go.
| Place | Where | Order this |
|---|---|---|
| L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele | Via Cesare Sersale 1/7, historic centre | Margherita or Marinara |
| Gino Sorbillo | Via dei Tribunali 32, historic centre | A classic Margherita |
| Antica Pizza Fritta da Zia Esterina Sorbillo | Piazza Trieste e Trento 53; Via dei Tribunali 35; Piazzetta Nilo 26 | Pizza fritta with tomato and mozzarella |
| Scaturchio | Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 19, historic centre | Sfogliatella, babà, ministeriale |
| Any friggitoria | Throughout the old centre | A cuoppo of fried snacks |
Neapolitan pizza, the reason you came
Neapolitan pizza is not just a style, it is a recognised craft. In 2017 UNESCO inscribed the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo on its list of intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO describes four phases: shaping the dough balls, spreading the dough with a slapping technique that pushes air to the edge to form the raised rim, or cornicione, adding the toppings in a clockwise spiral from the centre, and baking in a wood-fired oven with a half-turn rotation. The skill is passed down through apprenticeship in the pizzaiuolo’s workshop.
You will also see the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana logo on some doors. The association has registered the VeraPizza Napoletana brand internationally, and a pizzeria displaying it is certified as making its pizza according to the AVPN rules.
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele
At Via Cesare Sersale 1/7, Da Michele has been making pizza since 1870 and is listed in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Italia. The menu is famously short: a Margherita with tomato and mozzarella, and a Marinara with tomato, oregano and garlic. You take a numbered ticket, wait to be called, then eat in a lively, convivial room. Order one of each and compare.
Gino Sorbillo
Sorbillo’s family has been making pizza on Via dei Tribunali since 1935, when Luigi Sorbillo and Carolina Esposito opened their first pizzeria there. According to the family, all 21 of their children became pizzaioli; Gino’s father Salvatore was the nineteenth. The historic pizzeria is at number 32, on what the MICHELIN Guide calls the “via della pizza” in the Spaccanapoli area. The menu is long, with ingredients carrying protected designations, and the room is simple with shared tables. It is closed on Sundays.
A Neapolitan Marinara has no cheese at all, and it is the best argument for keeping your pizza simple.
Pizza fritta and pizza a portafoglio
Fried pizza is the pizza of the street. Italia.it, the official Italian tourism site, describes it as simple dough filled with tomato and mozzarella and cooked in hot oil, and it recommends Esterina Sorbillo by name. The Sorbillo family’s fried pizza shop, Antica Pizza Fritta da Zia Esterina Sorbillo, has three Naples addresses: Piazza Trieste e Trento 53, Via dei Tribunali 35 and Piazzetta Nilo 26.
Look out for pizza a portafoglio too. “Wallet pizza” is a regular pizza folded so you can eat it while walking around the city, and it is the Neapolitan way to carry a pizza. It makes a quick lunch between sights.
Steal this for your kitchen
Pizza fritta is one of the easiest Neapolitan ideas to copy at home. Stretch a small ball of pizza dough, fill one half with a spoon of tomato sauce and a few cubes of well-drained mozzarella, fold and seal, then fry until puffed and golden. Our homemade pizza dough works well for this.
The cuoppo and other fried snacks
The cuoppo is a paper cone full of small fried things, and ordering one is a Naples rite of passage. Italia.it lists what you might find inside: potato croquettes, salted zeppoline (little dough fritters), sciurilli, which are battered courgette flowers, mini arancini, fried polenta scraps and pasta fritters.
The same guide points to the frittatina di pasta, a fried disc of pasta roughly the size of a doughnut, and taralli, crunchy rings made with lard, pepper and almonds that make a good snack with a cold drink.
- Eat it hot. Fried food waits for no one, so find a step to sit on and start straight away.
- Share one. A cuoppo is filling, and there is more to eat down the street.
- Carry small change. Street stalls are quick and informal, so it helps to have coins ready.
Sfogliatella and babà for the sweet tooth
Naples takes pastry as seriously as pizza. The sfogliatella comes in two versions. Riccia is the crisp, many-layered shell shape that shatters when you bite it, while frolla uses a smoother shortcrust-style pastry. Both hold a sweet ricotta filling.
Babà is the other must: a yeasted cake soaked in rum syrup, sticky and light at the same time.
Scaturchio
For both, go to Scaturchio, whose historic shop is at Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 19, in the heart of the old centre. It is known for babà, sfogliatelle, pastiere and its trademarked Ministeriale and Babà Vesuvio, and it runs a sfogliatella workshop at the historic location if you want to see how the layers are made. There is also a branch at Napoli Centrale station, handy for a last pastry before your train.
A one-day eating route
The old centre is small enough to eat your way across in a day. Here is a route that links the places above without backtracking much.
- Morning: sfogliatella and coffee at Scaturchio on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore.
- Late morning: walk to Piazzetta Nilo for a pizza fritta from Zia Esterina Sorbillo, and share it.
- Lunch: a sit-down pizza at Gino Sorbillo, Via dei Tribunali 32 (Monday to Saturday).
- Afternoon: a cuoppo from a friggitoria as you wander.
- Evening: take a ticket at Da Michele on Via Cesare Sersale and compare Margherita with Marinara.
- Last stop: a babà to finish, if you still have room.
Planning more of Italy? Browse our food travel guides, or use our restaurant directory to find places closer to home.
FAQ
What food is Naples most famous for?
Pizza, above all. The art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. Pizza fritta, the cuoppo, sfogliatella and babà are close behind.
Do I need a reservation at Da Michele?
Da Michele works on a numbered ticket system: you take a ticket, wait and are called in turn. Expect a queue at busy times.
What is the difference between sfogliatella riccia and frolla?
Riccia is the flaky, many-layered shell; frolla uses a smooth shortcrust-style pastry. Italia.it lists both, and Scaturchio sells sfogliatelle at its historic shop.
Is Sorbillo open on Sundays?
The historic Gino Sorbillo pizzeria on Via dei Tribunali is listed by the MICHELIN Guide as open Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday. The fried pizza shops have their own hours, so check before you go.
Bring Naples home
You do not need a plane ticket to start. This weekend, make a Marinara at home: just tomato, garlic, oregano and good olive oil on a thin, well-risen base, baked as hot as your oven goes. Taste it next to a Margherita, the way Da Michele serves them, and you will understand why Naples never needed a longer menu. For the dough and topping ratios, see our guide to Neapolitan-style pizza at home.
Featured photo: Margherita Originale by Mario56, BY-SA 3.0.
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