Food4 min read
Eating the Amalfi Coast, One Long Lunch at a Time
Lemons, anchovies, and fresh pasta: a short guide to the coast's table, and how to book it well.
The Amalfi Coast is easy to see and harder to taste. The postcard version, a pretty terrace over the sea with a menu translated into six languages, is everywhere. The good version takes a bit of planning.
Eat where the lemons grow
The coast's lemons are large, fragrant, and used in everything from pasta to liqueur. Book lunch at a family run terrace in the hills where the trees are visible from the table. The food is simpler and the view is better.
Ask for the catch
In a good seafood restaurant, the menu is what the boats brought in that morning. Ask what came in, and order that. It will not always be the most famous dish, but it will be the freshest.
Take a class
A cooking session with a local family gives you more than a recipe. You learn how the dishes are actually made, in kitchens where they have been made for decades, and you eat what you cook.
Timing matters
Lunch in Italy starts late and runs long. Plan to start at 1:30 and expect to finish after 3. Fill the rest of the afternoon with something slow: a swim, a walk, a nap.
Book ahead
The best tables on the coast fill early in the season. If a particular restaurant matters to you, tell us early, and we will arrange it around your trip.
Fictional editorial content written for a portfolio project.
