Typical Neapolitan dishes: ragù, genovese, pasta e patate and what to order

First courses

• Neapolitan ragù: meat cooked for hours in tomato, the Sunday lunch. The sauce dresses the pasta, often broken ziti, and then the meat is eaten afterwards.
• Genovese: despite the name ("from Genoa"), it is Neapolitan through and through. A sauce of onions and meat cooked slowly, served with ziti or mezzanielli.
• Pasta e patate con la provola: pasta and potatoes, creamy and stringy with smoked cheese, the ultimate comfort food.
• Spaghetti alle vongole, with clams from the bay.

Main courses and sides

• Parmigiana di melanzane (aubergine parmigiana).
• Salsiccia e friarielli, sausage with broccoli rabe greens sautéed with garlic and chilli.
• Polpo alla luciana, octopus stewed with tomato.
• Mozzarella di bufala from Campania, to eat fresh.

Tip: many trattorias have dishes that change with the day of the week: ask what's on today. To eat well for little money, the Spanish Quarter and the Historic Centre are the best areas.

Keep eating

• Neapolitan pizzathe historic pizzerias
• Spanish Quartercheap trattorias

Frequently asked questions