Start with fried pizza in the old centre, then a slice of pizza in teglia out in Posillipo. Next, work through the friggitorie: Fiorenzano at the Pignasecca market, frying since 1897, and Friggitoria Vomero for crocchè in paper cones. Add a panino con cicoli e ricotta on Corso Vittorio Emanuele and a cuzzetiello of ragù near the university.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1Antica Pizza Fritta Zia Esterina SorbilloOrder this: Fried half moon with ricotta, cicoli and provolaOld centre
- 2Elettroforno GiuliaOrder this: Pizza ripiena di scarolePosillipo
- 3Friggitoria FiorenzanoOrder this: O per e o musso, fritto mistoPignasecca market
- 4Pescheria AzzurraOrder this: Impepata di cozze, frittura di paranzaPignasecca market
- 5Friggitoria VomeroOrder this: Crocchè di patate, scagliozzi, salted zeppoleVomero
- 6Salumeria MalinconicoOrder this: Panino con cicoli e ricottaCorso Vittorio Emanuele
- 7TandemOrder this: Cuzzetiello con polpetteNear the university
- 8Tarallificio EspositoOrder this: Taralli nzogna e pepeRione Sanità
Where to eat fried pizza and pizza by the slice in Naples
Antica Pizza Fritta Zia Esterina Sorbillo is a narrow counter in the old centre whose classic is a folded half moon filled with ricotta, cicoli and provola, fried until the crust blisters and the middle turns molten. Queues form at lunch and again at dusk. As it cools, it turns into something else.
Antica Pizza Fritta Zia Esterina Sorbillo
Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–22:00 · Fri 11:00–23:00 · Sat 11:00–00:00 · Sun 11:00–23:00
Address: Piazza Trieste e Trento, 53, 80132 Napoli NA, Italy
For the baked kind, sold by the slice from a tray, go out to Posillipo. A counter there has made pizza in teglia since 1950, and most customers eat it out on the piazza.
Pasquale De Biase and his son Gennaro run Elettroforno Giulia now. It began with margherita only. Today there is parigina too, plus a fry case of crocché, arancini and frittatine di pasta. The slice that made the place known is the pizza ripiena di scarole, under a layer of puff pastry. Inside there are only fifteen seats, so do what the regulars do and take it out to Piazza San Luigi.
Elettroforno Giulia
Hours: Mon 09:00–02:00 · Tue–Thu 08:30–01:00 · Fri–Sun 08:30–02:00
Address: Piazza S. Luigi, 12/13, 80123 Napoli NA, Italy
What to eat around the Pignasecca market
Two old addresses sit at the edge of the Pignasecca market. Friggitoria Fiorenzano has been open since 1897 and is the oldest friggitoria in the city. Pescheria Azzurra has sold fish since 1946, and from midday it cooks it too.
The hard-core order at Fiorenzano is o per e o musso: pig’s feet and calf’s snout, served cold with lemon. It sells out, so ask for it at the counter before 12:30. For an easier start, there’s the fritto misto and the zeppoline al pomodoro.
Friggitoria Fiorenzano
Hours: Mon–Sat 09:00–21:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Pignasecca, 48, 80134 Napoli NA, Italy
The rooms at Pescheria Azzurra are plain: no tablecloths, and the smell of the sea. Lunch starts at 12:30. Then comes the frittura di paranza, a mix of small fried fish. The fishermen deliver on Friday mornings and the choice is widest then, so book Friday lunch a day ahead.
Pescheria Azzurra
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 08:00–23:00 · Sun 08:00–16:00
Address: Via Portamedina, 3/4 5, 80134 Napoli NA, Italy
Where to get fried food in a paper cone in the Vomero
The line is mostly neighbourhood regulars rather than tourists. On weekday mornings the oil is fresh and the wait is shorter.
Start with the classics: crocchè di patate (potato croquettes) and scagliozzi, squares of fried polenta. The zeppole come last. Here they’re salted, not sweet.
Friggitoria Vomero
Hours: Mon–Sat 10:00–14:30, 18:00–21:00 · Sun closed
Address: Via Domenico Cimarosa, 44, 80129 Napoli NA, Italy
Which Neapolitan sandwiches to eat for lunch
Two classic Neapolitan lunches come in bread. One is the panino con cicoli e ricotta: salted pork crisps, rendered from the fat left over after lard making, with fresh ricotta in soft bread. A fourth-generation salumeria on Corso Vittorio Emanuele still makes it the old way. The other is the cuzzetiello, a hollowed fist of pane cafone packed with Sunday ragù and polpette, served fast near the university.
Salumeria Malinconico is a plain deli counter that has stuck to a few things for a long time and does them well. The panino needs nothing added. Bread is freshest at midday, and the counter fills up from 12:30.
Salumeria Malinconico
Hours: Mon–Wed 08:30–14:30, 16:30–20:00 · Thu 08:30–14:30 · Fri–Sat 08:30–14:30, 16:30–20:00 · Sun closed
Address: C.so Vittorio Emanuele, 453, 80135 Napoli NA, Italy
Tandem turned the cuzzetiello from something made at home into a proper lunch, with ragù on the stove from early morning. Order it con polpette, with extra gravy poured over. Come before 1pm, since the cuts people want go quickly. The sit-down room on Via Giovanni Paladino serves a slower version of the same meal.
Tandem
Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–00:00
Address: Via Giovanni Paladino, 51, 80100 Napoli NA, Italy
Where to buy taralli in Naples
Tarallificio Esposito has baked them there since 1936, and three generations of the family have taken turns behind the counter. The house tarallo is nzogna e pepe, made with lard and black pepper; sweeter almond versions sit alongside.
Regulars eat the first tarallo before they’re out of the shop. The pagnottiello, stuffed with salami and hard boiled egg, is a full lunch by itself. Treat it as a meal, not a snack.
Tarallificio Esposito
Hours: Mon–Sat 07:00–20:30 · Sun 07:30–15:00
Address: Via Sanità, 129, 80137 Napoli NA, Italy
The places are spread across the city, so group them by area instead of crossing town for each one. Fiorenzano and Pescheria Azzurra are both at the edge of the Pignasecca market and fit into one outing. Eat anything fried while it’s hot. The taralli can wait.
