Pasticceria and garden bar · €€
A pasticceria and bar on Via dei Mulini since 1950, with a terrace among orange and lemon trees and Vietri ceramics, and the first stop on the way down into town. Have a slice of fresh fruit tart and a cappuccino in the morning, or try the house cakes: the Torta Zagara, chocolate with a syrup of sweet tangerines, and the Positanese Cioco, sponge cake and chocolate. Later the terrace turns to aperitivo, with sandwiches, salads and Neapolitan pizza. It opens from 8:00 and is closed on Wednesday; the terrace takes no reservations.
Walk inVia dei Mulini 10, Positano
Mediterranean cooking in a garden, MICHELIN Guide · €€€
The restaurant of the Palazzo Murat, run by the Attanasio family and listed in the MICHELIN Guide, where tables stand in the hotel's botanical garden beside a small vegetable patch and move indoors only when the weather turns. The Mediterranean menu covers fish and meat, simpler at lunch than at dinner, built on fresh daily produce, with a wine list the inspectors single out and cocktails first at the Le Petit Murat bar. Lunch runs from 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner from 18:30 to 21:30, every day in season; book for a table in the garden.
Reserve aheadVia dei Mulini 23, Positano
Beach osteria and wood-oven pizzeria, since 1953 · €€€
An osteria on Spiaggia Grande, founded in 1953 by three sisters, Giovannina, Adelina and Nannina, who began with wood-oven pizza and wine; the family's third generation, Luigi and Giovanna, runs it now. Come for the beach lunch: local fish, bronze-drawn Gragnano pasta, Campanian mozzarella, or a pizza from the wood oven, with the Li Galli islands out to sea. Luigi is a sommelier, and the list is strong on Campania. It opens every day from 12:00 to 23:00 from mid-March to mid-November; book online ahead. The walk is down steps, and back up.
Reserve aheadVia del Brigantino 27, Positano
Bistro and design shop for breakfast and lunch · €€
A bistro and shop on Viale Pasitea, founded by Tanina Vanacore after training at Gualtiero Marchesi's school, with an open kitchen, fruit and vegetables on the counter, and Positano ceramics, glass and textiles for sale around the wooden tables. It is the place for a lighter day: fresh juices and extracts, salads and bowls, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, and cakes and ice cream made in the kitchen. Dogs are welcome. It opens by day only, breakfast from 9:00 and lunch until 15:00, takes no bookings and is closed on Monday; the walk is a short climb up Viale Pasitea.
Walk inViale Pasitea 100, Positano
Family trattoria, Campanian cooking, MICHELIN Guide · €€
The family trattoria on Viale Pasitea, opened in 1958 by Vincenzo and run now by his grandson of the same name, and listed in the MICHELIN Guide for Campanian cooking. The menu leans to fish, so order the catch and a pasta to go with it; there are cocktails as well as wine from lunchtime, and a few small tables on the pavement of the main street. Lunch is from 12:15 to 14:45 and dinner from 18:30 to 22:30, closed on Wednesday. Book ahead by phone or online, since it fills; the walk is a climb of about 30 metres.
Reserve aheadViale Pasitea 172, Positano
Beach bistro by day, rooftop restaurant by night, MICHELIN Guide · €€€
Rada stands at the east end of Spiaggia Grande, by the Grotte dell'Incanto, and does several things in one building: a beach bistro by day, from 11:00, and Rada Rooftop, listed in the MICHELIN Guide, a panoramic terrace over the beach with Mediterranean cooking built on the day's catch, some meat dishes and a long Champagne list. FlyBar serves drinks from 18:00, and the Music on the Rocks club below runs late, so evenings are lively. Book the rooftop for dinner; the bistro is the easier beach lunch. The walk is down steps, and back up.
Reserve aheadVia Grotte dell'Incanto 51, Positano
Contemporary Italian, one MICHELIN star · €€€€
The one-star dining room of the Hotel Villa Franca, high on Viale Pasitea, where chef Savio Perna cooks mostly from the region, with a light hand and care for presentation. Trolleys of olive oils, bread and desserts come to the table, and the wine list runs to about 1,000 labels, strong on France, Italy and Champagne. The room is small and bright, with black marble tables, a glass roof and windows that open in summer. Dinner only, 19:30 to 22:30; book well ahead. The walk is a steady climb of about 70 metres up Viale Pasitea.
Book well ahead: tables go weeks outHotel Villa Franca, Viale Pasitea 318, Positano
Breakfast is included in every rate the hotel sells. The spread is the hotel's own: seasonal fruit, Neapolitan-style cakes and pastries, home-made granola, locally made yoghurt and coffee in all its forms. For a coffee and a cornetto out, Collina Bakery on Via Cristoforo Colombo, by Piazza dei Mulini, is 3 minutes away on foot and opens from 7:30, with filled cornetti, crostate, soft brioche and every kind of coffee; La Zagara, also 3 minutes away, opens from 8:00.
