It’s delightful to have lunch by the pool where the food is fresh and well-prepared, and the solicitous staff will do everything possible to make whatever you like. Lunch only. Favorites: l’insalata fruiti de mare (seafood salad); linguini con aragosto (lobster); linguini con cozze (mussels) e vongole (clams); fresh sliced peaches.

This lively, large restaurant serves the best food in town for dinner. We know – the sign outside says pizzeria, and it doesn’t look all that glamorous, but the food is really wonderful.  Ask your hotel to book a table by the window for a view of Marina Grande with its sparkling harbor lights. It’s also the perfect place to go if you’re with a large group as they think nothing of seating groups of 15 or more. The wine list and service are excellent. Specials can be expensive so if you’re price sensitive, be sure to ask. Sergio is the very attentive owner. Open for lunch and dinner. Favorites: focaccia plain with rosemary or with fresh arugula, tomatoes, and parmesan (not on the menu); pizza with mozzarella, arugula, fresh tomatoes, and parmesan (not on the menu); fish of the day, alla griglia or acqua pazza; linguini ai frutti di mare (mussels, clams, and cherry tomatoes); spaghetti con pomodorini e basilico (cherry tomatoes and basil); pollo (1/2 chicken cooked in the pizza oven); torte caprese.

spaghetti con pomodorini e basilico

focaccia with fresh arugula, tomatoes and armesan

pezzogna

grilled vegetables

In Recommone, 30 minutes away by boat, just beyond Nerano, on the way to Positano on the Amalfi Coast, is this divine waterside trattoria serving scrumptious meals. Favorites: linguini con vongole (with clams); spaghetti con zucchini; pezzogna baked in salt.

the view from La Conca del Sogno

A unique and fantastic spot for lunch at water’s edge with a rocky beach where you can also rent chairs, umbrellas and towels and stay for the day.   It boasts both a magnificent view of the famous Faraglioni—3 stunning rock formations which are Capri landmarks—and the usual Capri menu including salads, pasta, grilled fresh fish, gelato, and fresh fruit. Avoid the house sangria, which is very sweet, and go for a bottle or carafe of white wine. Ask your hotel to reserve a prime spot on the rocks for sunning and a table for lunch at the edge overlooking the water.
La Fontelina can be reached either by private boat or by walking down a path which includes roughly 300 steps. If the steps up on the return are a challenge, Fontelina offers an afternoon boat service (when the sea permits) to Marina Piccola where there are buses and taxis back to Capri center. But it’s actually faster to walk than to take the boat; depending on your fitness level, it’s a 15 to 20 minute walk up the steps. Favorites: spaghetti con pomodorini and rughetta (cherry tomatoes and arugula); fresh fish of the day acqua pazza (with white wine and tomatoes) or alla griglia; gameroni alla griglia (grilled shrimp).

Lunch by the pool is an absolute treat. Cold antipasto platters, salads, pasta, and fish are among the specialties. All the food is of the highest quality—the grilled or poached fish is the best in Capri—and the service is perfection.  Just like eating at home if home has a magnificent view of the sea, a very devoted and extremely nice wait staff, and Vincenzo in the kitchen cooking for you.   We think this is overall the best food on the Island, albeit expensive. Lunch only. Favorites: cold vegetable antipasti; linguini ai fruitti di mare (with mussels and clams); pezzogna alla griglia (grilled local white fish); gamberoni alla griglia (grilled shrimp); fresh figs and white peaches.

Faro is the lighthouse in Anacapri and is the unique and glorious setting for a beach club and restaurant. It’s a 10-15 minute cab ride from Capri (approximately €25-35 each way), and the restaurant will call a cab to take you back to Capri at the end of your meal. The calm and serene setting and unique views of the sea and rock formations make this an incredible spot to savor the delicious food served at lunch or dinner.  Favorites: grilled octopus; seared tuna with mixed vegetables and fried onions; linguine with clams and mussels; risotto pescatore (seafood risotto); grilled pezzogna; torte caprese; sparklingly fresh fruit.

(20 minutes-60 minutes, by boat from Marina Grande depending on the type of boat)
This restaurant, a 3 minute drive up the hill from the beach at Marina del Cantone in Nerano, has a beautiful and romantic terrace (but no water view), an extensive wine list, and offers the most extraordinary food. Tonino, the owner and chef is a true artist who takes enormous pride in serving the freshest food prepared delicately and exquisitely.  Even the mouth-watering bread is presented as a work of art.  This is the place for a leisurely lunch or dinner. If your boatman calls ahead, the restaurant will send a shuttle to pick you up at the dock. If you plan to go for dinner, hire a fast boat and leave while it’s still light so you can enjoy the view; then it’s lovely to travel back to Capri after dinner in the dark on your boat. Favorites: mozzarella and garden fresh tomatoes; raw tuna tartare and seared tuna; linguini with zucchini; pasta with fish ragu; pezzogna steamed over rocks;  baba au rhum.

Across from the Gardens of Augustus is this lovely restaurant situated on an outdoor terrace with wonderful views of the Faraglioni. In addition to the usual Capri specialties, there are innovative and elegant pastas and seafood dishes and even several options that feature meat, chicken and rabbit. Favorites: Calamarata (home-made pasta in the shape of calamari) with clams and wild asparagus; Black pasta made with sepia ink and topped with fish ragu; Neapolitan escarole soup with white beans; pezzogna baked with potatoes or grilled; grilled calamari.

This restaurant, part of the Torre Saracina beach club, has an enviable spot right on the water in Marina Picola and serves delicious food. It’s open every day for lunch and on Saturday night for dinner. During the day, the restaurant and beach club are reached either by boat or walking down the scenic Via Krupp. The informal beach club is quite small and because the shore and beach are quite rocky, water shoes are advised. Beach chairs, towels and umbrellas can be rented.  At night, the view of the boats on the water and of the water shimmering in the moonlight is magical.  But it’s not for the faint-of-heart.  To reach the restaurant for dinner, you take a cab and then it’s about 100 steps down and up again. After dinner, the restaurant will call a cab to meet you on the road.  Favorites: gamberetti (baby shrimp in their shells in a light tomato sauce; linguini with clams; rigatoni with shrimp and zucchini, spaghetti with octopus; pasta with peas, bacon and almonds; pezzogna acqua pazza or al forno (baked with capers, olives and potatoes).

An informal outdoor spot located at the Arco Naturale with an incredible view in the daytime of this unique rock formation and the sea. It’s also wonderful at night especially if there’s a full moon. If you arrive while it’s still light, it’s magical to watch the light change. La Grotelle features the usual Capri dishes including foccacia and pizza, pasta, grilled fish, and chicken which is baked in the pizza oven.

This outdoor wine bar is well hidden up a flight of stairs near the clock tower in the Piazzetta and is good for people-watching and a light meal. Ask for a table outside overlooking the square.

This charming restaurant uniquely situated in a lemon grove is a Capri institution, and it’s always bustling. Sadly, for us, it’s lost its former charm and has become too touristy. There’s lots of food: (1) an antipasto table; (2) pastas; (3) grilled fish; and (4) a buffet dessert table laden with fresh fruit and assorted cakes and pastries. One of the problems is the slow service; waiting for coffee and the check can be annoying. The food ranges from delicious to just ok though lots of people still love it. It’s near Marina Grande and best reached by a cab from the square. The restaurant will call a cab for you after dinner. Favorites: Pasta is the star here—pasta fagioli (pasta and bean soup); rigatoni con pomodoro e rughetta (rigatoni with tomatoes and arugula); tubettoni con cozze (small tubes of pasta with mussels), penne aumm aumm (tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella).