Nowhere is very far away on the Amalfi coast and the region’s major towns are all within an hour’s drive. Neighbouring Ravello is also a gem. Sometimes I gather ingredients for
a wild lunch – rocket, wild oregano, and caperberries – from Ravello’s
ancient alley walls as I head for the gardens of the Villa Cimbrone.
There’s a great, if rather expensive, restaurant at Villa Cimbrone, but
it’s the formal gardens that I really love. The American writer Gore
Vidal, who lived nearby, said that the view from the Terrazza
dell’Infinito, a beautiful statue-lined terrace that looks out across
the Gulf of Salerno, was the most beautiful in the world.
My favourite place to eat in Ravello is the elegant
loggia (gallery) of
the
Hotel Villa Maria. The terraced gardens are full of fruit,
vegetables, and herbs, all of which are used in the restaurant’s
kitchen. I like their
scialatielli da fritta di mare with clams, and
their speciality, a local blue fish baked on lemon leaves with a crust of breadcrumbs, garlic and lemon zest. The ricotta and pear cake is not to be missed either.
Sublime Ravello
I prefer to visit the town of Amalfi in the early evening, when it’s
calm. After admiring the cathedral, I like to sit outside
Pasticceria
Pansa, a delightfully old-fashioned place with chandeliers, mahogany
fittings and candied Amalfi lemons on cut glass dishes in the window.
Tables on the piazza are laid with embroidered linens and they serve
excellent light, spongy babà limone.
The sunsets in Amalfi are magnificent, so I choose my spot for an aperitif carefully. The terrace of the
Hotel Palazzo Sasso is an ultra-smart place for a cocktail, and
they make a fantastic Bellini. I also like the bars on the beachfront
at Positano –
La Cambusa and
La Zagara are good.
Shopping
In Minori, almost everyone grows and cooks everything from scratch, so
shopping for foodie gifts is limited, but I do like to watch Antonio
Ruocco making pasta at
Il Pastaio, the local pasta shop. Most of the
shops in Minori have been there since my childhood, but a relatively
recent addition is
Enoteca Sirah, a good spot for buying wine and
cheese or enjoying a glass and tasting plate on the spot. It also sells
colatura di alici, a powerful anchovy condiment native to the Amalfi
coast.
The ascent to the tiny, almost vertical hilltop village of Montepertuso
is rewarded by dinner at Donna Rosa, with its whitewashed walls, open
kitchen and staggering views. Jamie Oliver loved it here. Courgette
flowers stuffed with mozzarella, baked scallops and fish cooked in
acqua pazza (water scented with tomato, garlic and herbs) are my
favourites.
I like to spend my last night back in Minori or its neighbour, Maiori,
perhaps dining at the stunning Torre Normanna, which sits atop its own
craggy promontory. It has a secluded bar with loungers for swimming off
the rocks, and the circular restaurant has uninterrupted views of the
bay. Torre Normanna serves the best of the local specialities, such as
ndundari – a lighter version of gnocchi, made with ricotta rather than
potato and served with fresh tomato and basil sauce – wild sea bass
with lemon, and wild strawberries with fresh ricotta to finish. Simple
and delicious, it’s la bella cucina at its most enjoyable.