What to Eat in Sorrento (2026): Food Guide

The short version: Sorrento eats like the Bay of Naples with a lemon twist — gnocchi alla sorrentina baked with tomato and mozzarella, fresh seafood and spaghetti alle vongole, provolone del monaco cheese, Gragnano pasta, and the famous lemons that become granita, delizia al limone and limoncello. Here is what to order.

At a glance

Dish	What it is
Gnocchi alla sorrentina	Gnocchi baked with tomato, basil and mozzarella
Provolone del Monaco	The peninsula’s protected aged cheese
Delizia al limone	Sorrento’s lemon-cream sponge dome
Spaghetti alle vongole	Spaghetti with clams — the seafood default
Limoncello	The lemon digestivo, made from local Ovale lemons

The signature plates

Sorrento’s dish is gnocchi alla sorrentina — soft potato gnocchi baked in tomato and basil under bubbling mozzarella or fior di latte, served in the little terracotta dish it’s cooked in. Look too for cannelloni (the town claims to have invented them) and Gragnano pasta, the bronze-cut dry pasta from just up the peninsula. The local cheese is Provolone del Monaco DOP, aged and mellow. It’s all built on Campanian ingredients — San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and olive oil.

From the sea, and the lemons

This is the Bay of Naples, so eat fish: spaghetti alle vongole (clams), fritto misto of fried seafood, grilled catch of the day, and impepata di cozze (peppered mussels). And then there are the lemons — the big, sweet Ovale di Sorrento that perfume the whole town. They become lemon granita in the heat, the cloud-light delizia al limone (a lemon-cream sponge dome) for dessert, and of course limoncello to finish. Even the local chocolate-and-lemon sweets play on them.

What to drink, and how to eat it

Drink Campanian: a crisp Falanghina or Greco di Tufo white with the seafood, a Gragnano red (lightly fizzy) with pizza and pasta, and limoncello ice-cold to close. Eat in the old town’s lanes off Piazza Tasso, and in the fishing corner of Marina Grande for the freshest fish. The easiest way in is a Sorrento food tour or a cooking class for the gnocchi and mozzarella. For the wider region, see what to eat on the Amalfi Coast.

Frequently asked questions

What food is Sorrento known for?

Gnocchi alla sorrentina, cannelloni and Gragnano pasta, Provolone del Monaco cheese, fresh seafood like spaghetti alle vongole, and everything lemon — granita, delizia al limone and limoncello.

What is gnocchi alla sorrentina?

Potato gnocchi baked in tomato and basil sauce with mozzarella until golden and bubbling, served in the terracotta dish it’s cooked in. It’s Sorrento’s signature dish.

What should I drink in Sorrento?

Campanian wines — Falanghina or Greco di Tufo whites with seafood, lightly fizzy Gragnano red with pizza and pasta — and ice-cold limoncello as a digestivo.