The short version: the Amalfi Coast is about lemons, seafood and dairy — sfusato lemons and limoncello, fresh fish and scialatielli ai frutti di mare, buffalo mozzarella from the plains below, Cetara’s anchovy colatura, and the delizia al limone for dessert. The best way to get into it is a sea-view cooking class in Sorrento or Positano. Here is what to eat, and where.
At a glance
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scialatielli ai frutti di mare | Fresh short pasta with mixed seafood |
| Sfusato lemons | The huge local lemons — and limoncello |
| Delizia al limone | Lemon-cream sponge dome, the coast’s dessert |
| Colatura di alici | Cetara’s amber anchovy sauce, on spaghetti |
| Mozzarella di bufala | Buffalo mozzarella from the Sele plain nearby |
| Fritto misto | Cones of fried fish and calamari by the harbour |
Lemons, and everything made from them
The coast’s emblem is the sfusato amalfitano, a fragrant, thick-skinned lemon grown on the terraced cliffs. It flavours everything: limoncello sipped ice-cold after dinner, lemon-leaf-wrapped provola, lemon granita, and the region’s signature dessert, the delizia al limone — a dome of sponge filled and drenched in lemon cream. On a food tour you’ll often visit a terraced lemon grove; many Sorrento cooking classes are set among the lemon trees.
From the sea, and from the dairy
This is seafood country. Look for scialatielli ai frutti di mare (a fresh, thick local pasta with mixed shellfish), spaghetti alle vongole, grilled catch of the day, and paper cones of fritto misto eaten at the harbour. In the fishing village of Cetara, spaghetti is dressed with colatura di alici, an amber anchovy essence descended from Roman garum. Inland and just below the coast comes some of Italy’s best mozzarella di bufala, along with fior di latte and smoked provola — the reason a Neapolitan-style pizza tastes so good here.
Where to eat it, and the best thing to book
Each town has its own character: Amalfi and Ravello for classic restaurants, Positano for cliffside terraces, Sorrento (just around the headland) as the easiest base with the most to book, and Cetara and Furore for authentic fishing-village food. The single best experience is a cooking class with a sea view — you’ll make fresh pasta and the delizia al limone, then eat your work looking over the water. Pair it with a farmhouse or mozzarella experience for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
What food is the Amalfi Coast known for?
Lemons and limoncello, fresh seafood and scialatielli ai frutti di mare, buffalo mozzarella, Cetara’s anchovy colatura, and the delizia al limone dessert.
What is limoncello made from?
The peel of the local sfusato amalfitano lemons, steeped in alcohol with sugar and water. It is served very cold as a digestivo after dinner.
What is the best food experience on the Amalfi Coast?
A sea-view cooking class in Sorrento or Positano, where you make fresh pasta and the lemon delizia, usually in a lemon grove or on a terrace over the sea.
Taste it for yourself
Book a sea-view class on our Positano and Sorrento cooking classes pages, browse everything on the Amalfi Coast hub, or compare all Amalfi cooking classes.
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