Villa Positano

La Sponda  via Colombo 30  Tel. 39089875066  http://sirenuse.it/en/restaurants-bars  One star Michelin dining in a ultra romatic setting in the Le Serenuse Hotel, or on their terrace. After a spell at the famous Two Michelin Don Alfonso 1890, chef Matteo is now making use of his experience and culinary skills at the La Sponda restaurant. He has created a menu of simple dishes made from the best local produce and inspired by Neapolitan traditions. Candlelit dinners and Mediterranean flavors. Expensive.

 Zass  via Laurito 2  Tel. 39089875455 www.ilsanpietro.it/it/ Another gorgeous restaurant, this time at the San Pietro Hotel, featuring the cuisine of Campania, one of the most appealing Italian cuisines. It has a creative touch and exploits the full intensity of its colors and flavors. A dream come true thanks to the terrace overlooking the sea. Michelin One Star. Expensive.

 Next2  via Pasitea 242 Tel. 390898123516  www.next2.it This sleek wine-bar and restaurant may look contemporary, but the food is firmly rooted in local traditions. It is highly recommended for its attractive outdoor terrace, open-view kitchen, wine bar and informal atmosphere. The restaurant specializes in fish and seafood and is also perfect for an after-dinner drink. Sometimes they have  live music. Moderate

 Chez Black  Via del Brigantino 19-21  Tel.  089/875036  Of the many places along the main beach in downtown Positano, this one is the best. It has been here since the late 1940’s. A great place to people watch, and the service is friendly and good. Good selection of seafood. Moderate prices.

 Da Tommaso allo Scoglia Piazza delle Sirene 15, Marina di Cantone Tel.  081 808 1026; www.hotelloscoglio.com Hire a boat from Positano to reach this beachside restaurant where the emphasis is on seafood and fresh vegetables (from the De Simone family's garden). The summer dining room, a wooden deck over the sea, is a wonderful place to tuck into spaghetti alle zucchini. Catch of the day poached all'acqua pazza (in a tomato-and-herb flavored stock) makes a good secondo, and for desert you could try the amarene tart (with cherries). Moderate

 Ristorante Casa Mele Via G. Marconi, 76  Tel. 089 811364  www.casamele.com/restaurant Great food, service and decor. Cooking classes are also offered, even private ones with chef Raffaele, in his modern kitchen. Moderate prices.

 Lo Guarracino  Via Positanesi d'America 12  Tel. 089-875794In a supremely romantic setting, this is about the most idyllic place to enjoy lemon pasta and a glass of vino as you watch the yachts come and go. Set a few steps above Positano's prettiest seaside path, the terrace vista takes in the cliffs, the sea, Li Galli islands, Spiaggia del Fornillo, and Torre Clavel. The super-charming backroom arbor, beneath thick, twining vines, is the place to sit. Fine fish specialties are top delights on the menu. The day's catch is often cooked, with potatoes, in the wood-fired pizza oven, which gives it a distinct flavor.

 La Tagliata  Via Tagliata 22, Montepertuso  Tel. 089/87-5872  When in Positano, most travelers try to stay as close to the water as possible, but one of the best restaurants in town is La Tagliata, a rustic, indoor-outdoor mountain lodge set in the high village of Montepertuso, 1 km above Positano town. (Don't worry, there are still amazing views of the sea.) In a warm atmosphere where you're made to feel like family, La Tagliata offers generous portions and lots of courses of farm-to-table cuisine for a reasonable fixed price, which includes wine. The most sought-after tables are in the treehouse-like open-air terrace perched over the plunging hillside, though in cooler weather, the farmhouse-style interior dining room is a cozy alternative. Given its practically alpine setting, La Tagliata is less seafood-focused than its waterside brethren, which is a welcome break for the fish-weary. Expect hearty fare from the local terra, including handmade pastas (try the fusilli with pumpkin) and sausages, grilled meats and game, and classic southern Italian comfort fare such as eggplant parmigiana. Much of the produce is grown right in the property's own gardens and orchards. With breathtaking views that take in a huge sweep of the coastline as well as Positano itself, this is an idyllic, panoramic spot, one that's best appreciated when there's daylight, so I'd recommend going to La Tagliata for lunch or an early dinner, before the sun sets. The restaurant offers a free shuttle from Positano town. You can arrange a pick-up time and location when you call to make reservations, which are highly advised.

 Ristoranre Il Ritrovo  Via Montepertuso 77, Montepertuso  Tel. 089-812005  www.ilritrovo.com/web/index.php  Sitting in the tiny town square of Montepertuso, 1,500 feet up the mountainside from Positano, the Ritrovo has been noted for its cucina for more than 20 years. Call for the free shuttle service to and from Positano, and take a seat on the terrace's frescoed wood-paneled dining area. The menu showcases food from both the sea and the hills—try the scialatielli ai frutti di mare (seafood pasta) accompanied by well-grilled vegetables, or the house specialty, zuppa saracena, a paella-like affair brimming with assorted seafood. Leave space for the lemon tiramisu, owner Salvatore's own recipe, paired with one of 80 different kinds of a homemade liqueur (try the carob or even chamomile). Salvatore also runs a cooking school, at which you can learn to whip up his creations at home. There is also a cooking school here, offering classes through out the year. Moderate prices.

 Beach Club Bar/Restaurants

 Da Adolfo Spiaggia di Laurito Tel. 089 875022; www.daadolfo.com No trip to Positano is complete without a meal at a restaurant that can be reached only by boat. Such places abound up and down the coast, and they all offer free water shuttles from the marina in Positano. The most fun one is Da Adolfo, a super-casual spot that doubles as a stabilimento balneare (beach club, meaning it provides lounge chairs, umbrellas, and changing facilities for a fee), so plan to make a half-day excursion of it, with swimming and sunning on either end of your meal. Da Adolfo spirits guests from Positano in a boat marked with a red fish. In high season, this part of the experience is a zoo. Don't worry, though—everyone gets a ride eventually, and after a 10-minute ride, you're deposited on the pebbly beach of Laurito and in front of a ramshackle building that can't possibly be the restaurant. Except that it is. Da Adolfo is a shack, an often chaotic one, in which the busy, efficient waiters wear flip-flops and swim trunks as they navigate the stairs from the kitchen to the dining area, and if that sounds off-putting, eat elsewhere. However, Da Adolfo's fans find incredible charm in the fun, relaxed atmosphere here—which, along with a glorious waterfront setting, makes for a theatrically memorable lunch. (It doesn't serve dinner.)  The cuisine is lovingly executed homestyle Neapolitan—fabulous mussels prepared three ways, heaping pastas made with the catch of the day, perfect grilled fish, and fresh veggies, all washed down with copious amounts of the local white sangria with peaches. Despite the somewhat run-down look of the place, Da Adolfo has a cult following, and many patrons arrive on their own yachts. If you don't plan on arriving by private yacht, reservations are highly advised for the smoothest, most confusion-free experience. Be at the dock in Positano a good half hour before your reservation time, and be ready to jab elbows with the masses. You can also go much earlier—the boats start at 10am—and lounge on the beach before the kitchen opens. Inexpensive.