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Sorrento

Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast...it is a foodie place on the peninsula...the cliffs are magical...the drive in from Naples to see the cliffs...just magical

Posted by
173 posts

don't think that your vacation is just to see the sights...find a place that speaks to you and just BE...seeing the sights a running around is great some times. It is also fun to just chill in one spot and enjoy the music of life.

Posted by
173 posts

sleep late...or get up early and get to know the people around you...connect

Posted by
1929 posts

Yeah, I'd agree wholeheartedly, mt. When we were in Sorrento for 5 nights in March of last year, the weather was so crappy for the most part that about the only thing to do was eat. And even though it was off-season, almost every restaurant was open, but I can't vouch for some of the high-class joints down by the marina.

I had handicapped/researched places in advance, because that's what I do. TavernAllegra, a cave-like dwelling on a backstreet holding maybe 30 people, was billed online as a fun time where the owner & waitstaff get up and sing Italian songs. I reluctantly booked dinner there, because the last thing I wanted was to sing with a bunch of tourists and eat substandard fare, because the quality at those places is rarely any good. Bottom line--it was fabulous, outstanding. I ordered a 'gurland'--one of many varieties of fish in my trips to Italy that I've never heard of--in red sauce and it was transcendant. We returned before we left town and I ordered the same thing.

At Ristorante Zi'intonio, I had the best meal of the trip, a lobster diavolo over linguine, for I think 18 Euro. Incredible. On a cold Sunday, after visiting the Archeological Museum in Naples, we took the CV back to Sorrento, chilled to the bone, and just outside the station was Il Leone Rosso, where we warmed up on homemade soup, thin pizza and red wine. Hit the spot.

And these weren't even high-end places. All were price-wise in the vicinity of 1 appetizer or salad, 2 pastas, 2 secondi, 1 dessert & 1 half-carafe of wine for around 50 Euro total, cheaper than the States.

Posted by
15560 posts

Good advice for just about anywhere. Between you and Jay, I am missing Italy more and more. . . .

Posted by
15679 posts

...and just outside the station was Il Forno Rosso.

Jay, that may have been Il Leone Rosso? If so, we had a really good meal there too!

Posted by
11247 posts

I’ll Leone Rossi is surprisingly good! And it is consistent over time, I might add.

Posted by
2668 posts

Jay, thank you for the restaurant recommendations. I’ve bookmarked them for the tour’s free day.

Posted by
173 posts

Jay, I love TavernAllegra...we ate there 3 times. Also, Frankie's pizza place was the best neapolitan pizza in Italy...so good! They have only been open for three years...but i want to go back for the pizza....so good!

Posted by
1929 posts

Frankie also makes a mean bloody mary...just saying!

mtvaughn--isn't it harder than you would think to get your kind of cocktail in Italy, except in the high-end Americanized places? I mean, I'll exist on good house red or white over there if I have to, but sometimes a Grey Goose/tonic would really hit the spot.

Kath--edited to read Il Leone Rosso. Glad you found it too, Laurel, but you've found everything over your travels!

mtvaughn--the old guy/owner of TavernAllegra, the one who looks like Don Ciccio in The Godfather, is a trip. Had a helluva time making reservations by phone--language barrier--so we didn't quite know if we had one or not, so I told my wife whattheheck, let's just show up. We're walking down the back alley, trying to find the place, and he's sitting on a stool outside, with his suit, his white, wide-brimmed hat...and sunglasses at night. I thought I was about to get whacked. He yells out my name--no idea how he knew--and puts his arm around my shoulder and directs us in, sits us down, and advises me what to order. Yes sir, I said.

The food starting coming, and they started singing. The owner--he's gotta be 75-80 now & must have had a great, operatic voice in his day--eventually got up and sang a couple tunes, and you couldn't help but sing along. Even to Volare, the cheesiest song of all--when in Rome, I guess. We still laugh about this place, how it's an exaggerated caricature of everything authentic about Italy...and still, it was fun. Great food as well.

I guess it 'goes to show you' that when searching for the 'real Italy', trying to find what you think is totally authentic, maybe by bypassing some places that you think are too touristy or too manufactured, you miss some good times in the process. Does that make any sense at all? Ciao!

Posted by
173 posts

If someone tells me what to do in Sorrento...I will just sleep late and enjoy the view

Posted by
173 posts

early October was bad in Rome and Venice...in Sorrento it was down time...so not that bad

Posted by
467 posts

Thanks for the posts. Really helps as we plan our trip. Read your report about TavernA. Checked the reviews and it seems the owners are pretty rude and when anyone writes a negative review. Interesting. Looking forward to our trip.

Posted by
15679 posts

mtvaughn. just to mention that you can group multiple of your comments - such as your last 4 - into a singular post.
Easier to read that way. :O)

Posted by
1929 posts

Thanks for the posts. Really helps as we plan our trip. Read your
report about TavernA. Checked the reviews and it seems the owners are
pretty rude and when anyone writes a negative review. Interesting.
Looking forward to our trip

Hmmm. On TripAdvisor there were 33 consecutive great reviews for TavernAllegra, then 4 negative ones right in a row. I thought that kind of comedy only happened on Yelp.

Whether any or all these 'reviews' were real or fabricated, that's only part of the research. Do your due diligence from multiple sources, and make your call. I use TA, but have been occasionally misled by them too. And, have an idea of where you are. Going to a tiny restaurant as a party of 7 saying only 5 of you are hungry probably would not go over well with owner Peppe Gioia, or with me either.

Ciao!

.

Posted by
467 posts

Agree on the reviews. I am not a fan of TA restaurant reviews myself. I just thought the replies were interesting. I prefer hearing about places on forums or from friends. I feel in most cases forum people that take the time to post usually have the best info. Thanks OP for this timely post

Posted by
173 posts

one of the best thing about sorrento are the views of the cliffs and the bay...but the food...omg! one of the best places to eat in all of italy IMO. The pizza is the best...the seafood is fresh...the wine is great. When I retire I want to spend more than two weeks.