Regional highlights
Insalata caprese
The island's most-imitated dish: thick slices of fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella, tomato and torn basil, dressed only with olive oil, salt and (sometimes) a grind of pepper. Believed to have been invented in the 1920s on Capri itself, the colours echo the Italian flag. The principle is unforgiving — only ripe summer tomatoes, only same-day mozzarella.
Ravioli capresi
Hand-pinched parcels of fresh pasta filled with caciotta cheese (an aged cow's-milk cheese) and a generous quantity of marjoram, served with a simple cherry-tomato and basil sauce. A Capri original, distinct from mainland ravioli in the herbal note that the marjoram brings. Almost every traditional restaurant on the island has them.
Torta caprese
A flourless cake of ground almonds, dark chocolate, butter and eggs — dense, rich, slightly fudgy in the centre. Born by happy accident, the legend goes, when a 1920s pastry chef forgot to add flour while making a cake for visiting Austrian gangsters. Naturally gluten-free and now found across Campania; the white version (torta caprese bianca) swaps almonds for limoncello and white chocolate.
Linguine allo scoglio
"Pasta of the rocks" — linguine in a shellfish-and-tomato sauce with mussels, clams, prawns and sometimes octopus or scampi, all cooked in their own briny juice. A staple of every cliffside restaurant on Capri and a fixture of Marina Grande lunches. Eaten messily, with a glass of cold white wine.
Pezzogna all'acqua pazza
Local snapper poached in a "crazy water" of olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, parsley and a splash of white wine — the simplest way to highlight a perfect fish. Born of fishermen who cooked their day's catch in seawater on the boat. On Capri the fish is usually pezzogna or local sea bream from the Tyrrhenian.
Totani e patate
Squid (totani) and potatoes stewed together in tomato, white wine, garlic and parsley until the squid turns tender and the potatoes drink up the sauce. A Procida and Capri classic that's also common across the Gulf of Naples. Served with toasted bread to mop up the broth — a fishermen's lunch dish that's now on every island menu.
Parmigiana di melanzane
Fried aubergine layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and basil, then baked. A Campanian classic shared across the Bay of Naples — heavier than caprese but built from the same trio of tomato, mozzarella and basil. Often eaten as a main course rather than a side, sometimes cold the next day.
Frittura di paranza
A mixed fry of tiny Mediterranean fish — anchovies, red mullet, small calamari, prawns — lightly floured and crisped in hot oil, served with lemon wedges. "Paranza" is the trawler-net fishing technique that catches them. Typical of beach restaurants from Marina Piccola to the Faraglioni. Ordered as a starter or shared main; eaten whole, fingers welcome.
Caprese di bufala
The premium upgrade to insalata caprese — buffalo mozzarella from the Caserta or Salerno plains, brought in fresh that morning, paired with sun-warmed tomatoes and basil. The texture is creamier and the flavour gamier than fior di latte; some Capri restaurants quietly serve only fior di latte (cow's milk) in the standard caprese, with bufala at a small premium.
Babà al rum
Brioche-like leavened cake soaked in rum syrup until saturated. A Campanian icon (originally from Naples, via Polish-French royal courts) and a fixture on Capri pasticceria shelves. Eaten cold, sometimes with whipped cream or pastry cream filling. Modest looking, dangerous to eat too fast — the rum is real.
Delizia al limone
A small dome of sponge cake brushed with limoncello, filled with limoncello-infused pastry cream and coated in a lemon glaze. Invented in nearby Sorrento in 1978 by a pastry chef and now everywhere on Capri. Light, fragrant and the most perfect ending after seafood — the limoncello cleans the palate and the cream cools the warmth.
Pizza margherita
Pizza on Capri is a homecoming — Naples is just across the bay. The classic margherita (tomato, fior di latte, basil) was named for Queen Margherita on her 1889 visit to Naples. The wood-oven pizzerias of Anacapri and the back streets of Capri Town serve it with a soft, slightly charred crust. A simple, reliably good lunch option between sightseeing.