The best meals in Naples often come without fanfare: a chalkboard menu, a crowded room and a plate of something unforgettable. This guide rounds up the trattorias and tavernas we love most for classic Neapolitan cooking.

From humble 18th-century street food to a high-end ingredient in Michelin-starred kitchens, we trace the rise of taralli, Naples’s much-loved snack.

Throughout Italy, Naples is known as the “city of coffee” – the Neapolitan caffè is synonymous with high-quality brew. And within the city, there are a number of stories and legends that swirl around the black stuff. Coffee is far and away the most popular caffeinated drink in the city. Neapolitans are not tea drinkers. In fact, most see it as a kind of medicine, probably because when you’re sick to your stomach the doctor recommends eating white rice and drinking tea. But it’s not just about the coffee itself. In Naples, drinking coffee is a true ritual, a complex set of unwritten norms, customs and ancient habits.