The Best Street Food in Naples? Guide to what and where to eat it

Street food, as we know it today, was born in Naples. Long before the term became fashionable, in the alleys and “lows” of the Neapolitan city, street food was already an art form, an act of daily love. Women from working-class neighborhoods, in particular, once a week went out from the bottom, set up a small counter in front of the front door and fried hot, fragrant pizzas, sold to hungry people with the most supportive formula in the world: “Here you eat and you don't pay”, which allowed even those who had no money to eat and to pay after 7 days, for the next pizza! this is a scene immortalized in the famous film “The Gold of Naples” (1954), where Sofia Loren plays a young pizza maker from the alleys: a strong, ironic, beautiful woman, symbol of a city that never gives up and that transforms poverty into creativity. During the Second World War, the narrow streets of the historic center were teeming with life: American soldiers stationed in Naples learned to love fried pizzas, the “wallet” pizza, folded in four to be eaten on the fly, the “strong cooked meat soup” (a delicious and very spicy dish, made from offal). It was precisely then that the Neapolitan street food tradition conquered the world: simple, cheap, irresistible. And it never ended there.

Naples has continued to reinvent itself and its flavors: from the modern Poppella “snowflake” — a soft and filling brioche that has driven Instagram crazy — to the “bread crust”, once prepared by wives for husbands who went to work, now a trendy icon of food-lovers around the world. Even “open thighs” lemon soda, an ancient drink invented right in Naples, remains a symbol of freshness and lightheartedness: it was drunk sitting on the steps or along the sidewalks, knees wide apart, chatting while the sun beat on Vesuvius. Because Naples does not cook just to feed, but to tell itself: every bite is a chapter of history, every scent is a memory, every fried food is a caress

that comes from the past.

From these first words you will have understood, by now, that in Naples everything is done and lived with passion, in the right times, but above all with slowness and meticulousness. It is for these reasons that street food in Naples is a serious topic, to be explored, but above all to be informed about and absolutely to plan before a next trip

to this beautiful city. 1) Let's start with the Queen, the Pizza Wallet: Piazza Dante.

Still in the historic center, among ancient alleys and whispers of history, stop and taste a truly unique Neapolitan specialty: The Pasta Frittaita! It was born as a recovery dish, enriched with meat, peas, bechamel sauce (in its classic form, now accompanied by other variants, including pasta and potatoes) that stems from a real intuition in the Antica Pizzeria Di Matteo (Via dei Tribunali 94, Naples) and which today, despite the imitations and dissemination of this delicacy, remains the best in Naples. Here you can also taste other street food specialties (fried earthen crust or purse pizza), or sit down for a delicious pizza (I recommend the filling or the sausage and fierielli pizza (typical Neapolitan broccoli).
Nearby: Via Spaccanapoli, Church of Sant'Angelo a Nilo, Archaeological Route of San Lorenzo, the Shepherds of Via San

Gregorio Armeno.

To taste the real Neapolitan puff pastry — curly or pastry — head to the Fratelli Attanasio Antico Forno delle Spagliatelle Calde (Vico Ferrovia 1-4, near Central Station, Naples). This is one of the most popular Neapolitan dessert classics together with the babà! According to certain sources, the ancestor of the puff pastry is called Santarosa and it was a dessert that was made for the first time starting in 1600 in the Convent of Santa Rosa, from which it took its name, which was located in the area between Furore and Conca dei Marini (Amalfi Coast). A “hot” puff pastry that is the perfect romantic breakfast, but also a sweet break while walking.
Nearby: Piazza Garibaldi metro station

. : in foam.