ISCGuide
The Best Restaurants On Ischia
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Sure, you could spend every day of your trip to Ischia on a beach chair, pretending to read the book that took up space in your carry-on and ordering back-to-back Aperol spritzes. But you should also carve out time to explore the island’s six quaint villages in full.
Ischia’s volcanic origins make for a landscape of lush, forested mountains and steamy thermal springs. You won’t find streets lined with designer boutiques like nearby Capri, and Ischia’s ports bustle more with local families in small boats than celebs on super yachts.
Use this guide to eat and drink your way across this laid-back, nostalgic island. Menus at both rustic family-run trattorias and elegant restaurants showcase sun-ripened tomatoes, aromatic basil, fragrant lemons, and local olive oil, plus specialties like coniglio all’Ischitana, a stewed rabbit dish that, in true Ischia fashion, takes at least 24 hours to make. And with such close proximity to Naples, wood-fired pizzas are as available as they are delicious.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Blue striped deck chairs and lacquered wood almost make you feel like you’re dining on a yacht at this popular Ischia Porto spot right on the dock. Try traditional dishes and desserts like house-made gnocchi with mussels, fig tarts, and exquisite tiramisu. They have plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, plus hefty salads full of whole grains and locally grown vegetables.
This casual beach bar in Casamicciola Terme is perpetually busy, but friendly Gino and his efficient staff are always ready with a joke to make your wait entertaining. Try the house special bruschettone, a large piece of toasted bread topped with things like eggplant parmigiana finished with grated cheese. This is a great place for a reliable caprese salad or another island speciality, the zingara ischitana, a grilled prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Whether you’re spending a few days on Ischia or just hopping the ferry for a day-trip, grab lunch at this family-run restaurant with views of the port and Vesuvius. Seafood pastas, like the allo scoglio with shrimp, squid, mussels and clams, are the stars of the menu. La paranza, a mix of battered and fried seafood, is also an excellent choice to share, and so are their thick-crusted Neapolitan pizzas.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Pizza in nearby Naples in serious business—there's an official government-recognized certification that ensures your pizza is made with traditional raw ingredients and methods. The result: thick crusts with a squishy middle. Next to the water in Forio, La Bella Napoli serves up real-deal pies—go beyond classics like margarita and marinara and ask about seasonal specials, and try to get a table with a view of the wood fired oven so you can witness the traditional technique in real time. Pregame your pizza with some fried snacks, like potato croquettes, ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers, and battered mozzarella.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Head to the village of Sant’Angelo for a beach day at Spiaggia delle Fumarole and a lunch reservation at Chalet Al Ferdinando di Mare. The seaside restaurant is owned by the folks at the adjacent Hotel Ferdinando Terme, who prep seafood, meat, vegetables, and even desserts in the hotel kitchen before wrapping it all in foil and bringing it down to a fenced-off area in the sand that’s super hot and dry due to its location on a volcanic basin. Order a spritz at one of the plastic tables and chairs on the beach while your food gets perfectly steamed in the earth.
The only way to get to Stalino is by taking a boat from Sant’Angelo to Maronti beach and hoofing it up the hill. Your efforts will be rewarded with generous portions of seafood pasta and pollo cacciatore—and don’t miss the restaurant’s famous zeppole. Snag a red-checkered table on the covered terrace that’s set into the cliffside with stunning views of the sea, green hills, and fragrant oleander bushes.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Eat lunch above the waves at this old-fashioned Ischia Porto restaurant on stilts that’s been serving pasta and fresh seafood for 50 years. Start with a plate of marinated fresh anchovies that hit brisk and tart with brine and lemon. Ask about the daily specials and you’ll get a taste of homestyle cuisine, like stuffed eggplant and stewed octopus.
Tucked in the hills overlooking Ischia Porto is the charming La Vigna Di Alberto. Eat family-style dishes that are lovingly crafted with seasonal ingredients by the fire in the rustic dining room or under the outdoor patio’s grapevine-covered pergola. Look out for appetizers like provolone drenched in chili oil and a zingy zucchini scapece with mint and fire-roasted artichokes. Call ahead for dibs on made-to-order coniglio all’Ischitana, then digest it all by dancing and singing to Neapolitan folk tunes.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Venture to the edge of the Fiaiano pinewood forest for dinner at La Rosa dei Venti. The outside terrace and indoor dining rooms promise views of the green hills down to the Castello Aragonese in Ischia Ponte. You’ll likely encounter huge tables of lively locals celebrating a baptism or birthday in the large, casual space, and if there’s an important soccer match, it’ll be playing on the large TVs.
Peer through the glass-doored fridge filled with thick cuts of beef, veal, and ribs and pick your favorite—it’ll come to you perfectly cooked by the wood-fired grill, while wood-fired ovens turn out gourmet pizzas with soft, fluffy crust. There’s sometimes a shuttle service to take you to and from Ischia Porto, otherwise a taxi is your best bet.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
For a change of scenery from bucolic beach shacks, book a table at Deus Neptunus In Sant’Angelo d’Ischia. The white stucco facade with blue trim give the place a breezy elegance—eat outdoors on the terracotta-tiled terrace to see the colorful architecture of the village below, or enjoy the backdrop of sea and sky through the indoor dining room’s panoramic windows.
Artfully plated dishes include prawn crudo layered with crème fraîche and pineapple, or grilled polpo served on top of some citrus fruit and a beet puree. End your meal with the rum soaked baba.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Il Bracconiere, high in the slopes of Monte Epomeo, is one of the best places to try coniglio all’Ischitana (just be sure to call ahead and order). Stone walls and copper pots hanging from the ceiling create a cozy atmosphere for you to languish after a triple-threat carb load of pasta e patate in pagnotta: a cheesy pasta and potato dish served in a bread bowl. Balance it out with a plate of mixed local vegetables, and after dessert and coffee, finish things off with a limoncello.
Head up Mount Epomeo for a wine-tasting adventure at Cantine Antionio Mazzella, a family-run vineyard where the vines grow on steep slopes. This is the place to try the refreshingly delicate Biancolella, a white grape only grown on Ischia. (It pairs gorgeously with fish, so be sure to look out for it on seafood restaurant menus throughout the island). You can also try a rosé made from Guarnaccia grapes and a spicy, late-harvest red. Booking is essential—ask your hotel to call about availability for you.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
While every seafood spot in Ischia Porto lays claim to serving the freshest fish on the island, the owner of this casual wine bar not only uses the catch of the day and whatever ingredients he picked up at the market that morning to whip up something delicious just for you. Expect the likes of carpaccio, pasta and grilled fish, and punctuate your meal with the dessert of the day—think a refreshing semifreddo—and a glass of grappa. There’s often live piano music, too.
photo credit: Giuseppe Greco
Skip the cone at this gelateria and pastry shop on the lungomare in Casamicciola Terme. You’ll want to order an assortment of mignon freddi, tiny chocolate covered gelato bonbons. First, grab a coffee or Prosecco pick-me-up at the bar inside, then head outside to the row of glass fronted cases and select from flavors like white chocolate covered lemon gelato and coffee gelato covered in dark chocolate.
