Eating well in Paestum comes down to four simple rules: have fish on the coast, home cooking in the trattorias of the plain and the hill villages, try pizza the Cilento way, topped with cacioricotta cheese, and buy your buffalo mozzarella in the morning, straight from the dairy. Below you will find the places we send our own guests, sorted by occasion.
This is not a ranking, nor an endless list: these are the places we suggest when someone asks us "where shall we go tonight?". We keep it up to date ourselves: when a place closes or changes hands, it drops off the list. For each one you will see the area, the driving time from our B&B in Capaccio Scalo and the price range, from € to €€€€.
What should you order to taste Cilento?
Food here is simple and follows the seasons: few ingredients, plenty of extra virgin olive oil, vegetables from the garden and fish from the gulf. If you only have a few days and want a taste of the area, these are the names to look for on the menu.
- Buffalo mozzarella DOP: the Sele Plain is one of the two heartlands of production. In restaurants it comes as a starter, on its own or with tomato and basil, but it is at its very best bought in the morning at a dairy.
- Anchovies: marinated in lemon, fried or baked in a tortiera, they are the signature fish of the Cilento coast. The menaica anchovies of Pisciotta, a Slow Food Presidium, are rare and caught by only a handful of fishermen: if you see them on the menu, order them.
- Fusilli cilentani: handmade pasta, rolled around a thin iron rod, usually served with a meat ragù and a grating of cacioricotta.
- Cacioricotta: a Cilento cheese, usually made from goat's milk. The milk is heated almost to boiling point before the rennet goes in, which is why it sits halfway between a cheese and a ricotta. Fresh, it is eaten in slices; aged, it is grated over pasta and pizza.
- Carciofo di Paestum IGP: a round, almost spineless artichoke, in season roughly from February to May. The classic way to eat it is roasted on the embers and dressed with olive oil, garlic and parsley.
- Cilento white figs DOP: fresh in late summer, then sun-dried and stuffed with walnuts or almonds, or dipped in chocolate. They are the local sweet and an easy gift to take home.
Where should you go for dinner in Paestum?
It depends on the evening. When guests ask us for a restaurant, the first thing we ask back is what they feel like eating, because around Paestum there are three quite different ways to go out for dinner.
For a special dinner
An anniversary, the last night of the holiday: for these occasions we suggest a few restaurants with more refined cooking, where local produce becomes more elaborate dishes, often with a tasting menu. Here booking is a must in every season, and it is the moment to mention allergies or ask for a table outside.
For home cooking
In the trattorias of the plain and the hill villages, you eat the way Cilento families eat at home: handmade pasta, pulses, vegetables, grilled meat, caciocavallo cheese. Menus are short and change with the seasons, and the best dish is often the one the waiter tells you about.
For fish and seafood
On the coast, the catch of the day is often chosen from the counter and charged by weight: on the menu you will see it priced "all'etto" (per 100 grams) or marked "s.q.", according to quantity. Ask for the weight before you order and the bill will hold no surprises. An asterisk next to a dish, on the other hand, means the product is frozen: Italian law requires restaurants to say so, and it is no sign of poor cooking.
These are the restaurants we currently recommend. The Map button opens each place's up-to-date listing, with opening hours and closing day: check it before you head out, because hours here change with the seasons.
Where can you get good pizza near Paestum?
This is Campania, and pizza is taken seriously: a soft, well-risen dough, a puffy crust and a wood-fired oven. Alongside the margherita and the marinara, it is worth trying a pizza cilentana: in its most common version, tomato, extra virgin olive oil, basil and grated cacioricotta instead of mozzarella. It has more flavour than it sounds, and says more about Cilento than many a "special" pizza.
Two practical tips. Many pizzerias only light the oven in the evening, so pizza at lunchtime is not a given. And if you want it with buffalo mozzarella, many places add it raw, just after the pizza comes out of the oven, because it would release too much milk while baking: that is not an oversight, it is a choice.
Where to buy and eat buffalo mozzarella?
At the dairy, and in the morning. Buffalo mozzarella is at its best in the hours after it is made, while it is still slightly warm and smells of fresh milk. Almost every dairy on the plain has a shop, and some also have a few tables or a restaurant where you can taste it on the spot. Buy only what you will eat by the evening, ask for the liquid to be included in the pack and keep it out of the fridge.
How it is made, what else to taste and how to get it home in good shape are all covered in our guide to buffalo mozzarella in Paestum. Below are the dairies we send our guests to.
Gelato, pastries and wine: where to stop?
In summer, a gelato after dinner is almost a ritual. In artisan gelaterias the flavours follow the seasons, and some dairies also make gelato with buffalo milk. A small trick: be wary of very bright colours, as real pistachio is more olive green than vivid green.
As for pastries, sfogliatelle and delizie al limone come from Naples and the Amalfi Coast but are easy to find here too; the truly local treat is the white fig, stuffed or coated in chocolate.
For wine, Cilento has two signature grapes: Fiano, a fresh, savoury white that is perfect with fish, and Aglianico, a structured red for meat and mature cheeses. In a wine bar or wine shop you can taste them by the glass before buying a bottle. In restaurants the house wine is often local: asking where it comes from is the easiest way to discover a nearby winery.
Where to have an aperitivo at sunset?
The Paestum coast faces west: on clear evenings the sun sinks into the Gulf of Salerno, with the outline of the Amalfi Coast on the horizon. An aperitivo here means a glass of Fiano or a spritz with a few nibbles before dinner. In high summer the sun sets at around half past eight, so arrive a little earlier if you want to watch it with a drink in hand.
Most beach venues are seasonal: they open roughly from May to September and for the rest of the year they close or open only at weekends. Check the hours with the Map button before you go. To choose your stretch of coast, read our guide to the best beaches near Paestum.
What time is dinner, and when should you book?
Mealtimes in southern Italy are later than in much of Europe. Lunch is served roughly from 12:30 to 2:30 pm, and in the afternoon almost every kitchen is closed. In the evening restaurants open at around 7:30 pm, but dining rooms only fill up from 8:30 onwards, and even later in summer. In August, and especially in the week of Ferragosto (15 August), the good places are full: always book, even for a pizza.
| Lunch | Roughly 12:30-2:30 pm; almost every kitchen is closed in the afternoon |
|---|---|
| Dinner | From 7:30-8 pm, with dining rooms full after 8:30 pm. Many pizzerias open only in the evening |
| Booking | Essential in August, especially around Ferragosto and at weekends; advisable all year on Saturday evenings and for Sunday lunch |
| Coperto | A fixed per-person charge for bread and table service, usually between €1.50 and €3; it must be shown on the menu |
| Tipping | Not compulsory: if you enjoyed the service, rounding up the bill or leaving a few euros is appreciated |
| Closing day | Many places close one day a week, especially outside the summer season |
| Low season | From October to April many beach venues are closed or open only at weekends |
Times are indicative. Each place's up-to-date hours are in the listing that opens with the Map button.
In August, book dinner the same morning, or the day before for a Saturday, and if you would like a sea-view table for the sunset, say so on the phone. If you are not sure where to go, just ask us: we will point you to the right place depending on what you feel like eating and how far you want to drive.
If you are curious about where this way of eating comes from, our guide to the Mediterranean Diet in Cilento explains why UNESCO recognised it and why Ancel Keys chose to live right here, in Pioppi. For olive oil, wine, anchovies and figs to take home, with mills and wineries to visit, see our guide to Cilento's local produce.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to book restaurants in Paestum in August?
Yes. In August, and especially in the week of Ferragosto and at weekends, restaurants and pizzerias in the area fill up: book the same morning or the day before. In other months it is usually enough to book for Saturday evening and Sunday lunch.
What should you order to taste Cilento?
Buffalo mozzarella DOP as a starter, marinated or fried anchovies (and menaica anchovies if you can find them), fusilli cilentani with ragù and cacioricotta, Paestum IGP artichokes roasted on the embers in spring, a pizza cilentana at the pizzeria and, to finish, Cilento white figs DOP.
What time do people have dinner in Paestum?
Restaurants usually open between 7:30 and 8 pm and fill up after 8:30, even later in summer. Lunch is served roughly from 12:30 to 2:30 pm; in the afternoon almost every kitchen is closed, and many pizzerias open only in the evening.
What is the "coperto" on an Italian restaurant bill?
It is a fixed per-person charge for bread and table service, usually between €1.50 and €3, and it must be shown on the menu. Tipping, on the other hand, is not compulsory: rounding up the bill is appreciated but not required.
Are restaurants in Paestum open all year?
Many are, but several beach venues are seasonal and from October to April they close or open only at weekends. Many places also have a weekly closing day: check the up-to-date hours before you go.
