Napuleats

Let Them Eat…….

Sometimes a lady just needs to treat herself. That could mean a pedicure or a massage for some women. For me it means lunch….ALONE. And in Napoli there is one place in particular where I like to indulge – Al Faretto. Perched above the Bay of Naples just beyond the rocky beaches of Marechiaro, there is no better place to order clams and silently absorb a stunning view.

There are parts of Al Faretto that remind me of the restaurants of my native Orange County. The floor to ceiling panoramic windows that force one to simply ogle the water. Then there is the immaculate white interior. The tables, the kitchen, the chairs, the wood flooring, everything is a pristine white. Al Faretto is essentially an O.C. restaurant but with food that actually tastes good and contains CALORIES.

Heading down the winding road to Marechiaro requires a car. Do not be tempted to take public transport. There are times to rough it with a rucksack and a panino on a Marechiaro jetty. A visit to Al Faretto is not one of those times. Call ahead, make a reservation, ask to be seated in server Salvatore’s section, and most importantly take a taxi!

For years I waited for my husband to arrange such a similarly organized date. It never happened. So one-afternoon last month, I took a taxi down to Marechiaro and treated myself to an insanely indulgent seafood luncheon at Al Faretto.

The aforementioned Salvatore was my server. And as I have since learned on subsequent visits, Salvatore is an absolute delight. Occasionally, I find it thrilling to not bother with a specific order. I put myself in the server’s hands, and hope for the best. Basically the Japanese omakase, Neapolitan style.

This omakase style dining rarely works for foreign visitors to trattorias in heavily tourist trafficked areas like the Centro Storico. In those parts, omakase or ‘send me what’s good’ signals to the chef, please send me soggy noodles and charge me 15 euro for a glass of Falanghina. Not so at Al Faretto. One is truly in good hands here and never once have I ever felt that I have been taken for what Neapolitans call an ‘americana a parigi.’ An American in Paris – you get the idea.

The mixed house antipasto is the best way to open one’s meal and one’s palate at Al Faretto. Ordering the house antipasto means receiving small plates of octopus salad, delicately fried shrimp, mini polpette and marinated anchovies in a rapid culinary orchestra. The house antipasti change daily and generally include more seafood than meat. I have enjoyed stuffed peppers, fried squash blossoms and any number of marinated fish on my recent spate of visits. The key is simply to sit back, relax and enjoy the culinary ride.

The best primi at Al Faretto are largely seafood based, as they should be. If you can look out a window of any restaurant or trattoria in Napoli and enjoy a view of the Mediterranean, then you should order fish. Easy enough rule and yet I am often shocked by the sheer quantity of ditzy diners who order Spaghetti Bolognese in Sorrento.

I enjoy the sea urchin spaghetti and linguine with clams at Al Faretto. Both are staples of the Parthenopean kitchen. Both are delicious. Visit Al Faretto to enjoy the best renditions of classic dishes rather than sexed-up modern equivalents. Sea urchin pasta is sexy enough on its own—no tinkering innovation required here.

Stellar secondi are the salt packed seasonal fish including branzino, orata and spigola. Actually any fish of the day can be cooked in a hard shell of sea salt, which keeps the fish devastatingly moist. The server then brings the whole fish to the table for gluttons like myself to admire. Then they privately filet said fish in order to prevent you, the diner, from having to fish through pesky pin bones. As much as I enjoy sucking on the cheekbone of a sea bream, again Al Faretto is not the place. I don’t trust myself with bones of any kind in establishments as white as Al Faretto.

The contorni here are really colorful character actors cast in supporting roles under the spell of the seasonal fish. On my recent omakase day, Salvatore brought me the grilled peppers and roasted potatoes, both subtle accompaniments to the fish. On other visits, I have also enjoyed the pan seared friarelli peppers (similar to shishitos) and green beans. Don’t order anything too piquant though. For it will almost certainly overpower the delicate flakiness of the seasonal fish.

For dessert, do yourself a favor and order the babà. There is no better way to conclude a day of gustatory indulgence than with this rum soaked sponge cake. In fact, after eating a four-course meal, it made me feel rather like a Marie Antoinette. And considering I generally feel like Kathy Bates in Misery chasing down the tyrants of Napoli’s utility companies, I’ll take what I can get.

Finally, it is worth noting that Al Faretto has surprisingly good wood fired pizzas. The pizzaiolo is one of the best in Al Faretto’s neighborhood of Posillipo. After a long day at a beach kayaking to the nearby Gaiola Island, I enjoyed a superb Margherita pizza here. I will also confess to stumbling into Al Faretto in beach clothes and crocs. There is nothing like suffering the indignant walk of squeaky shame going from toilet to table in a pair of hot pink imitation crocs at Al Faretto. The staff said nothing. That could be either because they regarded me as a know nothing American or because they are simply nice. I’ll never know. And nor would I want to.

The wine list at Al Faretto is extensive if not particularly imaginative. It contains the usual suspects of Coda di Volpe and Falanghina and favors established vineyards such as Villa Matilde. Fine by me. I don’t go to Al Faretto to discover a new heirloom grape variety. I go for the view and the marvelously luxurious traditional cuisine. Most times I may feel like Kathy Bates on the loose with an axe. But at Al Faretto I am Maria Antoinette, with a birdcage wig….before the axe. Let them eat cake….and antipasti, primi and secondi and contorni too!

Al Faretto is located at Via Marechiaro 127, 80123, Napoli NA