Giampaolo Esposito and Umberto Di Martino

Viale delle Regioni
Phone +39 089 871129
Open at lunchtime and dinnertime
Closed on Mondays (open seven days a week in summer)
Holidays: from November to March
www.ristorantemarinagrande.com
info@ristorantemarinagrande.com

The Marina Grande restaurant is simple and informal and is located on the road leading to the centre of Amalfi. It is a mix of seafaring tradition and a modern and cosmopolitan conception of the catering.

Marina Grande, the restaurant room

This bathing establishment was opened at the beginning of the twentieth century, then turned into a restaurant pile dwelling at the end of the Fifties when the international jet set stayed in Ravello and Positano.

Today it is managed by Gianpaolo Esposito and the brothers Nicola and Enzo. He is a globetrotter and a great talker, knows America – above all San Francisco – very well. He attended a cocktail course overseas so he decided to propose cocktails on the terrace.

Cucumber cocktail

Little alcohol (vodka), basil and cucumber: a fresh drink

In the kitchen there is the young chef Umberto Di Martino who had experience at Gennarino Esposito’s restaurant, at the Buco in Sorrento and abroad, in Germany. The dishes show his enthusiasm.

Luciano Pignataro at Marina Grande restaurant

Of course the menu includes above all seafood dishes prepared with selected, local and organic products.

Calamari and rocket

After the starter with small calamari on pureed rocket I enjoyed dried cod with fresh tomatoes, citrus fruit and onions from Tropea.

 

Then I ate a crouton with dried cod mousse which is a mix of salty taste and freshness.

A prawn on marinated zucchini

Then they served blanched prawns on marinated zucchini in a crust of hazelnuts from Giffoni on a soup of ricotta from Santa Anastasia (the ricotta was very good but the pairing with the crustaceans is greatly abused).

Ravioli, clams and broccoli

Regarding the first courses you can choose ravioli stuffed with caciotta cheese and scents of lemon on a bed of broccoli and stewed clams. The ingredients were very good but weren’t mixed well.

Risotto with provolone del monaco cheese and pears

The menu also includes paccheri pasta from Gragnano stuffed with dried cod, pasta with local seafood and noodles with cuttlefish ink and marjoram.

As far as the main dishes go there is the caught of the day in a crust of salt with lemon and a potato pie or the fillet with artichokes with scents of mint. Those who love meat can choose beef, lamb or guinea-fowl.

Sandwich of Porcini mushrooms and prawns

This is a well-made lively dish served with mayonnaise and San Marzano tomato sauce.

The dessert: peaches with wine

You can finish your meal with a vanilla ice-cream served on peaches with wine. The service is familiar but attentive and friendly (all the staff members are professional people) and the wine list includes a good selection of Campanian wines and many good items from Italy and France.

Those who prefer beach to food can enjoy pizza or a lunch tasting including four mini-courses in only one dish and a dessert. It costs 20 Euros.

On the beach there are snow-white umbrellas with curtain to protect from the sun, very comfortable  beds and table service: you can order pizzas, sandwiches and juicy fresh fruit salads.

The menu includes great classic dishes like paccheri pasta with scorpion fish, risotto with seafood and so on.

In short, there are many good reasons to stop here. The prices of the wines are fair. You will roughly spend 45 Euros.

The merit
A professional and informal service which makes you feel comfortable. Fresh seafood. The waiters are very attentive and the Italian clients are treated as the foreign ones.

The flaw
It is difficult to park in Amalfi during non-working days, it is impossible in summer. It is better to get here by hydrofoil or bus from Sorrento and Salerno. Park your car in Ravello and go down by shuttle bus.

Traduzione in italiano su http://www.lucianopignataro.it/a/amalfi-ristorante-marina-grande-2/14653/