Everything in the town of Amalfi draws you to the sea. The main road through the town runs precariously alongside it, the bus terminus overlooks it, and from the harbour a myriad of boats ply the coastline. Even the roads high up in the old village tumble inexorably down to it. They say that if you drop a lemon anywhere in Amalfi, it will end up in the sea. Actually they don't say that at all, I've just made it up. But you get the idea.
Inevitably in such a tourist town, restaurants, pizzerie and bars cluster around the sea too, displaying their menus in English and German, as well as Italian. Our instinct tells us in such situations to move back, leave the tourists to it and seek out smaller, more traditional and authentic, and probably less expensive, eating options deeper in the town. But you have to be careful, or sometimes your instinct can simply make foolish food snobs of you.
The Stella Maris is a case in point. It's a largish place set on stilts above a dark, gritty beach, dotted with sunbeds and umbrellas. There's a small interior restaurant, a larger covered terrace and an open terrace of flapping canopies. Four of us arrived early in the evening. Well, more late afternoon, really, but after an early start and a long day, the first of this particular trip to Amalfi, we just needed good food and then comfortable beds. Maybe a walk through the town in between. We set our culinary expectations to average. But we were wrong.
We ordered a bottle of wine, which came with a basket of bread and a bottle of water, and quickly disappeared. As did any worries or misconceptions about the quality of the food, when our meals arrived. A mixed fry starter – with crisp pieces of fish, potato and fish croquettes and seaweed – was excellent. So was a tagliatelle with scampi, cherry tomatoes and rocket. And the fritto misto di pesce included especially delicious pieces of delicate octopus. The food was well-cooked and presented and generously portioned, the service laid back but efficient.
At first I thought the owner was a little on the surly side. But by the end of the evening we were chatting wholeheartedly and he was our new best friend. We watched the sun set over the bay of Amalfi and felt the temperature drop as darkness enveloped the plastic-shrouded terrace of the restaurant. A complimentary limoncello staved off the cold.
Prices were a little steep. But not as steep as the subsequent climb through the town to our hotel, swaggering like pirates, awash with octopus and prawns and seaweed and wine.
Stella Maris, Viale della Regione, 2-00100 Amalfi
Tel 089 872463
I didn't get a chance to take a photo, so thanks to the restaurant's website for the picture above.
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