Scarpariello Hotel, Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast in undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Infact, if for some ridiculous reason, the whole world was wiped out and I was the only person left standing and had ten days to live, I would choose to live them out on the Amalfi Coast. Last month, I was fortunate enough to spend a whole week staying in different towns along the Costiera d’Amalfi and although my wallet is severely bruised because of it and probably will be for the next few years of my life, that view over the sea from Ravello and fresh seafood caught every morning was worth every penny.

Lemon trees growing at the Hotel.

As pizza is to Naples, lemons are to Amalfi. One of the first things you see driving along the Amalfi Coast, well, of course apart from that stunning, breathtaking view of the sea are the rows of lemon trees grown in pretty much everybody’s back gardens. Apart from being served with grilled fish, calamari and all seafood, they are also used to make granita (a delicious lemon crushed ice slushy-type-thing) and let’s not forget the deadly limoncello (a ridiculously strong, sweet lemon liquor). Make sure you give both of them a try!

Having stayed in the Amalfi Coast for a whole week, naturally I ate in a lot of great places. But for the sake of practicality, I’m just going to tell you about the best restaurant I ate at. Ironically, this restaurant was in the town of Amalfi. Usually, I tend to stay away from eating in these really touristy towns, but Lido Azzurro came highly recommended so I decided to give it a shot!

Ambiance: This restaurant has a truly beautiful setting. A romantic terrace over the dock of Amalfi. Great for special occasions.

Shrimp and Lemon Risotto

Food: The food at Lido Azzurro is outstanding. The restaurant and food is on the finer dining side of the scale but portions and quality remain Italian and hearty to the core. The signature dish here is the shrimp and lemon risotto and if it were up to me it, would be the signature dish of the entire Amalfi coast. Wow, it was just incredible! The rice cooked perfectly al dente, the shrimps tender and so fresh and lastly the lemon, perfectly bringing the whole dish together. Apart from being so ridiculously good (infact, so good, its making me salivate right now) the reason I love this dish so much is because it perfectly represents the Amalfi Coast.: Immaculate seafood, juicy lemons, warm heeartyness and of course, looking damn sexy (a.k.a beautiful)

Mediocre Fish

Everything else we ate was also truly very good….. A simple tomato pasta was done to utter perfection, the fried tomato and mozzarella antipasto was simple and beautiful, and the lemon tiramisu was a great, fresh twist on a classic. I gotta say though, the only thing that let me down was a main of grilled fish with lemon sauce (advertised and a speciality) The sauce was very nice, light and zingy… but all said, nothing extraordinary and the fish was quite substancially overcooked and dry….. Maybe it was just an off day for the chef on the grill?

Serving the primi piatti

Service: The service here can be a bit of a hit and miss. Our waiter started off very rude and impatient but after a bit of a good cop, bad cop situation we had going at our table, he completely turned things around….. Still though, no excuse!
What I did really like about the service is that the owner, on the day we were there, would come out with a hot pan of the primi piatti (for example: our risotto) and serve it onto plates at the table. Its always nice to have a bit of a show!

NOTE: Reserve well in advance

Price: Around 40-50 euros per person.

Address: Via Lungomare dei Cavalieri, 5, Amalfi Salerno,Italy
+39 089 871384