Sorrento's food scene isn't just about sit-down restaurants — the best eating in town is often standing up, walking around, and eating with your hands. The street food tradition here is deeply Neapolitan, with portable bites designed for fishermen, market workers, and anyone too busy (or too hungry) to wait for a table. Here are 10 things you absolutely must try.
1. Cuppo Fritto
A paper cone filled with mixed fried seafood and vegetables — calamari, baby shrimp, zucchini flowers, aubergine slices, and sometimes a crocchè (potato croquette). The best cuppetti in Sorrento are found at the frittoMare kiosks near Marina Grande. Eat it on the harbour wall for the full experience. On our food tour, this is one of the highlight stops.
2. Arancini
Rice balls stuffed with ragù, mozzarella, and peas, then breaded and deep-fried until golden. The Sicilian original has many Southern Italian variations, and in Sorrento you will find both the classic ragù version and a local twist with smoked provola cheese. Find them at any good rosticceria on Via San Cesareo or Corso Italia.
3. Pizza a Portafoglio
A full-sized pizza margherita folded twice (like a wallet — hence the name) and eaten on the go. It's the Neapolitan equivalent of a sandwich and costs between 2 and 4 euros. The fold keeps the sauce inside and makes it easy to eat while walking. Look for pizzerias with a "pizza a taglio" or "pizza al portafoglio" sign.
4. Montanarine
Small balls of pizza dough, deep-fried until puffed and golden, then topped with tomato sauce and a shaving of Parmesan. They are addictive, cheap (usually 1-2 euros each), and the perfect aperitivo snack. Some places serve them with a miniature burrata on top — an upgrade worth every extra euro.
5. Frittatina di Pasta
A Neapolitan masterpiece: leftover pasta mixed with béchamel, shaped into a disc, breaded, and fried. The filling is usually tiny tubes of pasta with peas and a core of molten provola cheese. It's crispy outside, creamy inside, and deeply satisfying. You will find it at every friggitoria (fry shop) in town.
6. Sfogliatella
A shell-shaped pastry with layers as thin as paper, filled with ricotta, semolina, and candied orange peel. The "riccia" version has crispy, flaky layers; the "frolla" version has a shortcrust shell. Both are served warm, and the best ones shatter at first bite with a puff of ricotta steam. Available at every pasticceria, but quality varies — look for places that bake them fresh throughout the day.
7. Babà
A yeasted sponge cake soaked in rum syrup until it's saturated and almost liquid in the centre. Neapolitans are obsessed with babà, and the debate over the best one in the region is endless. In Sorrento, look for individual-sized babà at bakeries — they should be golden, glistening with syrup, and intensely boozy.
8. Granita di Limone
Sorrento's answer to the ice cream — a slushy, semi-frozen lemon ice made with the juice of local sfusato amalfitano lemons. It is served in a cup or sometimes inside a hollowed-out frozen lemon shell. The tartness is refreshing and palate-cleansing, especially after a heavy lunch. The best ones are made with real lemon juice, not syrup — you can taste the difference immediately.
9. Taralli
Crunchy ring-shaped crackers flavoured with fennel seeds, black pepper, or chilli. They are the Southern Italian equivalent of breadsticks — served with aperitivo, packed for hiking, or eaten as a snack between meals. The almond-covered sweet version (taralli dolci) is a local speciality worth seeking out.
10. Gelato (Done Right)
Not all gelato is created equal. In Sorrento, the benchmark flavours are lemon (made with real Sorrento lemons), pistachio (look for the natural olive-green colour), and nocciola (hazelnut). Avoid places with towering mountains of brightly-coloured gelato — the best gelaterias keep theirs in covered metal containers. Trust the places where locals queue.
The Best Way to Eat Street Food in Sorrento
You can wander and discover on your own, but the best way to hit all the right spots is with a local guide who knows which vendors are authentic and which are tourist traps. Our Sorrento Food Tour covers 5 tasting stops over 4 hours — including several of the street foods on this list.
For a deeper Neapolitan street food experience, try our Bite of Naples food tour in the historic centre of Naples — the city that invented most of these dishes.
Hungry?
Book a Sorrento Food Tour and taste the best of the town with a passionate local guide. Private groups, 5 stops, 4 hours. Or explore our Amalfi Coast food tours for more culinary experiences across the region.
