The next stop on my travels was a destination I had wanted to visit for a very long time: Positano. Located on the Amalfi Coast, Positano is a magical place. It is one of just a few “popular” towns located along a charming and mostly provincial coastline. Positano’s beautiful architecture and lush foliage flank the stone walkways down more than just a few staircases, all the way to the pristine and sparkling sandy beach. To describe Positano as breathtaking might just be an understatement. It’s no wonder the now tourist town still maintains its position as a playground for the rich and famous.
You might think that a place blessed with this kind of beauty can’t possibly be blessed with the some of the best food and wine on Earth – it seems too good to be true. But, in fact, it is. The Amalfi Coast is renowned for its fresh produce (notably eggplant, tomatoes, red peppers, zucchini, lemons, oranges, and olives) and for a trove of other culinary treasures like olive oil, limoncello, cheese, wine and much more. It is a place where a €12 bottle of wine and a €2 block of farmer’s cheese from the local store is staggeringly better than almost all of the wine and cheese you’ve ever tried in your life.
So that said, why should you bother going to fancy, Michelin guide rated restaurant in Positano? Well, for a few reason, not the least of which is the food. Admittedly, you can get a lot of amazing food in Positano – or rather, I should say, you can get a lot of amazing ingredients. But picking a place for a good meal can be a bit trickier. Like any tourist destination, there are a lot of restaurants claiming to be the best or most famous in something-or-another, but ultimately, most of them are a let down. If you don’t want to risk making a bad decision, then going to a place recommended by a reputable source such as the Michelin Green Guide might be worth the extra penny. In the case of Al Palazzo, housed in the Murat Hotel, it certainly is. This gem of a restaurant is hidden in plain sight along the only path leading up to the town from the beach. If you are too distracted by the density of street hawkers, high-end boutiques, nonsensical signs and camera swinging couples, then you could easily walk right by without a second thought. But if you peep in, you might realize that it is a calm oasis from the sea of travelers outside. The restaurant is encased in a beautiful garden, one that has been tended lovingly for several generations. A section of it has most recently been set aside for this special restaurant.
While you won’t find a consistent menu at this completely seasonal eatery, you will find consistently succulent food that is appetizing on the plate and sophisticated on the tongue. During my visit to Al Palazzo, my meal kicked off with a complimentary amuse bouche from the kitchen: a palate awakening combination of crunchy textures and earthy flavors like asparagus, parmesan, and olive oil to name a few. Next came the first course, with beautiful ricotta zucchini blossoms lined up like fish at the market. For the second course, came two pastas: a simple serving of cheese stuffed ravioli in tomato sauce was leagues away from Chef Boyardee while the plate of creamy tubular pasta topped with shavings of fresh black truffle could only be described as luscious. For dessert, I sampled a fresh vanilla gelato drizzled with chocolate sauce and an almond cake filled with smooth custardy cream and topped with strawberries. A bottle of the finest wine bookended the entire meal to make it extra special.
Al Palazzo Ristorante
Hotel Palazzo Murat
vai dei Mulini, 23
84017 Positano (SA)
Italy
+39 089 875177
Currently based out of Boston, Jesal is a blogger, freelance writer, yoga enthusiast and lifelong vegetarian who spent four years eating her way through New York City and various other cities around the globe. After answering hundreds of emails and phone calls answering the question, "Where's a cool place I can take my vegetarian friend out to eat" she started Veggiewala to efficiently share her knowledge of the vegetarian food scene with curious carnivores, flexitarians and other vegetarians.