Donna Rosa ★★★
A divine country-chic restaurant in the cool hills above the Amalfi Coast town of Positano
The food at this countryside trattoria high above Positano blows away that of any restaurant down in town. They pay attention to every detail, from using the freshest of ingredients and making pastas and desserts by hand to a thoughtful presentation on your plate.
Open with a caprese for a nest of tiny mozzarella balls amid a red sea of halved cherry tomatoes. To sample a variety of the kitchen's bounty, order a trittico for primo, a trio of pastas perhaps including pappardelle funghi porcini e gamberi (wide noodles with porcini mushrooms and shrimp), or ravioli del Marchese (stuffed with pumpkin in a sauce of fused butter, crisped sage, and parmigiano). Fresh fish is the order of the day for secondo, and the house white is perfectly refreshing.
The kitchen is open to view—always a sign of honest cooking—and although it's almost deserted at lunch when everyone's down at the beach (but you can be up here in the cool breezes), nighttime packs it full until long after midnight, and one of the waitress/daughters sings when the mood strikes.
Definitely worth the journey up here.
How to get here: At the bus stop on Via Colombo in the center of Positano, catch the mini-bus up to Montepertuso. Unfortunately, it only runs every two hours (for lunch take the 10:20am, or the schoolkid-packed 12:20pm).
If you reserve ahead, they might be able to pick you up in Positano. Otherwise, take a taxi.
Tips & links
Details
Via Montepertuso 97–99, Montepertuso (a village in the hills above Positano)
tel. +39-089-811-806
www.drpositano.com
Closed Tues
Closed
at lunch in August
Closed Nov 8–Dec 4
€€€
General dining tips
- "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
- Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
- Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
- Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.
Italian dining phrases
English (Inglese) |
Italian (Italiano) |
Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
Good day |
Buon giorno |
bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening |
Buona sera |
BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night |
Buona notte |
BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye |
Arrivederci |
ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) |
Scusi |
SKOO-zee |
thank you |
grazie |
GRAT-tzee-yay |
please |
per favore |
pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes |
si |
see |
no |
no |
no |
Do you speak English? |
Parla Inglese? |
PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand |
Non capisco |
non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry |
Mi dispiace |
mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
|
|
|
Where is? |
Dov'é |
doh-VAY |
...a restaurant |
un ristorante |
oon rees toh-RAHN-tay |
...a casual restaurant |
una trattoria
un'osteria |
oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah
oon ohst-air-EE-yah |
I would like to reserve... |
Vorrei prenotare... |
voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh |
a table for two |
una tavola per due |
oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way |
...for 7pm |
per le sette |
pair lay SET-tay |
...for 7:30pm |
per le sette e mezzo |
pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh |
...for 8pm |
per le otto |
pair lay OH-toh |
|
|
|
I would like |
Vorrei... |
voar-RAY |
...some (of) |
un pó (di) |
oon POH (dee) |
...this |
questo |
KWAY-sto |
...that |
quello |
KWEL-loh |
chicken |
pollo |
POL-loh |
steak |
bistecca |
bee-STEAK-ah |
veal |
vitello |
vee-TEL-oh |
fish |
pesce |
PEH-shay |
meat |
carne |
KAR-neh |
I am vegetarian |
sono vegetariano |
SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no |
side dish [veggies always come seperately] |
cotorno |
kon-TOR-no |
dessert |
dolce |
DOAL-chay |
and |
e |
ay |
...a glass of |
un bicchiere di |
oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee |
...a bottle of |
una bottiglia di |
oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee |
...a half-liter of |
mezzo litro di |
MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee |
...fizzy water |
acqua gassata |
AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah |
...still water |
acqua non gassata |
AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah |
...red wine |
vino rosso |
VEE-noh ROH-so |
...white wine |
vino
bianco |
VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh |
...beer |
birra |
BEER-a |
Check, please |
Il conto, per favore |
eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh |
Is service included? |
É incluso il servizio? |
ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo |
Useful links & resources
- Airport transfers (Rome):
- Bus (total: €28–€30; 5+ hr): Marozzivt.it (bus Sorrento-Roma Tiburtina; €20–€22; 4 hr) + Trenitalia.com (train Tiburtina-airport; €8, 48 min)
- Private (€65–€120; 3 hr): Viator.com (note: Rome airport or hotel to Sorento or any Amalfi Coast town)
- Regional rail & access points
- Circumvesiviana train (Naples-Sorrento): Eavsrl.it
- Italian rail (Naples-Salerno): Trenitalia.com
- [The Amalfi Coast itself has no rail service, only bus and boat. Sorrento is the closest train station to the most popular A.C. towns, and the over-the-sea Sorrento-Salerno bus ride is more spectacular than the cliff-hugging Salerno-Sorrento reverse route.]
- Car resources
- Emergency service/tow: tel. 803-116
- Highway agency: Autostrade.it (traffic info, serivce areas, toll calculator, weather)
- Italian automotive club (~AAA): Aci.it
- ZTLs: Ztl-italia.blogspot.com (lightly outdated, but handy, links to cities' traffic-free zones)
- Ferries & hydrofoils
- Alicost.it (Sorrento-Positano-Amalfi; Capri-Positano-Amalfi-Salerno)
- Travelmar.it (Positano-Amalfi-Salerno; Amalfi-Minori-Maiori)
- Alilauro.it (connecting Sorrento and Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri, or Ischia; also connecting Amalfi, Positano, or Salerno with Capri or Ischia)
- Gescab.it (connecting Capri with: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Salerno)
- Coopsantandrea.com (Sorrento-Positano-Amalfi-Minori-Maiori-Salerno; Amalfi-Capri)
- Caremar.it (Sorrento-Capri; Naples-Capri)
- Private boat transfer (Naples-Sorrento, Naples-Amalfi)
- Viator.com
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