On our trip to the Amalfi Coast, we decided to go to dinner in Positano, a short car ride from our hotel in the neighboring town of Praiano. Our question was, “here to Eat in Positano that’s not touristy?” We heard wonderful things about La Sponda at Le Sirenuse (see our most recent trip here), and had made a reservation, but subsequently decided to cancel. When we arrived in Positano, we had a change of heart and tried to get them back, but the restaurant was fully committed.
My rule of thumb: if you can’t get into the restaurant you want, ask them for a recommendation.
Le Sirenuse suggested Ristorante Max. Not only was the food and wine delicious, but the interior design is elegant (it doubles as an art gallery). Despite the gorgeous artwork inside, we’d recommend asking to sit in the garden for dinner surrounded by candles and moonlight on their secluded patio.
Dinner service begins with a tableside display of all of the fresh seafood they are offering that day. Of course, we had to order seafood! We began our dinner with stuffed and fried zucchini blossoms. These taste so much better when someone else is making them for you (and you don’t have to clean up the oil splatters on your kitchen floor).
Next, we tried the baby squid stuffed with mozzarella. This was against my better judgment, but Clayton insisted. Having visited Italy numerous times and studied Italian in college, I had it drilled into me that cheese and fish do NOT go together. What kind of place was this? I didn’t want them to be laughing at the silly tourists ordering cheese and fish. There must be a reason why they don’t do it, right?
Later I asked some Italians from that region and they said that sometimes it’s okay if the cheese is mild like mozzarella. It seemed to work well with squid because the mozzarella is so mild and the squid is not super fishy.
The pasta courses featured the fresh seafood we’d selected and were paired with a Sauvignon Blanc by Rosa Bosco. The lobster pasta is made with a Mediterranean spiny lobster that doesn’t have claws but is sweeter than Maine lobster. Check out our lobster pasta recipe here. We were inspired by this dish to make it at home.
Clayton loves langoustines, so this was his.
We finished off our evening with a dessert to share – “delizia al limone”, a sponge cake filled with lemon cream and limoncello. This is on our list of things to learn to make at home!
The restaurant also offers cooking classes during the day. Our schedule didn’t permit us to attend, but after our experience, I would definitely make time for our next visit. Can’t wait to go back!