Ristorante da Lorenzo, Scala
Tucked into a stone building just off Piazza Municipio, Da Lorenzo is the kind of family-run trattoria that travel writers are always claiming to have discovered but that locals have been eating at for decades. The menu changes with what arrived at the Minori fish market that morning, and the pasta is rolled by hand in the kitchen every day before noon.
What to Order
Start with the alici marinate — fresh anchovies from the local catch, cured in lemon juice and dressed with wild oregano and a thread of Cilento olive oil. They arrive on a slate board with grilled bread rubbed with garlic, and they taste nothing like the tinned version you know from home.
For a main, the scialatielli ai frutti di mare is the dish the restaurant is quietly famous for: thick, chewy hand-cut pasta tossed with clams, mussels, local squid and cherry tomatoes in a broth that is half sea water, half white wine. Order a carafe of the house Falanghina alongside.
The Setting
The terrace at the back overhangs a steep garden of lemon trees, with a sliver of sea visible between the hillside and the next ridge. In the evening, the lights of Minori and Maiori reflect on the water below — it is the kind of view that makes a simple meal feel like an occasion.
Reservations are strongly recommended in July and August; outside peak season you can often walk in for lunch without a booking. The owner, Lorenzo junior, speaks enough English to guide you through the specials.
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