Trattoria Speranzella — Restaurant in Naples

After wandering past many restaurants in this lively and bustling neighborhood, we felt drawn to Trattoria Speranzella—and we're so glad we stopped here! From the street, the atmosphere was incredibly inviting: warm lighting, lively music, and laughter spilling out onto the sidewalk.

I was pleasantly surprised when a woman working there noticed us lingering outside, warmly welcoming us in with genuine kindness. Despite the restaurant being bustling and busy, she quickly found us a cozy table inside. Whether she was the owner, a manager, or simply an employee, her service was superb—always attentive, gracious, and incredibly patient with our attempts at speaking Italian!

Inside, the tables were placed closely together—elbow to elbow with other diners—but rather than feeling cramped, it only added to the authentic, lively charm of the experience. The decor was perfectly traditional, kitschy in the most delightful and genuine way.

And the food—absolutely to die for! Since it was our final night in Naples, we decided to indulge completely: crispy potato croquettes, delicious ravioli, classic spaghetti with an enormous meatball, and even a whole pizza that we took back to our room for a late-night snack. We also followed the recommendation to try a local volcanic red wine, and it was fantastic!

If you're in Naples looking for an authentic, lively Italian dining experience with incredible food and warm hospitality, Trattoria Speranzella is a must-visit. Our evening here easily became one of the highlights...

We booked a table for 10 people, the staff was very welcoming and friendly even though two of us (due to logistical problems) were unable to reach us for dinner. When ordering from the menu the staff were very insistent on bringing a first round of mixed starters to everyone. Despite repeated requests, expressly specifying many times that I did not want the appetizer (as I intended to eat other dishes) I was not listened to at all (indeed I was "silenced" from the staff). I think that receiving advices or suggestions about local specialties or typical dishes is useful and appreciated. But as a customer not being able to choose which dishes to take is intolerable and unbelievable

As second plate I then took a mixed grill. Dish that I've found scarce and tasteless (1 shrimp, half squid and 1 fish, taste covered by the strong taste of burnt)

From the historicity of the place and the standard of the city's clubs I had much higher expectations and I got very disappointed with the treatment I received.

I give the only star because the welcome was excellent, but can't more because the rest of the dinner, as mentioned above,...

We ordered the ziti al ragú and it was quite disappointing: the ragú had no meat in it, and it felt like it was heated up in the microwave with the pasta added on top rather than mixed in throughout the dish. We also ordered the pasta alla mammà and that was nice with a tomato & ricotta sauce though I personally found the sauce a little too bland/mild, the best part about this dish was the fried meatball that came on top, which was very tasty. Service could have been better, as I feel like they should have proactively offered us some Parmesan cheese to go on top (but they didn’t), also when we requested it it they poured one teaspoon and stopped like to check if that was enough (when obviously it wasn’t), I don’t know awkward dynamic there…maybe they’re trying to save on their ingredients, since the other dish didn’t have any meat either… Overall, the meal was just alright, nothing worth...