Trattoria da Nennella
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Trattoria da Nennella opened in 1949 in the Quartieri Spagnoli, named after Elisabetta Vitiello, known as Nennella. It became famous as much for the show as the food: Neapolitan songs, waiters who dance and sing, and plates banged for effect, as Time Out describes it. On December 13, 2023, after 74 years, it moved to a larger room at Piazza Carità 22, on Via Toledo.
The deal is a fixed menu. Time Out's 2024 review puts it at €15 for a first course, a second and a seasonal side; Gambero Rosso's January 2024 report described €16 for antipasto, first, second, fruit and limoncello. There are no reservations: you give your surname at the door and wait, with no promise of a table. It is closed on Sunday.
At a glance
- Address
- Piazza Carità 22, on Via Toledo, since December 13, 2023. The original room was on Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo in the Quartieri Spagnoli.
- Price
- Fixed menu of a first course, a second and a side for €15 (Time Out, 2024). Gambero Rosso reported €16 including antipasto, fruit and limoncello in January 2024.
- Booking
- None. Give your surname at the door and wait; a table is not guaranteed.
- Hours
- Closed Sunday (Gambero Rosso, January 2024). Full hours not published; the old website domain now shows an unrelated gambling page.
- Status
- Operating at Piazza Carità in 2024 reports. We found no 2026 confirmation from the trattoria itself.
In this guide
What you eat
The menu changes daily. Gambero Rosso International singles out pasta e patate with provola, pancetta, cherry tomatoes, basil and Pecorino Romano, and lists sausage with friarielli, meatballs in ragù and zucchini alla scapece. Time Out adds seafood risotto and paccheri with seafood. Desserts are the classics, babà and pastiera.
Order a liter of house wine for the table, as Time Out suggests. Cooking is homestyle and generous rather than refined.
The move to Piazza Carità
The owners moved because they needed more space, for the kitchen and for covers, according to Dissapore's report on the move. The new room is beside a Burger King on the corner with Via Mario Morgantini. When Gambero Rosso visited the reopening in January 2024, the old Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo premises were still in the family's hands, with the owners saying they would not leave and had a new project planned there. We could not confirm what, if anything, operates at the old address in 2026.
The move had a rough start. The first opening night, in early December 2023, was called off when a fryer caught fire just before the ribbon-cutting; owner Ciro Vitiello, the face of the trattoria, told followers that nobody was hurt, and the room opened on December 13. The price has barely moved in years: back in 2018, Scatti di Gusto recorded a full menu at €15, or €12 without the antipasto.
The name has also traveled. In 2018 Gino Sorbillo and Ciro Nennella announced a joint Trattoria Nennella near the Duomo in Milan. This page is about the Naples original only.
Beware old guidebooks and maps that still send you into the Quartieri. Go to Piazza Carità.
How to do it
Arrive before the service starts, give your surname and stay close. Bring some cash; we could not confirm whether cards are accepted. Piazza Carità is close to the Toledo metro stop (see our Toledo station page) and a stone's throw, in Time Out's words, from the Pignasecca market, where Da Attilio is the pizza alternative.
For a quieter version of the same food, book Osteria della Mattonella.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Trattoria da Nennella now?
Piazza Carità 22, on Via Toledo. It left Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo in the Quartieri Spagnoli in December 2023.
How much is the menu at Nennella?
About €15 to €16 for the fixed menu, according to 2024 reviews from Time Out and Gambero Rosso.
Can you book at Nennella?
No. You give your surname at the door and wait. A table is not guaranteed.
Who was Nennella?
Elisabetta Vitiello, who opened the trattoria in the Quartieri Spagnoli in 1949. In 2023 the owner and public face of the trattoria was Ciro Vitiello.
Is Nennella open on Sunday?
No, it closes on Sunday, according to Gambero Rosso's 2024 report.
Further reading
Official sources
- Gambero Rosso - Nennella reopens (January 7, 2024) – Opened at Piazza Carità on December 13, 2023; €16 menu; closed Sunday; no bookings, give surname; old site kept for a new project
- Gambero Rosso International - where to eat pasta, potatoes and provola in Naples (January 2024) – Piazza Carità 22; since 1949, Elisabetta Vitiello; pasta e patate recipe; €15 menu; no reservations
- Time Out Naples - Trattoria da Nennella (July 2024) – €15 fixed menu of first, second and side; dancing waiters, smashing plates; menu changes daily
- Scatti di Gusto - fire at the new Trattoria Nennella (December 5, 2023) – Fryer fire postponed the Piazza Carità opening; owner Ciro Vitiello; no injuries
- Scatti di Gusto - Nennella review (November 2018) – €15 full menu, €12 without antipasto (dated)
- Scatti di Gusto - Sorbillo and Nennella open in Milan (July 2018) – Joint Milan trattoria announced near the Duomo
- Dissapore - Nennella expands to a new room in the center – Move to Piazza Carità for more space; site next to Burger King at the corner of Via Mario Morgantini
