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Marina del Cantone · Nerano

Lo Scoglio.

A restaurant on the water that became one of the most cited Italian tables abroad. It’s not a secret, and hasn’t been for a long time. Come knowing what you’ll find and you won’t be disappointed.

Cuisine
Seafood
Price
≈ €80–150+ pp
Season
Apr–Oct
Booking
Required
In short

Lo Scoglio is a restaurant on the water at Marina del Cantone, the beach of Nerano. Over the last twenty years it has become a name in New York: chefs on pilgrimage, yachts offshore, tables booked months ahead.

The fish comes from the bay, the vegetables from the family garden. Come looking for the undiscovered trattoria and you’ll be disappointed. Come knowing what you’ll find, and you won’t.

The facts
WhereMarina del Cantone, Nerano (Massa Lubrense)
WhatSeafood, garden vegetables, spaghetti alla Nerano
From Sorrento≈ 40 minutes by car
AccessCar (paid parking), SITA bus, by sea
PriceÀ la carte, no fixed menu · roughly €80–150+ a head
BookingRequired, well ahead in high season
SeasonTypically April–October
What you eat

Raw fish, pasta, vegetables

The cooking is essential in the most literal sense: few steps, and ingredients that don’t need correcting.

The spaghetti alla Nerano is here, of course. But the dish was born two hundred metres from here, at Maria Grazia — and anyone after the original should go there.

Where the dish was born
Spaghetti alla Nerano was not born here: it was created at the restaurant Maria Grazia, in the 1950s.
→ Spaghetti alla Nerano → Maria Grazia, where the dish was born
Getting there

Marina del Cantone, three ways

The parking rates in circulation don’t agree — roughly €10 to €25 — and should be checked on the spot; they shift with the season.

By car

Forty minutes from Sorrento along a narrow, winding road. Parking at Marina del Cantone is paid. In August it fills by nine in the morning.

⚠ conflicting rates (≈€10–25)
By bus

SITA Sud from Sorrento or from Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi to Nerano, then the walk down to Marina del Cantone.

SITA line
By sea

In summer boats come from Sorrento, Positano and Capri. It’s how half the clientele arrives, and it shows.

season only
Is it worth it?

It depends on what you’re after

The ingredients

If you want top-quality ingredients and lunch on the water with no pretense of innovation, yes.

Value for money

If you want the better bill, the bay has less-celebrated, cheaper alternatives.

Where the dish was born

If you want the place where spaghetti alla Nerano was born, that’s Maria Grazia.

Book. It’s not advice, it’s a condition.
The origin
Maria Grazia
Where spaghetti alla Nerano was born, in the 1950s.
A village
Nerano
The real sea, away from the tour buses.
The beach
Marina del Cantone
The pebble bay where the restaurant stands.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Lo Scoglio?

At Marina del Cantone, the beach of Nerano, in the comune of Massa Lubrense, on the Sorrento Peninsula.

Do I need to book?

Yes, and well ahead in high season.

How much does it cost?

There is no fixed price and no set menu: it’s à la carte, and fish is sold by weight, so the bill swings with the season, the dishes and the wine. As a realistic budget, plan on roughly €80–150 or more a head — this is a fine-dining, celebrity-name table.

Can you arrive by boat?

Yes, and it’s the most common way in summer. There are connections from Sorrento, Positano and Capri.

Was spaghetti alla Nerano invented at Lo Scoglio?

No. It was created at the restaurant Maria Grazia, in the 1950s.

Is it open all year?

Typically April to October. Check first.

Sources & verification

Hours and seasonality change. There is no official, fixed price: the menu is à la carte and fish is sold by weight, so the €80–150+ a head here is an indicative budget that shifts with the season, the dishes and the wine. Before you set out, contact the restaurant directly. Parking rates at Marina del Cantone diverge between sources (roughly €10–25): the page says so rather than pick one.

Ristorante Lo Scoglio (bookings, hours, seasonality)  ·  SITA Sud (bus)  ·  Comune di Massa Lubrense (parking)