On a side street adjacent to the crowded Via Toledo, father-daughter duo Gaetano and Giusy Aiese focus solely on traditional Neapolitan cuisine – no room for innovations, deconstructed dishes or light fare. Fine, fresh produce forms the backbone of vegetable dishes that dominate the window at the restaurant’s entrance. The daily dishes are as good as the everyday mains, like pasta and beans with mussels, or fried anchovies stuffed with cheese.

With a few spartan tables and a glass-lined counter where you can see what’s available for lunch, Spiedo d’Oro is the definition of a no-frills joint. Everything served here represents what we like to think of as the “holy trifecta of the Backstreets” – good quality ingredients, extremely fresh and very affordable. A daily chalkboard menu boasts various pastas, meatball dishes and plates with Genovese sauce, at frankly unbeatable prices.

Excellent Neapolitan cuisine focuses on simplicity, on substance and not form. An exemplar of this is Mangia e Bevi (even more simply named, “Eat and Drink”). On top of the daily dishes, the menu includes soups, risotto and pasta, the latter of which is always perfectly balanced, hearty and just what the doctor ordered. You choose a side and first and second courses for a flat price, and the food arrives almost immediately – perhaps not in the right order, but that’s all part of the experience.

Besides the beautiful panoramic views of the city, a reason to climb Naples’s historic stairs is to look for Totò Eduardo E Pasta E Fagioli, an old tavern with a stunning terrace overlooking Naples. Our recommendation is the scarpariello, a pasta dish of Neapolitan origin – easy, fast and very tasty with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and pecorino. Make a reservation to enjoy the terrace when the setting sun illuminates the profile of Vesuvius.

One day, or so the story goes, a group of tourists asked an elderly priest in Naples which churches were really worth visiting. The priest replied, “There are many churches, but have you tried the spaghetti with clams?” When we crave this dish, we head to Pizzeria e Trattoria Vigliena, outside the center and adjacent to the port. At lunch, the place is packed with workers from the docks and marina, digging into many of Mama Concetta’s delicious pasta dishes.

No fake antiques strategically placed to draw tourists, La Cantina Di Via Sapienza is a true neighborhood spot that serves meals to nearby university and polyclinic students and staff. Once a Neapolitan cantina that dispensed wines and oils in bulk, the Formato family now dishes out tasty local dishes with a little fanfare. The menu changes daily, with no shortage of traditional dishes from the Campania region. The eggplant parmigiana and meatballs in tomato sauce make for a near perfect union.

This little family-run restaurant is tucked in a corner of the La Torretta Market in maritime Mergellina, and is known for its gattò. From 1963 to 2017, Donna Anna Pappalardo developed and dished out this dish of layered potato, cheese and salami – the best in the city – before passing at the age of 93. It is now skilfully made by her daughter. Of course, it is worth tasting the other fantastic pasta dishes at Cibi Cotti, but nothing can be quite as extravagant or comforting as the potato gattò.

Pasquale Malinconico opened this trattoria, known for its pennette alla Genovese, in 1958 as a bulk wine cellar. He began making a few small plates that were popular with locals, which eventually grew into larger meals. Today, the trattoria is frequented by the neighborhood’s older residents, many of whom have been loyal regulars for years, as well as younger locals and workers, who often stop by for a glass of wine from the metal barrels.

For the quintessential trattoria experience, we head to Cucina da Vittorio in Fuorigrotta, a working-class district on the west side of Naples. Opened by Vittorio Correale in 1965, this spot is mostly filled with regulars. They come for their favorite saucy meatballs with fried peppers, stockfish stew or a takeaway panini overflowing with sausage and friarielli. The menu is written on a blackboard in the center of the room, though it’s reliably the same and full of typical Neapolitan dishes.

In the 1900s, Via Cesare Rosaroll was the Neapolitan Montmartre, filled with writers, poets and painters. Today, the district is a little worse for wear, a high-traffic area due to its proximity to the central station. But redevelopment works are underway, including the restoration of the famous Aragonese towers, and È Pronto ‘O Mangià manages to draw a crowd of locals and tourists with its feel-good plates of pasta, seafood and a truly sumptuous eggplant parmigiana.