Restaurant: Next2
Location: Viale Pasitea, 242, Positano SA, Italy. +39 089 812 3516
Date: June 25 & 28, 2015
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Excellent updated style
My wine and food buddy Walker recommended we try Next2 while we were in Positano, and as it happened it was just a couple hundred feet from our villa — plus 115 stairs. Next2 as it turned out was not only our favorite Positano restaurant (of the 7 we tried), but a bit more updated and modern in terms of menu and presentation than most.
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The menu.
2013 Pietracupa Greco di Tufo. 89 points. Oh so dry!
An amuse of caprese.
And one of bruschetta.
Bread. I like the crispy flat things.
Tre assaggi della tradizione. A selection of three traditional starters: a small pizza, stuffed zucchini flowers, and eggplant parmigiana. It all tasted as good as it looks.
Crocchette di verdure e provola, insalata all’aceto balsamico. Vegetable and smoked provola cheese croquette, mixed salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Insalata caprino fresco, mandorle tostate e miele. Mixed greens with fresh goat cheese, toasted almonds and honey.
Carpaccio di pescato, finocchi, arance e sale al sedano. Catch of the day carpaccio (in this case amberjack), fennel and orange salad, celery salt.
2014 Cantina del Taburno Falanghina Sannio Falanghina del Sannio.
Penne pomodoro!
Penne with butternut squash and seasonal truffle.
Tagliolini, aglio, olio, rosmarino, pomodoro candito e scarola. Taliolini with garlic, olive oil, and rosemary served with roasted tomato and bitter green.
Gnocchi di patate, zucca, salsiccia e tartufo di stagione. Potato gnocchi, butternut squash, pork sausage and seasonal truffle.
Polpette al sugo, polenta e provolone del Monaco. Traditional meatballs cooked in tomato sauce served with polenta and Provolone del Monaco. Pretty old fashioned dish in some ways, even Italian American (which is basically modified Southern Italian cooking). But this version was really good. Maybe not quite as good as the ones at Gusto, but very good.
The dessert menu.
Chocolate gelato.
Chocolate torte with almonds and vanilla ice cream.
Cannolo nocciolato ripieno di mousse al mascarpone, sorbetto al caffe e baileys. Hazelnut cannoli filled with mascarpone cheese, coffee sorbet and baileys sauce. Yum!
Semifreddo of almond and hazelnut with caramel sauce.
Overall, Next2 offers up a really delicious take on modern Amalfi fare. It’s spiritually faithful, but turns up the style and presentation by a couple of notches. Not to the formal level of the Michelin places, but enough to feel fresher than the completely straight up trattorias.