Restaurant
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele
Historic pizzeria run by the Condurro family, serving only marinara and margherita in a plain dining room on Via Cesare Sersale since 1930.
Tandem Ragù
Small restaurant group devoted to Neapolitan ragù, the slow-cooked Sunday meat sauce, opened in 2013 on a lane in the historic centre.
At a glance
- Type
- Neapolitan ragù
- Area
- Centro Storico, Naples, Italy
- Price
- $ · Budget
- Official site
- tandemnapoli.it
Good to know
- Several branches
- Takeaway shops
- English menu
Why we recommend it
Tandem opened in July 2013 on Via Giovanni Paladino, a narrow lane between Spaccanapoli and the university, as the first restaurant devoted entirely to ragù napoletano. In Naples, ragù is not the minced-meat sauce known elsewhere, but a deep red sauce of tomato cooked very slowly for hours with large pieces of meat, traditionally prepared on Sunday mornings in family kitchens. The meat is served as a second course after the pasta, or both are eaten together. Tandem made a business of serving this Sunday dish every day of the week.
The menu centres on pasta with ragù, usually short shapes such as ziti or rigatoni, and the meat from the sauce, with plenty of bread for mopping up. The restaurant also cooks genovese, the other great Neapolitan Sunday sauce, made from onions and beef cooked down slowly until sweet and soft, despite its name. A local newspaper once named Tandem's cuzzetiello, a hollowed-out bread roll filled with ragù and meatballs, the best sandwich in Naples. The menus are available in Italian and English.
The original Paladino site is small and informal, and it fills up quickly at lunchtime. Tandem has since grown into several restaurants and takeaway shops across the city, including one on Piazza del Gesù, one on Via Bernini in the Vomero, and La Casa del Ragù on Via Benedetto Croce, so if the first one is full another may be close by. One branch, on Sedile di Porto, has been marked as temporarily closed. Prices are low, and portions are filling.
It suits anyone curious about Neapolitan home cooking beyond pizza, and is popular with students and visitors on a budget. Come hungry, and allow time afterwards for a coffee or a walk through the old town's lanes. As the food is rich, lunch is usually the best time to try it.
Via Giovanni Paladino runs off Via Mezzocannone, close to the university and a few minutes' walk from Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, Santa Chiara and Cappella Sansevero. Università station on metro Line 1 is the nearest stop, and Piazza Bellini is a short walk to the north.
Tandem Ragù FAQs
What is Neapolitan ragù?
A tomato sauce cooked slowly for hours with large pieces of meat, traditionally made on Sundays.
When did Tandem open?
The first restaurant opened on Via Giovanni Paladino in July 2013.
What else is on the menu?
Genovese, the slow-cooked onion and beef sauce, and the cuzzetiello, a bread roll filled with ragù.
Does Tandem have several locations?
Yes, including Piazza del Gesù, Via Bernini in the Vomero and takeaway shops such as La Casa del Ragù.
Is it expensive?
No, prices are low and portions filling.
Is there an English menu?
Yes, menus are available in Italian and English.
When is the best time to go?
Lunch, as the food is rich and the original site fills up quickly.
How do I get there?
Università station on metro Line 1 is the nearest stop.