"Know’st thou the land where the pale citrons grow... thither with thee, O, thither would I wend!"

Paolino De Martino was often found reminiscing about the past, and the times when he used to sit in the gentle sea breeze, in the bright Capri moonlight, a light so bright that it lit up the island’s Palazzo a Mare district, as if were day.

It is unlikely that Paolino knew much of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and so when a somewhat more learned friend recited the opening stanza of the great 18th century poet’s ‘Mignon's Song’, quite understandably his thoughts went not to Goethe’s allusion to Italy, but rather straight to his own beloved lemon trees.

Under a sky of lemons my love, how I should love you…

It was under these lemon trees, the branches of which formed a canopy so thick that even the most persistent of rains could barely make its way through, that Paolino opened his simple little restaurant. The first customers were all life long friends; elderly gentlemen stopping off for a bite of traditional island cooking on their way to play bowls.

At Paolino’s restaurant, the freely flowing wine was produced from the grapes grown in the nearby vineyard and the fish caught just a few hours previously by the fishermen of Marina Grande. In no time at all, everybody wanted to eat under Paolino’s lemon trees, which were not far away from the playing field (where the kids of Capri played soccer), on the road which turns in to a steep flight of steps descending to the sea and the Baths of Tiberius.

"Romantic, gorgeous, delicious. Truly unmissable!"

In the district of Palazzo a Mare, a wrought iron gate set between luxurious villas and vegetable patches and gardens, opens on to a large terrace shaded by lemon trees, the fruit laden branches of which almost touch tables lit by traditional majolica lamps and hand crafted candles.

Today, Paolino’s legendary lemon garden is still there, in Capri’s Palazzo a Mare district, and the restaurant has remained a family business, managed by Lino, Paolino’s son.

Actors, politicians, musicians, footballers; over the years, all have succumbed to the joys of da Paolino’s ravioli capresi. Stavros Niarchos, Leopoldo Pirelli, Count Augusta, Nicolas Cage, Giorgio Falk, Cesare Romiti, Richard Gere, Antonio Matarrese, Luca di Montezemolo, Diego Armando Maradona, Edwige Fenech, Leonardo Mondadori, Dianne Furstenberg, and Tom Cruise, are just a few of the famous clients whose photos appear in Lino’s Guest Book, volume which he has been proudly updating since 1978.

Meals at da Paolino Restaurant in Capri are a leisurely affair, during which Lino accompanies guests to the antipasti buffet brimful with seasonal delicacies prepared according to the great island tradition, and abundant in sweet, sun-ripened cherry tomatoes, peppery rocket, succulent egg plant and zucchini, cold cuts, sea food, fresh mozzarella, salads, and pasta parcels.

Only the very finest of local products are used to create the dishes featured on the à la carte menu, be it the freshest of fish or highly prized meats. The same attention has been given to the selection of wines and to da Paolino’s famous circular dessert table which is dominated by a magnificent display of wild berries, seasonal fruit and copious quantities of whipped cream.

Events to take your breathe away...

Da Paolino restaurant’s large terrace, beneath the lemon trees, is one of the most romantic places on the island of Capri in which to host a custom-designed event, one that participants will be sure to remember. At da Paolino guests can expect to be thoroughly pampered, enjoying the highly personalized service offered by Lino and his staff, the result of both years of experience and a life-long passion for hospitality.

An exclusive location for a dream wedding reception, important working lunch, or elegant post-meeting dinner, da Paolino Restaurant’s lemon garden has a seating capacity for as many as 220 guests. Before they commence their meal, diners are served an aperitif of cocktails and finger food in the restaurant’s attractive gazebo.