Basilicatan cuisine is among the most distinctive in southern Italy, and Maratea's position on the coast adds excellent seafood to the regional repertoire. Look for spaghetti alle alici (with fresh anchovies), zuppa di pesce (fish soup with whatever the boats brought in that morning), and the local grilled dentice (sea bream). On land, the essential Basilicatan flavouring is peperoni cruschi — dried red peppers fried in olive oil until brittle, used to season pasta, meat, and as a snack in their own right. They appear on every menu.
Restaurants in the Porto are reliable but busy in high season; the better places are slightly inland or in the borgo. Prices are lower than you would expect for a coastal location, partly because the area has less package-tourism infrastructure than comparable parts of the Amalfi or Cilento coasts.