Named after the stunning Amalfi Coast village in which The Talented Mr Ripley was set, this cute Italian delivers informal dining in relaxing surroundings at an upmarket location.

Being located in the fancy JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, we suspected the new Italian restaurant Positano might be a bit posh. We arrived and saw a moped bearing the restaurant’s logo by the front door; we spied chefs joking with each other in the open kitchen; we clocked the open gas fire; we heard the kitsch 1960s Italian music and inspected the fish sitting in ice troughs. The penny dropped. We realised that, actually, Positano is all about informal dining and great Italian food in relaxed surroundings.

It’s so relaxed, you’re not even supposed to read the menu. Claudio, the energetic Sicilian manager, explains that he prefers diners to talk about what they feel like eating and let the waiters take care of the choices. That sounds bella to us.

We started with a superbly creamy hand-crafted burrata cheese, paired with simple prosciutto and drizzled with olive oil. The fried calamari, shrimp and whitebait was light and crispy and great for snacking. Next was a pasta from Napoli named scialetielli (good luck pronouncing that one), served with perhaps a tad too much tuna. The seafood platter was brought to our table: a pot of sea bass, swordfish, tuna and prawns that had been baked with olives and tomatoes – fun to share. The porcini mushroom risotto was fantastically rich and filling. There was plenty of meat on the menu too, plus 13 types of pizza, which we’ll try next time.

To finish we had the dense, flourless chocolate cake, plus the tiramisu, which came in a dinky glass jar and was spot on.

After eating here we bet you’ll feel like going home and watching The Talented Mr Ripley, which was shot in beautiful Positano and the surrounding Amalfi Coast. And we also bet that you’ll get your photo taken with the moped on the way out.

 JW Marriott Marquis, Business Bay, Dubai
Tel: (04) 4143000. Metro: Business Bay.
6pm to midnight.
jwmarriottmarquisdubailife.com