34 Best Restaurants in Italy

Run with enthusiasm and love by two young Sorrentine women, this small rustic-styled bakery and bistro makes generously filled panini using fresh ingredients on ciabatta and panuozzo pizza-dough bread. It's also a fab spot to linger with some local wine and a cheese platter.

At this informal, waterside restaurant and snack bar, you won't see many locals—they're unlikely to be impressed by the four-language menus—but the seafood platters are fresh and flavorful, and you can eat alfresco in the sunshine or inside a glass-enclosed dining area with a nautical motif. You can even go for a swim (just please, wait an hour or so after eating!). For a special-occasion splurge consider renting out their new (opened 2021) luxury resort next door, Villa del Maggiore, replete with pool, terraces. and direct private access to the sea.

In the Neapolitan smorfia, a list of numbers used to analyse dreams (and play the lottery), 50 means bread, and kalò is the Greek for good. And good dough is on the menu here, with this airy pizzeria gaining accolades since opening in traffic-busy Piazza Sannazaro in 2014—the New York Times hailed the pizza among the best in Italy. Along with all the favorites, third-generation pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo’s creations include a selection of vegetable pizzas with locally sourced toppings including cabbage, pumpkin, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and capers. The wine list is worthy of the best restaurants.  

Atrani's most reliable option (since 1986), where each day's fare depends entirely on the seafood catch, is an intimate place on the main walkway at the back of the piazza. White coved ceilings and immaculate linens are offset by a colorful naive-art mural of fishermen mending paranze (trawler nets). The tasting menu—antipasti ranging from marinated tuna to fried rice balls, with a helping of pasta and risotto, followed by a choice of dessert—is recommended, but if that sounds like too much, go for the scialatielli ai frutti di mare. Whatever you choose, leave room for the divine cakes.

In a 14th-century building close to the Piazzetta, this small, friendly, family-run restaurant has arched ceilings, autographed photos of famous patrons, and lots of atmosphere. Specialties include scialatielli ai fiori di zucchine e gamberetti (with zucchini flowers and shrimp) and cocotte (house-made pasta with mussels, clams, and shrimp), but the owner delights in taking his guests through the menu of regional dishes.

Watch chickens roast over high flames as you decide which of the other delightful things you're going to eat with it. The beauty of this place is that it's open on Sunday when most things are not.

Watch chickens roast over high flames while you decide which of the delightful side dishes you'd like to enjoy as well. Although this place is strictly takeout (there are no tables), it's open on Sunday when most places are not.

This well-thought-of osteria-trattoria lands the freshest seafood and creates exquisite, beautifully presented plates; the chefs constantly delight with new things to try such as homemade spirulina grissini, unusual flavor combos, and vibrant garnishes. Dine in the rustic yet refined dining room with its exposed stone, wooden beams, and coved ceilings, or outside on the gorgeous terrace with piazza views. 

Run by genial Giuseppe, this family-run trattoria serves classic seafood dishes in a relaxed, modern dining room. Freshly netted catch are heaped on hearty plates, like insalata di mare (seafood salad), seafood cavatelli pasta, and grilled gamberoni (prawns).

For a hot-out-of-the-oven sfogliatella, Naples's tasty ricotta-filled pastry, try the justifiably famous Attanasio. You can grab one as soon as you get off the train; this place is hidden away off Piazza Garibaldi.

This busy café-bar has outside seating on the basalti flagstones with views of the port, so you can watch the boats coming in and out while munching on sfogliatella, panino, or a semi-freddo.

One of Palermo's best modern pizzerias serves delicious Neapolitan pies from a big oven in the open kitchen—the genius is in the crust, which is seared in a matter of seconds. The owners make their money on a quick turnover (so don't expect a long, leisurely meal), but the pizza is delicious and the place often serves until midnight—later than almost any other restaurant in the neighborhood.

With an open kitchen and a veranda—so you can keep an eye on both the chef and the azure waters of the Golfo di Policastro—there's always something to see at this family-run seafood restaurant. Even better: it serves some of the freshest catches in town, with specialties like linguine con nero di seppia (with cuttlefish ink sauce), grilled squid, and grigliata mista (mixed grilled fish and seafood).

You may recognize Da Michele from the movie Eat Pray Love, but for more than 140 years before Julia Roberts arrived, this place was a culinary reference point. Despite offering only two types of pizza—marinara (with tomato, garlic, and oregano) and margherita (with tomato, mozzarella, and basil)—plus a small selection of drinks, it still manages to draw long lines. The low prices may have something to do with it, but the pizza itself suffers no rivals, so even customers waiting in line are good-humored. The boisterous, joyous atmosphere wafts out with the smell of yeast and wood smoke onto the street; get a number at the door, and then hang outside until it's called.

Established in 1958, this family-run place pairs generations of tradition and genuine love of hospitality with ever-evolving innovation, reflected in the exceptional takes on classic Neapolitan dishes and the stylish, up-to-date yet rustic decor. Expect a truly warm welcome and a menu with both sea and robust land mainstays such as grilled octopus, shoulder of lamb, and eggplant Parmesan.

Located on a side street, this trattoria is one of the simpler dining choices in town, and also one of the better ones—what it lacks in views it makes up for with a pleasant rustic ambience plus a great selection of handmade pasta and, in the evening, forno a legna (from a wood-fired oven). In winter, pizzas are served weekends only.

A meal at this restaurant, on the beach about a half-mile east of Corricella, encapsulates Procida's seaside simplicity. Lapping waves and views of the marina and Capri form the backdrop for the fresh seafood and vegetable creations. Access the restaurant either by foot down the steps from Via Pizzaco or by the free orange boat every two hours from the Corricella harbor front—phone the owner for times.

On the site of Roman thermal baths (you can see the ancient ruins under a glass section in the floor), this is a historic venue as well as a beloved eatery. Whether dining outdoors under the lanterns or indoors under the beamed ceiling and stucco arcades, you'll enjoy cucina tipica, locale e nazionale (traditional local and national cooking), including seafood and meat dishes as well as top-quality vera pizza napoletana (truly authentic Neapolitan pizza).

This extremely informal trattoria enjoys a distinctive setting up against limestone rocks not far from the Arco Naturale, with the kitchen in a cave at the back. Whether you stumble over it (and are lucky enough to get a table) or intentionally head for it after an island hike, Le Grottelle will prove memorable, thanks to the ambience, the views of Li Galli islands, and a menu that includes ravioli and local rabbit but is best known for seafood dishes such as linguine con gamberetti e rucola (with shrimp and arugula).

Patrons of this Neapolitan institution have included the filmmaker Federico Fellini and that truly Neapolitan comic genius and self-styled aristocrat, Totò. It's in a fairly seedy area so take a taxi, especially at night, but it's worth it to sample Mimì's classics such as pasta e fagioli and the sea bass al presidente, baked in a pastry crust and enjoyed by visiting Italian presidents. The owner's son Salvatore is the chef, working wonders in the kitchen. This is not so much a see-and-be-seen place as common ground for the famous and the unknown to mingle, feast, and be merry.

You might overlook Osteria der Belli because of its proximity to the central square of Trastevere, Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere—and that would be a crying shame. Leo, the owner, is Sardinian and has been running this place daily for over 35 years, and, while Roman dishes are on the menu, it excels at seafood and Sardinian cuisine. Between the friendly service and quality food, this one's a real find in an otherwise-touristy part of Trastevere.

Opened in 1904, this ever-reliable osteria serves hearty traditional cucina veneta in wonderfully homey, rustic surroundings. Take a seat under the dark wooden beams or in the leafy courtyard, and let the friendly staff guide you through a menu, dominated by meat dishes and seasonal soups, that has barely changed in decades. Expect the finest Slow Food--approved seasonal Veneto produce, as well as cucina povera like liver Venetian-style or egg-rich bigoli pasta with salted sardines.

A slow wander through town for a scoop of gelato after lunch or dinner is a summer sport in Rome. Galley-sized Otaleg is a must in Trastevere, where gelato master Marco Radicioni dreams up concoctions like croccante totale (completely crunchy) with fiordilatte, toasted nuts, sesame, and honey, as well as perfectly distilled seasonal fruit sorbets made with produce from the nearby open-air market in Piazza San Cosimato.

Opened in 1929, this bakery sells both sweet and savory items, including more than 70 types of bread. Line up for the pizza al taglio (by the slice) at lunchtime, or sit down at one of the outdoor tables for a cappuccino and cornetto or an aperitivo replete with mini sandwiches made on homemade buns. There's also a small location inside Termini Station where you can grab a quick espresso on the way to catch a train. 

With an outdoor terrace overlooking the Spiaggia Grande, this is an ideal stop for a coffee, a sandwich, or an ice cream. By night, the latest music pumps from the stereo and the clamor of sporting events blares from the four large-screen TVs, as movers, groovers, and soccer fans from around the globe sip cocktails after a hard day on the beach.

Opened in 1955 this popular pastry parlor and gelateria is a reliable spot to pick up a coffee with a cornetto, sfogliatella, or krapfen doughnut. Their delicious gelato comes in colorful cone cialde waffle cones.

A 10-minute drive from Ostia Antica in Fiumicino, modern Rome's fishing port, Pizzeria Clementina is set on a seaside promenade with views of bobbing boats. The fried appetizers and the pizzas are made using ingredients sourced from the hills around the city or from the daily catches brought in by local fishermen. The seafood pizza is excellent, particularly those topped with crudo (raw fish). However, pizza maker Luca Pezzetta grew up in Marino (next to Ariccia) so the porchetta pizza is also superb.

Famed for its fiocco di neve (snowflake), the deliciously creamy pastry ball was created in 2015 by this century-old pasticceria.