1178 Best Restaurants in Italy

At this bright and friendly trattoria with a maritime theme, you can dine on some of the city's best pesto and Ligurian dishes in a casual, comfortable setting. The staff are knowledgeable about the region's specialties and the wines on the always interesting menu, and even if you don't order a pesto dish, taste some with bread before your meal. Fried sardines, a local catch of the day, and seasonal torte (savory Ligurian pies) are menu staples. It gets very busy, so arrive early or book ahead.

Take the steps up to the right just before the Giardini di Augusto to find this romantic spot, where outdoor seating is staggered on the layered terraces, commanding a fine view of the Fariglioni. The menu combines the best of local and international cooking, specializing in both meat and seafood dishes. Menu mainstays include the linguine con vongole, tartufi di mare e fiori di zucca (with clams and zucchini blossoms), eggplant parmigiana, and fried squid and prawns served with arugula and tomatoes. 

Any one of this restaurant's piatti tipici (typical plates) is worth trying, though the local specialty, pici all'aglione (thick, long noodles served with sautéed cherry tomatoes and many cloves of garlic), is done particularly well. The chef also has a deft touch with vegetables; if there's fennel on the menu, make sure to order it. The interior, with white walls, low ceilings, and old wood tables, is cozy and the service is warm and friendly.

It's small, but the very cheery staff is only too happy to provide you with wonderful plates of typical Tuscan food. The kitchen stays open a little bit later than most, which makes this a perfect stop after seeing some of the amazing art that Arezzo has to offer. Reservations are a necessity if you are attending the monthly antiques fair.

This former wine cellar just beyond Frascati's market square is now a cheerful trattoria serving hearty portions of traditional Roman dishes and pizza. In summer you can sit under an awning outside and enjoy the sweeping view over the plain toward Rome.

Conveniently located a few steps from Cagliari's cathedral and archaeological museum in the Castello quarter, this tiny, welcoming spot offers a range of delicious lunchtime snacks to eat in at a counter or take out in a small or large box. Choices may include chicken salad, tripe and peas, caponata, and parmigiana, as well as freshly prepared filled panini. In the summer months it opens in the evening, too.

Parallel to posh Via del Babuino, Via Margutta was once a street of artists' studios (including Fellini's), and this chic vegetarian restaurant, with changing displays of modern art, sits on the far end of the now-gallery-lined street. It turns out tasty meat-free versions of classic Mediterranean dishes, as well as more daring concoctions. On weekends, brunch is a vast serve-yourself buffet, while dinner offers à la carte and prix fixe options.

Some of the most innovative interpretations of fine Roman cookery can be found in this starkly chic restaurant on a backstreet between upscale Via Giulia and the Campo de' Fiori. Chef Anthony Genovese was born in France to Calabrese parents and spent time cooking in Japan and Thailand, so his dishes make use of nontraditional spices, ingredients, and preparations—garnering him a loyal following and multiple accolades. The prices are exorbitant, but the food is exemplary. Dishes include pasta bundles filled with onion, tapioca, and red currant in a saffron broth or duck with black salsify, caramelized pear, and chocolate sauce. You can choose one of the elaborate tasting menus that range from 4 to 16 courses.

Fresh flowers on white linen tablecloths add color to the bright glass-enclosed dining area of this delightful eatery on busy Piazza Sulis; gold-framed paintings and oversize wine bottles capped in wax add Italian charm—as does the seasonally changing menu of pasta and seafood dishes such as potato-stuffed culurgiones (a ravioli-like pasta) topped with pecorino cheese, dried tomatoes, and wild rocket, and fillet of suckling pig in a Vermentino sauce. Many opt for the three- or four-course prix-fixe menus (€50 and €60), which include a traditional dessert.

As the name suggests, this is a temple to everything from the sea, caught fresh and prepared simply by smiling chef Sergio. Choose from local clams, prawns anointed with lime, calamari, or whatever else that has been recently caught. 

Tucked away in a garden at the bottom of a steep side road, this elegant restaurant comes as a bit of a surprise. The menu has both seafood and meat dishes (some topped with white and black truffles), and the pasta can be made gluten-free if you call at least one day ahead of time. The excellent service makes this a favorite choice for wedding parties and anniversaries, which are usually in one of the private rooms. In summer, you can eat outside on the small patio overlooking the garden.

There are actually two eateries here, but superior is the well-regarded Poeta Contadino, which specializes in regional cooking with a creative twist and offers a refined dining experience amid candlelight that casts shadows on ancient stone walls. If you're on a budget, though, the more affordable Osteria del Poeta also serves bite-size traditional dishes.

Il Principe's owner, Gian Marco Carli, inherited his parents' 30-year research into ancient Roman cuisine; Famiglia Carli may not have fed Roman emperors, but they have cooked for at least three U.S. presidents. Their quality meat and fish dishes, and sumptuous tasting menus honor the past while delivering exquisitely presented, modern plates of food.

Longtime restaurateur Gianni Bonaccorsi has established an eatery where he can pamper a limited number of lucky patrons with his imaginative cuisine and impeccable taste in wine. Ridotto means “small, private place,” which this very much is, evoking an atmosphere of secrecy and intimacy; the innovative menus tend toward lighter but wonderfully tasty versions of classic dishes. Ask them to recommend a wine from the excellent cantina.

At this family-run local spot, the rustic dining area—with terra-cotta floors, brick pillars, and a wood-burning stove—is packed nearly every night. The service, presentation, and wine list are as exceptional as the food: only the freshest local meats and cheeses are served, and all the dishes are made from scratch, including the pizza (available evenings only), the pasta, and the semifreddo ice cream drizzled with honey. Orchestrated by chef Francesco Nanu, the menu might feature such starters as culurgiones (ravioli) stuffed with toasted almonds, orange zest, and guanciale (cured pig cheek) followed by courses of grilled seafood, lamb with fresh broad beans, or beef fillet on a bed of braised radicchio.  The daily tasting menu is a very good deal.

In the tiny town square of Montepertuso, 1,500 feet up the mountainside from Positano (call for the free shuttle service to and from), the Ritrovo has been noted for its cucina for more than 20 years. The menu showcases food from both the sea and the hills: try the scialatielli ai frutti di mare accompanied by well-grilled vegetables; the house specialty zuppa saracena, a paella-like affair brimming with assorted seafood; and the lemon tiramisu, perhaps paired with one of 80 different kinds of a homemade liqueur, including carob and chamomile options.

Fast food has a different meaning in Sicily: in every town you'll see bars and cafés offering a selection of ready-to-eat savory pastries filled with meats and cheeses, small pizzettes, arancini, and quiches. In Acireale, the place to go is Il Rosticcere, where chef Puccio has some 30 years experience creating the exemplar of the genre.

This lovely trattoria has been around for a long time, and with good reason—the Tuscan classics rely heavily on the local cheese (pecorino) and local meats (especially wild boar, among others), and the wine list is long and very well-priced. The white walls, tile floors, and red tablecloths create an understated tone that is unremarkable, but once the food starts arriving, it's easy to forgive the lack of decoration.

A gorgeous space, with chandeliers and soaring original brickwork ceilings, is the setting for one of Rome's best seafood restaurants. Order à la carte, or if you're hungry, the eight-course tasting menu (given the quality of the fish, a relative bargain at €90), which might include cuttlefish-ink tagliatelle with mint, artichokes, and roe or shrimp from the island of Ponza with rosemary, bitter herbs, and porcini mushrooms. There is a great wine list, as well as an extensive list of bottled waters for perfect pairings.

At the most upscale wine bar in town, you come for the vino but return for the food. Everything here is appropriately raffinato (refined): raw and marinated fish; spaghetti with garlic and minced raw shrimp; and saffron risotto with red prawn carpaccio. Main courses might be seafood or meat—all of which complement the vast offerings of top-notch wines.

As the name indicates, dishes prepared with truffles are the specialty here—don't miss the risotto al tartufo. Incorporating the ruins of a Roman villa, the surroundings are rustic on the ground floor and more modern upstairs; in summer, tables appear outdoors, and the traditional fare is spiced up to appeal to the cosmopolitan crowd attending (or performing in) the Festival dei Due Mondi.

In charming shabby-chic environs, this welcoming eatery near the Arco di Druso (ancient Roman arch) serves up Italian with a subtle twist. Along with an extensive selection of thoughtfully chosen Umbrian wines, you'll find lots of veggie options, mounds of truffles in season, and, to finish things off, a superlative version of Spoleto sponge cake.

In an unassuming location between the Colosseum and Piazza San Giovanni, this elegant restaurant with exposed brick arches and white tablecloths serves some of the freshest seafood in the city—with tanks full of live lobsters and crabs to prove it. Owner Francesco Tripodi personally goes to the fish auctions in Fiumicino every day and presides over the dining room, charismatically dispensing suggestions and taking orders, which are expertly prepared by his brother Giuseppe.

The dining area is carved out of a cliff, and the terrace overlooks the famous Sassi ravine. From both you can enjoy such rustic specialties as foglie d'ulivo (stuffed olive leaves), zuppa di grano e ceci (cheese and chickpea soup), and pignata (lamb stew with seasonal vegetables).

Centrally located on the main piazza in Ustica town, this trattoria's outdoor terrace is a marvelous spot for feeling like you're in the thick of local life while enjoying first-class fare. Seafood is the main feature, of course, on a menu that combines traditional dishes, such as prawn ravioli, with more adventurous juxtapositions, like the antipasto of grilled octopus with lentil puree. Service is warm and willing, and there's a good wine list. It's worth booking ahead in summer.

The nautical decor and menu brimming with seafood delicacies are apt at this restaurant in the picturesque Borgo Marinaro, with the Bay of Naples and Castel dell'Ovo nearby and Vesuvius in the background. Note, too, as you plan your feast—the schiaffoni with astice and pescatrice (large flat tube pasta with lobster and anglerfish) is a good bet—that this area was the site of a villa owned by Lucullus, a Roman aristocrat and general famous for dining lavishly. Try to leave room for the dolce of the day, perhaps tiramisu or pear cake with ricotta. If after one too many limoncellos you feel like crashing, book one of the bright, airy guest rooms in the hotel upstairs.

The name means Happy Tufa, and you will be happy, too, if you eat at this fine restaurant cut directly into the tufa rock plateau upon which old Pitigliano sits. The cuisine is local and regional—the pappardelle al ragù di cinghiale (pappardelle pasta with wild boar sauce) is particularly tasty, as is the acquacotta (seasonal bread and vegetable soup served with quail egg). 

This friendly café and art gallery, located between Campo Santa Margherita and Campo San Barnaba, is a great place to stop for a spritz, or even for a light lunch or dinner. The highlights are the freshly made salads, but their panini and tramezzini (triangle-shape Italian sandwich) are also among the best in the area. The staff prepare a freshly made pasta and a soup every day—this is one of the very few cafés where the pasta is recommended. The well-stocked bar has a good assortment of wines, and the talented bartenders can even whip up a decent American martini. There's also seating outside, where you can watch the locals making their way between the two major campi (squares).

Excellence is at the forefront of everything at Imàgo, the Michelin-starred restaurant inside the legendary Hotel Hassler. Surrounded by a panoramic view of Rome, you can choose from one of the two tasting menus, both of which blend tradition and modernity. Each carefully and meticulously created dish can be paired with an exceptional wine from the enviable cellar, which has 1,500 labels.