1149 Best Restaurants in Italy

A perfect stop for lunch while exploring the region's wineries, this trattoria offers cucina casalinga (home cooking) that can be eaten in the dining room or on a lovely outdoor patio. Outstanding primi include maccheroni alla nonna (macaroni with asparagus in a light cream sauce dotted with truffle oil), while secondi usually feature delicious misto alla griglia (mixed grilled meats).

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 family-run place cooks very rustic yet satisfying meals, including hearty pasta, filling antipasti, and wood-fire pizzas. It isn't a fancy place, but the service is amicable, prices are reasonable, and servings are generous.

A covered veranda by the seafront marks out Alghero's top seafood restaurant, an expansive and sunny room complete with crustacean-filled aquarium. Summer sees crowds of both locals and tourists, many of whom come for the specialty aragosta (lobster) cooked different ways, including with fettuccine or alla Lepanto (with tomato, onions, and orange). In winter, when lobster isn't always available, sample the ricci (sea urchins). For starters, try tagliolini alla ventresca di tonno (pasta with tuna and rocket pesto).

The cordial welcome and meaty menu at this osteria a short walk from Brignole station have ensured its continuing popularity among locals. The traditional character is enhanced by its setting of chandeliers, bare brick walls, and shelves of wine bottles, but while the menu offers a range of steaks and Genovese favorites, there are seafood and a few novelty options, too, including prawns with cognac and orange and zebra goulash. You can sample these and other dishes on the four-course tasting menu, and check out the board of daily specials. Book early for one of the outside tables in warm weather.

La Locanda di Postino’s hotel restaurant offers traditional Aeolian and Sicilian cuisine in two serene settings—their quaint courtyard garden or their panoramic terrace overlooking the sea. Serving the freshest fish and seasonal vegetables with locally sourced products and ingredients, each tasty dish by chef and owner Amelia combines tradition and innovation with a respect for raw materials from sea and land—all paired perfectly with their hand selected wines available by the glass and the bottle. Open every day for lunch and dinner.

Part of the elegant Hotel Byron but open to the public, La Magnolia is helmed by chef Marco Bernardo, who knows his basics and allows flights of fantasy to take over. The games begin with amuse-bouches—his take on fegatini (a typical Tuscan chicken liver spread) with a gelatin made from Aleatico (a serious red wine) sets the stage for what's to follow. Stellar service and a well-informed sommelier also make the meal memorable, especially when it's served poolside.

Multicolor gingham tablecloths provide an interesting juxtaposition with rib-vaulted ceilings dating from the 13th century. The menu is seasonal—in autumn, don't miss the tonnarelli cacio e pepe (thick spaghetti with cheese and pepper), and, in summer, eat lighter fare on the intimate, flower-bedecked terrace in the back.

It's all about fish at this welcoming spot, and aside from vegetable side dishes and dessert there's little on the menu that wasn't recently swimming (or lurking) in the sea. Depending on what's in season you might find a starter like seppia in umido con fagioli (steamed octopus with beans), which provides a tasty introduction to more complicated delights. Pastas are made in-house, and the fish on offer is the catch of the day. The winning desserts include fresh fruit sorbets and poached pear al Sangiovese. If on foot you'll likely approach this trattoria via the Ponte di Tiberio, a bridge from the 1st century AD named after the ruling Roman emperor.

Stracciatella gelato—a creamy combination of milk, egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, and dark chocolate shavings—is Italy's answer to chocolate-chip ice cream. While you'll see the flavor in gelaterie across Italy, one pastry shop, and city, Bergamo, claims it as its own. In 1961, Enrico Panattoni, the pasticceria's founder is said to have invented the concoction and called it La Stracciatella alla Romana after a Roman soup with eggs in broth. Take your gelato to go or in a glass dish to enjoy in the shady courtyard just outside Porta Sant' Alessandro.

Come early (or late) to grab a seat at this tiny spot frequented by Florentine university students and businesspeople, who come to enjoy the day's primi (the lasagna is terrific), perhaps followed by the polpettone (meat loaf) and tomato sauce. Though seats are cramped, and the wine is no great shakes, the service is friendly, and the food hits the spot.

A coffee bar by day with specialty brews and excellent pastries, this popular enoteca has an impressive selection of Italian, French, and other international natural wines on the menu. The brunch menu offers bacon-and-egg sandwiches and healthy breakfast bowls, while the lunch and dinner offerings lean more traditionally Italian. In the summer, sit out on the patio just outside the walls of tranquil Villa Sciarra and you'll feel a million miles from the hectic clamor of Rome.

The crusts on the pizza at this casual, perennially popular spot just off the Piazza Navona are super-thin and charred around the edges a little—the sign of a good wood-burning oven. This is one of a few pizzerias open for both lunch and dinner, and it's busy day and night. Service is brusque, so don't expect to be invited to linger, but prices are low. When the weather is nice, there are tables outside, making this one of the most pleasant places for a cheap meal in the neighborhood.

This lively, gaily colored little trattoria (the name means "black sheep") with a high-vaulted ceiling is staffed by giovani disabili (both mentally challenged and learning-disabled young people), who wait tables under the supervision of a nondisabled companion. The food's terrific, from the made-in-house pizzas and focaccias to the traditional torta ai pinoli (pine nut cake). Great care is taken with sourcing, when possible, local organic ingredients, and such care translates into a lovely meal.

A perennial favorite with locals (Murano and otherwise) and a welcome respite for travelers, La Perla offers a relaxed, local atmosphere and lots of delectably prepared standard Venetian fare. Don't even think of arriving late in the lunch hour, or plan on waiting, as everyone else will have reserved or come early.

Considered an institution, this arched, vaulted, and simply decorated pizzeria dates back to 1887. It gets quite busy at lunchtime, with locals inside or, in summer, on the patio munching happily on farinata (a chickpea pancake and a Ligurian delicacy) and thick-crust pizza served hot out of the wood-burning oven. There's a take-out counter, too.

Sheltered from the city's hustle and bustle, this elegant little eatery exudes a mood of relaxed sophistication, serving classic dishes such as linguine with clams and fresh grilled fish in a cozy courtyard. The outdoor tables are the best place to enjoy the food and the friendly, informal service, but there is also a modest white-walled dining room.

Named for a historic structure that was used to store Malvasia grapes at night after sitting in the sun all day (the pinnata), this restaurant consistently delivers the exact flavors you want to eat on a Mediterranean island. Diners linger late into the evening over raw seafood, roasted fish, grilled octopus, and pastas dressed with wild fennel, caper pesto, fresh ricotta, or rich cuttlefish ink. Dine alfresco on the massive terrace overlooking vineyards and the sea from Malfa's southern edge.

The very unassuming decor (wooden tables, wooden chairs) sets the scene for terrific Tuscan food. Though there's not a truffle dish to be found on the menu, there's lots to satisfy the palate. The tasty food arrives in nicely sized portions; excellent house wine is on offer, as are other wines by the bottle, which are all nicely priced; and desserts are pretty good here.

Atop a steep hill, en route to the church of San Francesco, this lovely little eatery is certainly worth the trek. Indulge in inventive reworkings of Tuscan classics, like the mezzaluna di pera a pecorino (little half-moon pasta stuffed with pear and pecorino) served with Roquefort and poppy seeds. Depending on the season, find shaved black truffle added to starters and main dishes. The wine list and the attentive service help make this a terrific place to have a meal. When it's warm, you can sit on the little terrace outside.

This no-frills pizzeria al taglio (by the slice) and bakery is hidden a few minutes away from Piazza Trilussa. As in many traditional bakeries, pizza is sold by weight, so get yours sliced to the size you want. In the mornings, the pastries hot out of the oven are equally enticing, and you can order them from the window on the street if you prefer to snack and stroll.

In summer, the line at this gelateria stretches out the door and around the corner. Though it's a franchise that originated in Rimini, it's loved by Romans for its rich, creamy gelato made with organic milk, fresh fruit, nuts, and chocolate. This location is a bit out of the way, but there are also branches in Prati, Ostiense, San Giovanni, and near Piazza Navona.

This is an airy ristorante--pizzeria opening onto the main road on one side and Anacapri's pedestrianized street on the other. In summer, make sure you reserve a table out on the popular terrace to feast on linguine with capers, anchovies, olives, and cherry tomatoes. The menu's anchovy-based linguine ciammurra refers to the town's inhabitants.

Chef-owner Massimo Riccioli may have taken the nets and fishing gear off the walls of the trattoria he inherited from his parents, but this is still widely known as the place to go in Rome for first-rate seafood. The experience here includes friendly staff and undeniably high-quality fish, but be prepared for simple preparations and high prices. Make sure to start with any of the marinated seafood appetizers, like carpaccio of fresh, translucent fish drizzled with olive oil and perhaps fresh herbs. Pastas tend to mix varieties of shellfish, usually with a touch of oil, white wine, and lemon, and classic secondi like zuppa di pesce (fish soup) deserve top billing. At lunch, the restaurant's oyster bar also serves smaller plates, including sushi.

Next to the castle and tucked into three charming rooms, this elegant, intimate restaurant is considered by many to be Sirmione's finest. Its creative tasting menus feature an appealing mix of fish (from the lake or the sea), meat, and vegetarian dishes, all accompanied by a good choice of wines.

Italian and Mediterranean risottos, pastas, and other dishes are reinterpreted with modern flair at this much lauded restaurant at the Castello Banfi wine resort. Desserts are also beautifully prepared, and Castello Banfi's excellent wines are a bonus.

Brothers Salvo and Vito La Rosa serve memorable seafood and meat dishes, exquisite homemade desserts, and a wide choice of wines at this old-school Catania eatery a 3-km (2-mile) taxi ride north of the city center. The restaurant specializes in the ancient dish ripiddu nivicatu (risotto with cuttlefish ink and fresh ricotta cheese), as well as sarde a beccafico (stuffed sardines) and calamari ripieni alla griglia (stuffed and grilled).

Run by the third generation of a family of restaurateurs, this casual restaurant near the Vatican serves reliably tasty Roman classics, plus a rotating list of specials. As a member of the Associazione Italiana Celiachia (Italian Celiacs Association), they take gluten intolerance seriously and can prepare gluten-free versions of their pizzas and pastas upon request.

This osteria looks to the 16th century for culinary inspiration, with excellent homemade salami and a popular primo—marubini Cremonesi ai tre brodi (stuffed meat ravioli in broth)—made according to time-tested recipes. Order the tiramisu and an accompanying dessert wine for a perfect finish.

Near Santa Maria Novella is La Spada. Walk in and inhale the fragrant aromas of meats cooking in the wood-burning oven. You can either eat in or take it away.