40 Best Restaurants in Italy

This intimate Michelin-starred restaurant is a fantastic option if you are staying in Modica overnight. Forget the usual starchy tablecloths and formal service, this place is all about the food, with the chef cooking his own personal takes on classic Sicilian dishes, including options like trucioli pasta with cheese fondue, lemon, capers, and coffee; grilled lettuce with pork cheek, caviar, and walnuts; and cannoli with ricotta cheese and cotton candy for dessert. The €120 tasting menu comes very highly recommended, but for something more affordable, stop in for lunch to have a similar experience for €50, or consider Accursio Radici (which means Accursio Roots, the cheaper sister restaurant) a few doors down.

Inside an enchanting 18th-century palace with arched ceilings, this zero-kilometer restaurant uses products only from the surrounding area, including vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers from its own gardens, in its weekly changing seven-course tasting menus. In the warmer months, don’t miss dining amongst the roses in the romantic courtyard, where a smaller three-course menu with cocktail of the day is also offered.

Tucked away on the third floor of the Green Pea sustainable retail venture (next to Eataly Lingotto), one of Turin's top destinations for fine dining is run by the fourth generation of the Vicina family, with Claudio and wife Anna leading the kitchen and Stefano managing the front of house. Excellent quality traditional Piedmontese dishes are served with creative style, and the wine list is an encyclopedia, featuring not only the top Barolo producers but also many other small but notable wineries.

This tiny eatery brilliantly blends the cuisine of Tuscany with that of Korea and Japan. Here you'll find wacky and marvelous combinations in the dumplings, ravioli, and more on a seasonally changing menu.

This upscale trattoria serves sumptuous options like the creamy crostini di fegatini (with a savory chicken-liver spread) and melt-in-your-mouth desserts. Many Florentines hail this as the city's best restaurant, and justifiably so—chef-owner Fabio Picchi knows Tuscan food better than anyone, and it shows.

This elegant but simply furnished Michelin-starred restaurant near the port offers modern and creative Italian haute cuisine on two wide-ranging tasting menus (€120 and €155 per person), consisting of a series of dishes that are only revealed when presented to your table (any food allergies can be communicated beforehand). Dal Corsaro shares its kitchen and chef, Stefano Deidda, with the adjacent Fork, an elegant and modern bistro where you may find such mouthwatering concoctions as smoked mackerel with honey and liver, and cheesecake salad with marinated salmon and citrus, while desserts might include licorice ice cream with a crunchy almond topping. Fork offers five-course tasting menus costing €70 and €75, and has outdoor dining in spring and summer.

Set in a palace dating from 1757, this is one of Europe's most beautiful and historic restaurants, with decorative moldings, mirrors, and hanging lamps contrasted with ultramodern takes on Piedmontese cuisine from young Michelin-starred chef Matteo Baronetto. Order an inventive signature dish such as the Piedmontese salad, with around 24 artfully composed ingredients, and an expertly prepared meat or fish dish, or opt for the six- or nine-course tasting menu to sample more of the chef's innovative cooking.

A gastronomic giant and pioneer in upscale farm-to-table cuisine (it even grows its own produce on a small farm nearby), Don Alfonso is considered one of Italy's best restaurants. It's a family affair, with mamma (Livia) handling the dining room, papà (former chef Alfonso Iaccarrino) tending to the organic plot, one son working as the current chef (preparing classic dishes alongside edgier creations), and the other serving as maître d'. For an extra splurge you can stay at their self-styled boutique hotel with a range of vibrantly decorated rooms and a heating pool. 

After 14 years in Austin, Texas, chef Cristina Bowerman returned to Rome to reconnect with her Italian roots, and her cooking is as innovative as the building she works in (Glass has received numerous recognitions for its design as well as its expertly executed cuisine). The menu, which changes frequently, features dishes like a standout steak tartare and lobster polenta with yuba.

Inside atmospheric stone-walled ancient cellars, the latest incarnation of Guido—which began in 1961 in Costigliole d’Asti—is now managed by the son of the original owners. It serves up excellent preparations of traditional dishes best sampled with one of the three tasting menus (classic, vegetables, or fish), along with superlative pairings of wine from the surrounding regions.

Opened in 1981 by Elia Rizzo, the nationally renowned fine-dining Desco cuisine is now crafted by talented son Matteo. True to Italian and Rizzo culinary traditions, he preserves natural flavors through careful ingredient selection, adding daring combinations inspired by stints in kitchens around the world. For an extravagant gastronomic adventure, try the multicourse seasonal tasting menu. Il Desco's interior is elegant and colorful, with sculpture, paintings, and an impressive 16th-century lacunar ceiling.

Inside an elegant country house perched atop a steep hill and set amongst the vineyards, about a 10-minute drive south of Trento’s center, talented chef Edoardo Fumagalli creates thoroughly modern cuisine that pairs perfectly with the Lunelli family’s sparkling Ferrari wines. Choose from three tasting menus, which feature local ingredients such as Garda lemons, ricotta from the surrounding farm, and Dolomite trout roe; for lighter appetites, the more casual bistro next door offers á la carte dishes.

Chef Massimo Camia's restaurant is in an elegant and modern space, with views of the Barolo vineyards that surround the Damilano winery; the service is impeccable and the food is divine. The restaurant is outside the town of La Morra, a 20-minute drive to the southwest of Alba.

Local butcher and restaurateur, Dario Cecchini, has extended his empire of meat to include this space above his butcher's shop. In addition to two tasting menus—one heavily meat laden, the other with none—you'll find a homemade version of giardiniera sott'olio (pickled and preserved vegetables) that's second to none. All offerings are a nice change from the more standard options found at restaurants throughout Chianti. The bread on the table is exceptional (the product of much experimentation).

South Tyrol native Egon Heiss uses ingredients from Castel Fragsburg’s gardens as well as produce from nearby organic farms, and meat and fish from area producers, to create his beautiful versions of hyperlocal dishes. Delicious items on Prezioso’s five-course tasting menus may include potato dumplings with alpine cheese, alpine salmon, and lamb from the Funes Valley—traditional cuisine elevated by modern preparations and artful presentations.

In a pretty Art Deco setting inside Hotel Elephant, wunderkind chef Mathias Bachmann whips up beautifully presented and creative Italian cuisine with an Asian flair in his nightly six-course tasting menus. Dishes change with the seasons, but if they're on the menu, don't miss the nori tartlet with asparagus or Hokkaido wagyu with miso and black applesauce.

Food lovers should not miss Arnolfo, one of Tuscany's most highly regarded restaurants, where chef Gaetano Trovato sets high standards of creativity; his dishes daringly ride the line between innovation and tradition, almost always with spectacular results. The menu changes frequently but you are always sure to find fish and lots of fresh vegetables in the summer. Perhaps the best way to thrill at this restaurant would be to engage in one of the tasting menus.

Sorrentine favorites, including acquerello (fresh fish appetizer) and ravioli with crab and zucchini sauce, are tweaked creatively here. The staff is warm and helpful, the singer on the sound system is the long-departed "fourth tenor" himself, and the operatic memorabilia (including posters and old photos of Caruso) is displayed in a flattering blush-pink light.

Most of the ingredients, including fabulous handmade cheeses and butter, used at this charming Michelin-starred organic dairy-turned-eatery (whose name means “healthy pasture”) come from the family farm, Agriturismo El Brite de Larieto, perched 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) above the sea. Out of this local bounty, chef Riccardo Gaspari and his wife Ludovica craft impressive and highly personal dishes you’ll find nowhere else in the Dolomites, such as the signature spaghetti with mountain pine oil and scent of the forest ice cream.

Modern Italian cuisine made using interesting ingredients is the draw at this restaurant with sophisticated brown-and-turquoise decor in Milan's Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The best way to experience the intricate dishes is through the seven-course tasting menu; for a less expensive option, opt for the three-course “carte blanche” lunch menu. With more than 1,000 labels on the extensive wine list and a focus on Italian producers, you’re guaranteed to find something wonderful to accompany your meal.

As at his other eateries, Dario Cecchini, Panzano's local merchant of meat, offers two set menus for lunch—one where beef products dominate every course and the other vegetarian. The musetto al limone e brodo vero (an interesting salame served with stunning beef broth) might kick off the proceedings. On the table is pinzimonio, a dish of raw sliced vegetables (carrot, fennel, onions) to be dipped into terrific olive oil and sprinkled with Dario's special house-made herbed salt.

In a laid-back, welcoming setting at the Rosa Alpina hotel, chef Norbert Niederkofler oversees one of the Alto Adige's most highly regarded restaurants, where seasonal products sourced exclusively from the region are transformed into delicacies on a 12-course tasting menu. Servers thoroughly explain the provenance of the seemingly simple yet multilayered dishes, which can be paired with wines from all over the world, though there's a slant toward small local producers.

Chef Filippo Oggioni took over this traditional restaurant in 2019, adding freshness and creative versions of regional recipes and decadent desserts, available both à la carte or as five- or seven-course tasting menus. The elegant, intimate spaces of this converted mill are furnished with antiques, and a traditional ceramic stove provides additional warmth in cool weather.

An open kitchen and contemporary table lamps heighten the culinary theater of Matera's fanciest restaurant, set in a cool, minimalist Rione Sassi grotto. The chef's innovative tasting menus feature vibrant seasonal creations served on artsy ceramics and in wooden bowls.

Named after the phonetic spelling of the Dutch-Italian chef's last name, this innovative, high-concept restaurant, whose quiet dining rooms are done up in gray and gold, offers a choice of interesting tasting menus and à la carte options. Boer's contemporary Italian food is beautifully presented and full of complex flavors, and the well-matched wines lean toward the natural.

Heralded as one of Italy's classic gourmet restaurants, Ambasciata (Italian for "embassy") emphasizes elegance in tiny Quistello, 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Mantua. Those who are willing to make the trek (and pay the bill) can order à la carte or opt for the tasting menu (from €80) with an ever-changing array of traditionally inspired creations, such as the famed tortelli di zucca (pumpkin tortelli with pumpkin cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano), or mains like guinea fowl with mostarda (a sweet-and-sour mustard from Mantua), and roast pigeon with 25-year reserve balsamic vinegar.

The Antinori family started selling wine from their palace's basement in the 15th century and 600 years later, this buca (hole) is a lively, subterranean restaurant filled with Florentine aristocrats chowing down on what might be the best (and most expensive) bistecca fiorentina in town. The classical Tuscan menu has the usual suspects: crostino di cavolo nero (black cabbage on toasted garlic bread), along with ribollita and pappa al pomodoro. You might want to cut directly to the chase, however, and order the bistecca, an immense slab of Chianina beef impeccably grilled on the outside, just barely warmed on the inside. (If you're not into rare meat, order something else from the grill.) Roast potatoes and cannellini beans make perfect accompaniments.

The Antinori family started selling wine from their palace's basement in the 15th century, and, 600 years later, this buca (hole) is a lively, subterranean spot filled with Florentine aristocrats chowing down on what might be the best—and the most expensive—bistecca fiorentina (flavorful, lightly seasoned beef) in town. The classic Tuscan menu has the usual suspects: crostino di cavolo nero (black cabbage on toasted garlic bread), along with ribollita (vegetable, bean, and bread soup) and pappa al pomodoro (tomato and bread soup).

One of the few restaurants open after La Scala lets out, Don Carlos, in the Grand Hotel et de Milan, is nothing like its indecisive operatic namesake (whose betrothed was stolen by his father). Flavors are bold, presentation is precise and full of flair, service is attentive, and the walls are blanketed with sketches of the theater. The low-key opera recordings are every bit as well chosen as the wine list, setting the perfect stage for discreet business negotiation or, better yet, refined romance.