27 Best Restaurants in Italy

A light nautical theme permeates this stone-walled restaurant, where the open kitchen provides theater and owner Peppe Giamboi takes the stage as a gustatory storyteller, roaming from table to table. The menu is constantly changing, but you'll find excellent work with vegetables (a rarity in Sicily) and really lovely preparations of local cod. In addition to a sublime rendition of stocco in ghiotto (cod in a Messinese sauce of tomatoes, olives, capers, and celery), it also might show up prepared under tender sheets of lardo in a light orange-lemon sauce with fried leeks. 

This culinary beacon in Sicily's interior features ambitious—and successful—dishes with the creative flair of chef Angelo Treno, whose unforgettable pastas topped with truffles or caviar, for example, offer a decidedly different expression of traditional regional ingredients. The unassuming and elegant dining room is inside an old railway house and is the perfect place to enjoy a bottle from the 500-label wine list; in cold weather, you can cozy up to a fireplace, but the terrace is the place to be in summer.

Founded by three friends with a passion for wine and fine food, Antico Arco attracts diners from Rome and beyond with its refined culinary inventiveness. The location on top of the Janiculum Hill makes for a charming setting, and inside, the dining rooms are plush, modern spaces, with whitewashed brick walls, dark floors, and black velvet chairs. Its wine cellar houses over 1,200 labels, all nestled in the cantina carved into the ruins of the catacombs of San Pancrazio.

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.

In a contemporary villa built entirely of wood on the outskirts of Asti, chef Enrico Pivieri uses a mix of local and international ingredients to create new takes on traditional dishes with a global flair. The Shaken Horse is especially strong in seafood—rare for meat-heavy Piedmont—with such creative plates as gnocchi with cuttlefish ink in miso broth with smoked sardines and fried Sicilian anchovies with giardiniera (pickled vegetables in vinegar).

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.

International food magazines have lauded this restaurant, where the wine cellar is well stocked and renowned chef-owner Gaetano Alia incorporates local produce and imaginative twists into the Calabrese dishes on the changing menu. La Locanda also has guest rooms in its adjoining Alia Jazz Hotel, which is surrounded by a lush garden and has a swimming pool.

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.

In front of the American embassy and a favorite of the design trendoisie, Michelin-starred Moma attracts well-heeled businessmen at lunch but turns into a more intimate affair for dinner. The kitchen turns out hits as it creates alta cucina (haute cuisine) made using Italian ingredients sourced from small producers. The menu changes seasonally, but might include dishes like chamomile risotto with smoked eel, honey, and oregano or pumpkin cappelletti with amaretti and provolone cheese fondue. At lunch, the more casual bistro area has fresh pressed juices and made-to-order sandwiches.

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.

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.

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.

You might not expect to find a thoroughly contemporary restaurant on the slopes of Mount Etna, but Shalai, in the boutique hotel of the same name, is truly a modern oasis, where young chef Giovanni Santoro prepares updated and beautifully presented versions of Sicilian classics. For the full Michelin-starred experience, choose from the six-course meat or fish tasting menus; to finish, the deconstructed cannoli are a true delight. Wine pairings skew heavily toward Etna producers.

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.

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.

This sleek wine bar and restaurant is just a short walk from the Spanish Steps, and its modern design looks the part among the fashion-forward streets. However, it's unique in that its owners collaborate with the Regionale del Lazio (the state within which Rome sits), so the menu showcases regional products—from the cheeses to the wines to the bottled water. Come for a glass of excellent Lazio wine, and share a plate or two if you don't want a full meal.

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.

This wood-paneled taverna near the stock exchange, within a house from the 14th century, was transformed into a contemporary restaurant and cocktail bar; it's the perfect spot to enjoy a mix of both traditional and more innovative fare. Pastas such as carbonara and robust secondi like roasted leg of lamb are available at dinner. For lunch, check the chalkboard for the dishes of the day including La Michetta, a Milanese sandwich filled with cold cuts and cheese on a fluffy roll. A reservation is a good idea.

A French-style bistro in the heart of Milan, Fioraio Bianchi Caffè was opened more than 40 years ago by Raimondo Bianchi, a great lover of flowers; in fact, eating at this restaurant is a bit like dining in a Parisian boutique with floral decor. Despite the French atmosphere, the dishes have Italian flair and ensure a classy, inventive meal.

In the spirit of the "slow food" movement, this colorful contemporary restaurant just off Piazza Sant'Antonino uses only local and seasonal ingredients of the highest quality in its nouvelle creations. Ask your waiter what inventive sea and land dishes make up the day's specials.

Excellence is at the forefront of everything at Imàgo, the Michelin-starred restaurant inside the legendary Hotel Hassler, now headed by young star chef Andrea Antonini. You can order à la carte, but this is the place to splurge on a tasting menu. Each carefully and meticulously created dish can be paired with an exceptional wine from the enviable cellar. Stay for a drink after the meal on the intimate rooftop terrace that has magical city views.

Traditional Veneto recipes are given a highly sophisticated and creative treatment here, and the whole theatrical tasting-menu experience and gorgeous table settings can seem by turns revelatory or overblown at this high-profile place. Owner-chef Massimiliano Alajmo's creative, miniscule-portion dishes, passion for design (bespoke lighting, carved wooden tables, and quirky plates), and first-class wine list make this an option for a pricey celebratory meal.

This steak house--pizzeria, with a stylish Spanish-theme dining area of fiery toro artwork and exposed brick, is a good alternative to Sorrento's many seafood-focused restaurants. As you'd expect from the name, it has plenty of meat dishes as well as a good selection of vegetarian and fish options.

Old-world elegance is the name of the game here—think white-jacketed waiters who attend to your every need, classic decor, and impeccable dishes, which are the most modern thing about this restaurant on the seventh floor of the Hotel Splendide Royal. Be sure to request a table on the terrace, which has panoramas of leafy Villa Borghese and the center of Rome.

The name means "Hour of Air" and refers to the time of day when prisoners were let outside for fresh air—alluding to the fact that this gem began life across the street from an old prison. In the kitchen, gifted chef Marco Stabile turns out exquisite Tuscan classics as well as more fanciful dishes, which are as beautiful as they are delicious. Tasting menus give Stabile even greater opportunity to shine, and the carefully culled wine list is a treat.