Best Restaurants in Italy 2026

Pizza Margherita (Naples)

The original — thin Neapolitan wood-fired crust, San Marzano DOP tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil. Created in 1889 for Queen Margherita. UNESCO-protected culinary art form.

Where to try: L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale 1, Naples)

Price: €5-10

Cacio e Pepe (Rome)

Rome's most elemental pasta dish — tonnarelli pasta tossed with aged Pecorino Romano and black pepper, emulsified into a glossy sauce with pasta water. Deceptively simple, demanding technical skill to execute properly.

Where to try: Ristorante Roma Sparita, Piazza Santa Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome

Price: €12-18

Risotto alla Milanese (Milan)

Golden saffron risotto — a Milanese institution since the 16th century — made with Carnaroli rice, beef marrow, white wine, saffron, and aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. Traditionally served alongside ossobuco veal shank.

Where to try: Trattoria Milanese, Via Santa Marta 11, Milan

Price: €15-22

Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florence)

Florentine T-bone steak from Chianina cattle, grilled rare over charcoal, seasoned only with salt, olive oil, and rosemary. Minimum 600g, often served for two — the pinnacle of Tuscan meat cooking.

Where to try: Trattoria Mario, Via Rosina 2, Florence; or Buca Mario, Piazza degli Ottaviani 16

Price: €35-60 per kg

Sarde in Saor (Venice)

Venice's ancient sweet-sour fried sardines marinated with onions, pine nuts, raisins, vinegar, and sometimes cinnamon — a recipe unchanged since medieval times, reflecting Venice's trading past. Served as cicchetti in bacari.

Where to try: Osteria all'Arco, Calle dell'Arco 436, near Rialto, Venice

Price: €3-6 per portion

Osteria Francescana

Three-Michelin-star restaurant by Massimo Bottura ranked among world's best. Innovative dishes reinterpret Italian classics with artistic presentation and exceptional wine pairings in intimate Modena setting.

Via Stella, 22, 41121 Modena MO

Trattoria Da Enzo al 29

Beloved Trastevere trattoria serves authentic Roman cuisine with daily handwritten menus. The intimate setting and traditional dishes like cacio e pepe and carbonara draw locals and visitors alike.

Via dei Vascellari, 29, 00153 Roma RM

All'Antico Vinaio

Florence's most famous sandwich shop serves enormous schiacciata filled with premium Tuscan meats, cheeses, and creative combinations. Lines wrap around the corner but move quickly.

Via dei Neri, 74r, 50122 Firenze FI

Trapizzino

Innovative street food concept serves triangular pockets of pizza dough filled with classic Roman dishes. Multiple Rome locations offer quick, delicious, and uniquely Roman experience.

Via Giovanni Branca, 88, 00153 Roma RM

Caffè Florian

Venice's oldest cafe opened in 1720 in St. Mark's Square serves coffee, pastries, and Prosecco in ornate Belle Époque rooms. The live orchestra and historic atmosphere justify premium prices.

Piazza San Marco, 57, 30124 Venezia VE

La Pergola

Rome's only three-Michelin-star restaurant atop the Rome Cavalieri hotel offers panoramic city views and exquisite cuisine by chef Heinz Beck. The wine cellar holds 60,000 bottles and service is impeccable.

Via Alberto Cadlolo, 101, 00136 Roma RM

Trattoria Mario

Florence institution since 1953 serves hearty Tuscan fare at communal tables with no-frills atmosphere. Locals pack this spot near Mercato Centrale for authentic bistecca and ribollita at excellent prices.

Via Rosina, 2r, 50123 Firenze FI

Pizzeria Spontini

Milan's legendary thick-crust pizza al taglio (by the slice) draws crowds for its rich, rectangular slices. The classic margherita and simple menu have satisfied Milanese since 1953.

Via Gaspare Spontini, 4, 20131 Milano MI

Supplì al Telefono (Rome)

Crispy fried rice balls filled with ragù and mozzarella — when broken, the melted cheese stretches like a telephone wire, giving the name. Rome's quintessential street snack, eaten hot from paper cones.

Find it at: Supplì Roma, Via di San Francesco a Ripa 137, Trastevere; and across Rome

Pizza al Taglio (Rome)

Pizza sold by weight, cut from large rectangular trays — toppings change daily including potato-rosemary, eggplant-mozzarella, or gorgonzola-pear. Gabriele Bonci's Pizzarium in Prati revolutionized the form.

Find it at: Pizzarium Bonci, Via della Meloria 43, Prati, Rome; or Forno Campo de' Fiori

Arancino / Arancina (Sicily)

Fried risotto balls — cone-shaped in Eastern Sicily, round in Palermo — filled with ragù and peas, or butter and béchamel. Dispute whether the name is masculine (Catania) or feminine (Palermo) is a genuine cultural controversy.

Find it at: Friggitoria Chiluzzo, Via Calderai 47, Palermo; or any Sicilian bar

Lampredotto Sandwich (Florence)

Florence's most traditional street food — slow-cooked cow's fourth stomach served in a soft roll, dipped in broth, with salsa verde or spicy oil. Eaten standing at mobile carts (trippai) by Florentines since medieval times.

Find it at: Nerbone, Mercato Centrale, San Lorenzo; or Tripperia Trippaio del Porcellino, Piazza del Mercato Nuovo

Pane con la Milza (Palermo)

Palermo's ancient street food — braised veal spleen and lung, fried in lard, stuffed into a sesame roll with fresh caciocavallo cheese and lemon juice. A 500-year-old Jewish butcher tradition still thriving.

Find it at: Focacceria San Francesco, Via Alessandro Paternostro 58, Palermo

Mercato Centrale, Florence

Spectacular 19th-century iron-and-glass market building at San Lorenzo with ground floor traditional market stalls and transformed upper floor with artisan food producers, restaurants, and bars open daily until midnight.

Hours: Ground floor: Mon-Sat 7AM-2PM; Upper floor: Daily 8AM-midnight

Mercato di Rialto, Venice

Venice's 1,000-year-old market beside the Rialto Bridge divides into pescheria (fish market) and erberia (produce market). Watch Venetian chefs select Adriatic seafood, lagoon artichokes, and radicchio rosso di Treviso.

Hours: Tue-Sat 7AM-2PM (fish); Mon-Sat 7AM-1PM (produce)

Vucciria Market, Palermo

Palermo's most ancient market runs through medieval alleyways near the port with butchers, fishmongers, olive sellers, and street food vendors. Chaotic, aromatic, and authentically Sicilian. Evening becomes an outdoor bar scene.

Hours: Daily 8AM-2PM (market); evenings for bars and food

Mercato di Porta Nolana, Naples

Naples' most authentic seafood market near Piazza Garibaldi with spectacular Neapolitan fish vendors, mozzarella and cheese stalls, and mountain vegetable sellers. The fish seller theatrics are a show in themselves.

Hours: Mon-Sat 7AM-2PM