Top Italian Restaurants Guide
2026 Top Italian Restaurant award winners with Giuseppe Carrus and Dr Gianluca Rubagotti on 13th May - image by Jeremy Plaisance
2026 Award Winners:
Forchette
"Forks" are bestowed to restaurants and trattorias, with an exceptional menu, service and ambiance, both in the more creative and more traditional cuisine.
Tre Forchette:
LuMi
Due Forchette:
a’Mare
Civico 47 | New
Ormeggio at the Spit
Pellegrino 2000
Pilu at Freshwater
Una Forchetta:
Flaminia | New
Neptunes Grotto | New
Olio Kensington Street
Otto
Postino Osteria | New
Ragazzi | New
The Restaurant Pendolino
Bottiglie
"Bottles" go to wine bars and exceptional Italian wine collections, with great attention to the by-the-glass offering, as well as drawing brilliant and incisive wine lists, with a distinct Italian theme.
Tre Bottiglie:
1889 Enoteca
Due Bottiglie:
Fratelli Paradiso
Paski Vineria Popolare
10 William Street | New
Spicchi
"Slices" go to Italian pizzerias, whether they be Neapolitan-style, whose pies have a thick and fluffy crust, and selected ingredients of protected origin, or Roman, therefore light and crisp, or gourmet, with an Italian flavour.
Tre Spicchi:
Regina la Pizzeria | New
That’s Enrico | New
Due Spicchi:
Lucio Pizzeria
Cicerone Cucina Romana
Una Spicchia:
Al Taglio
Via Napoli
Pompei’s
Cornetti
"Croissants" go to the top Italian bakeries and pastry shops, with authentic techniques and flavours, and true Italian flair.
Tre Cornetti:
Lode Pies & Pastries | New
Coni
"Cones" go to the best gelato and ice cream, using high quality seasonal ingredients with real Italian creativity.
Due Coni:
Freo | New
“Italian identity, for me, it is a way of thinking. It is respect for produce, restraint, generosity, seasonality, and flavour that feels human….I do not think I redefined Italian food. I think I allowed my Italian identity to travel.”
— Federico Zanellato | LuMi DiningMore on Top Italian Restaurants
The Top Italian Restaurants guide has been mapping out the finest Italian dining worldwide since 2018, showcasing exceptional Italian restaurants, trattorias, bars, wine lists, pizzerias, bakeries and gelaterias. Now with more than 800 venues listed, it is the only international guide dedicated exclusively to Italian gastronomy, making it an essential reference for Italians and Italophiles seeking quality Italian cuisine, wherever they are.
The guides curator Lorenzo Ruggeri has spent years in Italian kitchens and bars abroad, visiting an eye watering 300 establishments annually. Lorenzo and his team of collaborators seek out authentic Italian flavour, assessing the balance of the menu, quality and freshness, clarity and combination of flavours, respect of ingredients, overall presentation, along with unique Italian creativity and genuine service. Great attention is always paid to the wine offering, because a true Italian experience cannot exist without a fine glass of wine.
Venues are rated using the renowned Gambero Rosso iconographic system: restaurants up to 3 Forchette (Forks), pizzerias up to 3 Spicchi (Slices), wine lists and bars up to 3 Bottiglie (Bottles), bakeries up to 3 Cornetti (Croissants), gelaterias up to 3 Coni (Cones).