Australians are constantly in a heavenly food coma, courtesy of Italian cuisine. This is thanks to the huge influx of Italian immigrants who arrived on our shores after World War II, bringing not just a suitcase of dreams, but a whole lot of pasta, pizza and parmesan. Whether you’re craving fresh antipasti straight from The Boot, hand-rolled pappardelle with rich ragu, wood-fired sourdough pizza or boozy tiramisu made just like nonna, we’ve scoured out the best Italian restaurants in Australia for every occasion.
Our team of expert local writers has independently chosen these spots for their authentic flavours, prime locations, buzzing ambience and signature Italian hospitality. In Sydney, a cheery waterfront spot has been serving classic Italian hits for more than a decade. In Brisbane, live lobster is plucked from tanks and tossed through house-made spaghetti. And in Hobart, a tiny CBD wine bar keeps the vibes flowing with vinyl records all night. Take your pick!
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This cracking Surry Hills Italian with amped-up trattoria classics will stay with you long after you've said arrivederci. From the pretty and zingy artichokes to the plump and juicy prawn ravioli and Paddle Pop-like veal milanese, every dish that comes out of Pellegrino’s kitchen is hands-down delicious. Just like at Nonna’s house. The Negronis also go down a treat.
This chic modern Italian sits prettily on Brisbane River and puts the luxurious charm of the Amalfi Coast into its clean, modern space and menu. Brick-red striped booths and terrazzo tables host a menu that celebrates the sea. Oysters shine with Massimo’s tomato and limoncello granita, and live lobster and marron from tanks await to be chargrilled with lemon or garlic butter, or tossed through house-made spaghetti. Their $50-a-head banquet menu is fantastic value, with highlights including crispy calamari with nduja (spicy fermented sausage paste) cream, and a perfectly cooked eye fillet.
It’s been some years since gents were expected to keep their jackets on at all times, so it's a point of nostalgia that Grossi Florentino does not shun such formality. That's not to say there's a strict dress code here – the restaurant stopped that in the '90s – but make no mistake: this is a special place and you'll want to prepare for the occasion. The grand Mural Room is one of Melbourne’s last bastions of lavish European dining charm and every dish the waiters ferry out of the kitchen is a five-star knockout. A true legend in Melbourne's dining scene.
Worth visiting for the interior alone, Oggi upped the stakes for Adelaide dining when it opened in 2015. At once graceful and modern, the award-winning fit-out draws inspiration from a light-filled Italian piazza and is just as enticing. Grab a seat at the long concrete bar or one of the comfy booths and peruse a highly seasonal menu that melds Italian tradition with the best local produce. Expect plenty of cured meats and seafood, as well as pasta that’s made fresh daily (Oggi is Italian for ‘today’) on the deceptively simple menu that foregrounds fresh produce and bold flavours with an Italian-leaning wine list.
The vibes at this tiny CBD wine bar and Italian restaurant are almost as big as its wine list. Sonny is like heading to a friend’s house for dinner, albeit a mate with serious chops in the kitchen. There are just 20 seats for walk-ins along the centre table, with diners on one side and chatty staff pouring wine and handing out food from the other. The theme here is “communal”, from the layout of the venue to the plates of pasta you can share with your mates. With tunes spinning all evening on the record player, you might even feel the urge to share your dance moves, too.
This stylish wine bar and restaurant is famed for its refined Italian-inspired plates, tableside pizza delivery and fantastic wine list. Mummucc is the second Italian dinery helmed by the Monsterella pizzeria team, and the experience shows. Here, you get the best of both worlds. A sumptuous menu of Mediterranean dishes, with flashes of Australian influences, plus the added option to order steaming hot Monsterella pizza straight to your table from its location just next door.
This cheery waterfront BYO diner in Mosman is the more casual sibling to the award-winning Ormeggio at the Spit. Chef Alessandro Pavoni and his team have been serving classic Italian hits for a decade now – and it’s still well worth its (sea) salt. Be sure to order its signature vitello tonnato, which features thinly sliced rosy veal topped with a creamy, salty tuna sauce and crisp fried capers.
After more than 15 years, owners Dan Clark and Manny Sakellarakis are still rocking the best Roman cuisine in Brisbane. In fact, they’re up there with the best Italian restaurants in the world, according to Italian outlet Gambero Rosso – thanks to their artisanal wine list and menu committed to Roman tradition. Fried globe artichoke, a staple in Roman Jewish cuisine, is served with lemon mascarpone and gremolata, and their renditions of cacio e pepe and carbonara are a masterclass. Generously portioned mains, like their veal saltimbocca, will have you booking a trip to Rome as soon as you leave, or, another trip back to the restaurant.
Braddon might be where all the cool kids of food and drink are hanging out, but it’s also home to Italian and Sons, an Italian institution serving up the kind of contemporary yet classic Italian fare that we all crave when the mercury drops. It’s a warm, casual spot where you can just pop in for a plate of pasta and some wine – you don’t need an occasion to dine here, but it’s also very popular, so booking is a smart move. The game plan here is simple to follow: bread, antipasti, pasta, and mains, then dessert. Pasta is hand-rolled and adorned with seasonal sauces, focaccias are baked on wood and served with whipped ricotta, and the tiramisu – well, we don’t know the secret for that, but it’s bloody good.
Melbourne’s a town with no shortage of excellent pasta, but most of us can agree: when Tipo 00 hit the scene in 2014, carb lovers were astonished. This iconic laneway locale really is dishing up the crème de la crème of sauced-up carbs and we don't want it to ever stop. It's named after the finely ground flour used to make pasta and pizza and was recently named one of the best Italian restaurants in the world. Gorge on stracciatella with fermented honey and grilled ox tongue for starters, squid ink pasta and the puttanesca market fish for mains and then finish on a sweet note with the famous 'Tipomisù'. You'll thank us later.
Part Italian restaurant, part inventive wine bar, Anchovy Bandit has a few modern twists up its sleeve. Traditional Italian flavours mingle with other cuisines to create playful dishes. Bucatini is tossed through Goolwa pippies, yuzu kosho and chives, and pineapple on a pizza gets a revamp with prosciutto, pineapple, kimchi and spring onion joining forces on their puffy dough. Anchovy Bandit's pizza crusts are so thick and round, you could roll your hair with them. Except don’t; it’s put to much better use paired with one of the house-made “crust dips”. Choose from garlic butter, taramasalata or XO sauce mayo. Wine is taken very seriously here too, with a great range of South Australian and Italian varieties to try.
This neighbourhood osteria in Mount Lawley offers a charmingly jumbled and ultimately delicious take on Italian food. Testun combines known and loved Italian classics with global influences. Think a confit tomato topped crostino finished with crunchy furikake, or lamb spiedino (skewer) seasoned with Szechuan. The menu is ever-changing, but always creative and inviting of adventure.
Icebergs is the prima donna of statement dining destinations in Sydney. This ludicrously beautiful dining room perched above Bondi Beach is a feast for the eyes as well as the belly. As for the menu? There's caviar and truffles on the menus at the right time of year, a tartare di carne prepared right at your table, and a classic bistecca.
Named after his nonna, dining at Massimo Mele’s Peppina could feel like dinner at your Italian grandmother’s house – if your grandmother was a celebrated chef who lived in a light-filled atrium complete with mature olive trees. The name of the game here is feast, so more is more is a solid ethos when ordering. Located within the luxury hotel The Tasman, and despite seating 190 people, Peppina manages to feel intimate and always buzzy. The charming team includes Fish, your sommelier (less ‘drink like a fish’ and more a nod to his surname, Fisher) who will guide you through the encyclopedic wine list. Although having nabbed the best Tassie wine list in 2023, it’s hard to put a foot wrong. Start with the burrata on a bed of charred leeks, currants, pine nuts and pickled kohlrabi for a party in your mouth. All homemade pasta is worthy of your attention, but we love the ricotta cavatelli with Italian sausage, broccoletto, chilli and lemon. With a focus on high-quality Tasmanian produce, this seasonal menu is packed with winners. Expect house-made gnocchi, succulent braised meats, a selection of just-caught seafood and desserts to savour.
Il Piatto, translating to ‘the plate’, is as close as you’ll get to dining on the Amalfi Coast right here in Darwin. Tucked behind Mindil Beach, this refined restaurant boasts floor-to-glass ceilings, overlooking the finest sunsets on this side of the Tiwi Islands. Il Piatto’s menu is a love letter to Italy, celebrating the culinary traditions of the entire boot-shaped country, rather than just one region. You’ll find all the classics – rosemary focaccia, mushroom arancini, antipasto – alongside housemade pizza and pasta (with a ragu that’s nothing short of spectacular). But the real show-stopper? The delizia al limone – a must-try dessert that transports you right to the Amalfi Coast with its silky crema chantilly and sponge cake centre soaked in decadent lemony goodness.
This beloved classic trattoria showcases the traditional cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. Fun fact: Ben Shewry from Attica recently noted it as one of his favourite places in Melbourne for pasta. Dive into the citrusy delights of Amalfi lemon spaghetti with spanner crab, mint, smoked chilli and a light bisque, or go for the heartier mortadella and prosciutto-filled tortelloni with parmesan sauce and aged balsamic vinegar from Modena. You can also now pop in for lunchtime, where the restaurant turns into 'Emilietta' to sling traditional flatbread sandwiches.
If a decade of chic, contemporary Italian food under its belt doesn’t convince you to try Popolo, its dazzling views of the Brisbane River will. Whether you’re dining outside under the foliage or inside between their sandy walls, Popolo – and its menu – whispers of Italian summer. Starters, like head chef Francesco Vitagaliano’s signature linguine with pops of Moreton Bay bug, spanner crab and rich lobster bisque, make for elegant Italian with a breezy Australian touch. Up the char factor with grilled lamb cutlets featuring goat curd, or one of their pizzas with 24-hour fermented dough.
This family-run Adelaide institution has been operating since 1985. Siblings Jessica Favaro-Richards and Nicholas Favaro have taken the baton from their parents to balance tradition and modernity with grace on their seasonal menu. Start with addictive rabbit croquettes, crunchy and soft in all the right places, and served with dragoncello sauce (tarragon salsa) and pickled carrots. Meaty centrepiece dishes are chargrilled over sangiovese vines, like juicy half-chicken with Jerusalem artichoke and porcini. Explore it all through the five-course menu – excellent value at $95 per person.
Housed in the very swanky Como the Treasury hotel, this upscale Italian eatery is the place in Perth for a fine dining experience with comfortingly classic Italian flavours. Despite this, the menu reads as a list of comfort dishes, proving fine dining and wholesome dishes aren’t mutually exclusive. The menu is all about high-quality produce and flavours with mass appeal, and takes cues from all over Italy, from Roman-style amatriciana to Milanese cotoletta. The wine list, fittingly, combines great drops from both Australia and Italy.
Seating 120 guests, this gorgeous Italian trattoria is by far the most ambitious restaurant from the Love Tilly Group, who also has Ragazzi, La Salut, Love, Tilly Devine and Dear Sainte Éloise under its belt. The menu is full of tasty snacks, like charred artichokes dressed in a pesto trapanese with roasted cherry tomatoes; and Palazzo ham drizzled with a vibrant and punchy hot sauce. But really, we’re coming here for one thing and one thing only: pasta. Expect house-made regional pasta shapes with perfectly balanced and glossy sauces.
Chef and restaurateur Matt Breen is the master of small, intimate Hobart venues (he’s also the man behind Templo and Sonny) and Ogee is his latest venture. A corner space in popular North Hobart, you’ll hear the signature sound of records spinning and wine glasses clinking as soon as you get near Ogee. Another staple of any Breen offering? Flavourful Italian-inspired dishes created with local produce, a hefty wine list, welcoming staff and relaxed, friendly vibes. Hey, if it ain’t broke…
At this refined Italian diner in Carlton, dishes change with the seasons to focus on local quality produce and regionally inspired Italian flavours. Twirl your fork around pappardelle with boar ragu, smoked daikon, candied walnuts and dark chocolate (yes, you read that right), and the crowd favourite since Al Dente’s inception – the tortellini cacio e pepe. The desserts are just as fantastical, with creations like lait e miel (milk and honey) and chocolate, hazelnut, coffee and truffle, playing unique riffs on authentic Italian flavours.
Are we on the shores of Lake Como or Lake Burley Griffin? Carlo Tosolini’s expansive restaurant will transport you straight to the heart of Italy, with its comforting carbs and deli fridge, stocked to the brim with local and specially imported DOP cheeses and meats. Pair buffalo mozzarella and gnocco fritto with an Aperol Spritz on one of their outdoor tables and you could call it a splendid day, but you’ll want to order a dish from their woodfire oven. Butterflied king prawns in garlic and chilli oil, or one of their pizzas with a bubbly charred crust.
Hospitality is at the heart of Angelo and Yuliya Leonforte’s cosy courtyard venue, from the warm service to the comforting gluten-free and vegan pizza and pasta options. Their woodfire oven pumps out Neapolitan-style pizzas featuring delightfully, fluffy outer crusts, with the same dough making their voluminous rosemary and confit garlic focaccia. Silky sheets of house-made pasta are used to make a lasagne that Garfield would envy, with piping hot layers of bechamel and rich ragu. Dining here is the perfect way to end a trip to the nearby City Botanic Gardens.
You’ll find an unassuming slice of Napoli at this casual pizzeria, located just a street back from the waterfront in Darwin’s city centre. The team serves pizza the way it is served in the streets of Napoli, following traditional 17th-century methods. Every disc is hot-to-trot with a leopard-spotted puffy crust, soft and saucy centre, and toppings appointed in all the right places. The Frutti Di Mare nails the brief with San Marzano tomatoes, marinated octopus and prawns, black olives, leek, parsley oil and garlic. It’s best enjoyed the traditional way with a knife and fork in Alfonsino’s relaxed outdoor patio.
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