It's a tough gig narrowing down the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne/Naarm. We’re home to some of the best osterias and trattorias in the world outside of Italy; you can take a culinary tour around town tasting regional specialities, crowd favourites, as well as modern takes on the timeless classics. If you've come here to build out your Italian restaurant Melbourne bucket list, you're in the right spot.
To get the fill on where the pasta is al dente, the pizzas perfectly leopard spotted and the Chianti is ever-flowing, keep on scrolling for a rundown on Urban List's picks for the best Italian restaurants Melbourne has for 2024.
THE BEST ITALIAN IN MELBOURNE AT A GLANCE:
- Best Italian restaurant for pasta: Scopri
- Best Italian restaurant for pizza: A25
- Best Italian restaurant for date night: Kaprica
- Best fine dining Italian restaurant: Florentino
- Best Italian restaurant for groups: Studio Amaro
- Best Italian restaurants for families: Johnny, Vince And Sam's
- Best fun Italian restaurant: Tippy-Tay
The Hardware Club
43 Hardware Lane Upstairs, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: The Hardware Club | Lucia Bell Epstein
Part bar, part Osteria, The Hardware Club puts a focus on 'Italian Specialities'. These regional dishes of the boot-shaped nation have a Cucina Povera-style with dishes like their now-famous roasted bone marrow toast with a salsa verde and fried capers, to chilli crab spaghetti with a Pangrattato to the Pappardelle Al Limone with caramelised lemon and shaved Pecorino Romano.
INSIDER INTEL
- Park up at the bar and order an Amaretto Sour
- The best seats are outside in the laneway to soak up the bustling atmosphere
- The pizza is available for lunch on weekdays
Baby Pizza
631-633 Church Street, Richmond
Image credit: Baby Pizza | Supplied
A pillar of the LUCAS Restaurants collective, Baby Pizza, and its red neon-lit entrance has established itself as one of best Italian restaurants Melbourne dishes up. The Swan Street bistro has a vibey and energetic feel, an open kitchen and bar showcases the theatrics of dishes leaving the pass from the ‘Polpette’ pizza with Fior di latte, meatballs, chilli, pecorino and basil to trays of spritz on their way to tables in the sun-soaked terrazzo.
INSIDER INTEL
- Every season, Baby dishes up a special aperitivo menu at happy hour prices
- The space is perfect for birthday dinners and private functions
- In summer, the best seat in the house is outside in the alfresco area
Studio Amaro
168 Chapel Street, Windsor
Image credit: Studio Amaro | Julia Sansone
Studio Amaro pays tribute to Melbourne's legacy of Italian cuisine with a concise menu featuring beloved dishes from various regions of Italy. Inside the Chapel Street trattoria, you'll find contemporary twists to classics like fried mozzarella, sourdough focaccia, rigatoni with spicy arrabbiata sauce, veal cotoletta, and a 1kg T-bone steak with an Averna amaro-infused pink peppercorn sauce.
INSIDER INTEL
- Upstairs find an Italian restaurant, downstairs a vibey listening lounge
- There's over 40 bottles of Amaro, including different blends from all over Italy
- The downstairs lounge launched Radio Amaro, a Soundcloud account where you can get a taste of the type of audio selections
Trattoria Emilia
360 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Trattoria Emilia | Supplied
Opening nearly a decade ago, Trattoria Emilia remains a cornerstone in Melbourne's Italian restaurants. The venue pays homage to the famed produce-rich region of Emilia Romagna in northern Italy. The menu here skews to the northern Italian palette; heartier and more decadent dishes grace the menu with roasted bone barrow with fermented porcini to the Tortelloni stuffed with prosciutto and mortadella.
INSIDER INTEL
- On Friday and Saturday night dinners, $80 will get you a three-course meal, or $95 for five
- Emilia is a one-hatted restaurant as of last year
- The team just opened a sister takeaway venue in the CBD all about the street-food tigelleria
Figlia
335 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image credit: Figlia | Kristoffer Paulsen
The latest of the Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria famiglia, this trattoria on Lygon Street in Brunswick East retains all the swagger and excellence we've come to expect from the team behind some of the best Italian restaurants Melbourne has on offer. Figlia is more casual in its approach, here you'll find an eclectic mix of small plates or 'stuzzichini'— but it's the pizza that is the star with perfectly crisped crusts straight out of the oven.
INSIDER INTEL
- You can try your luck at walking in, but bookings are your best bet
- $70 will get you the chef’s menu: a selection of snacks, shared small plates and one pizza for every two people
- The space is primed for group bookings, and you can hire the entire place for private functions for up to 85 people
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Bottega
74 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Bottega | Supplied
Bottega is known for its more audacious and exploratory tastes, cementing itself as a renowned italian restaurant Melbourne CBD can flex. The menu is a departure from your conventional trattoria. Instead of sugo-heavy pasta here you'll find dishes like wild Victorian mushroom risotto with black garlic and 30+ month aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese— a sharp and umami-rich delight to flat steak chargrilled with a red vermouth and shallot butter.
Kaprica
50 Grattan Street, Carlton
Image credit: Kaprica | Jana Longhorst
A severely underrated restaurant, Kaprica is the Italian haven that churns out not only some of the best pizza and pasta on the scene, but offers a tender and home-like dining experience. Tucked away off Lygon Street, inside you’ll find tables interspersed with cosy couches and coffee tables, warmly lit with an abundance of lamps and low-hanging lights.
INSIDER INTEL
- Just like Italy, you can order wine by the half litre
- Don’t go without trying the Mr John pizza
- Best seats for snacking and drinking is the couch
Bar Rosella
229 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Image credit: Bar Rosella | Supplied
Bar Rosella is all charm. It's a simple and welcoming space on the Smith Street end of Gertrude Street. Inside there's a home-style feel despite the beautifully spaced interior, what adds to the level of comfort is the selection of Puglia-based specialities from the hearty rigatoni with a wagyu beef ragu to pork neck with fennel and vincotto.
Al Dente & Al Sapori
161 Nicholson Street, Carlton
Image credit: Al Dente | Sydney Low
Al Dente Enoteca and Al Dente Sapori on Nicholson Street in Carlton North pride themselves on a high-level execution of the classics—whether that be a Sicilian-leaning spaghetti with Moreton bugs, vongole and mussels or a simple yet impactful Torelloni Cacio e Pepe. The team's ethos here is affordable fine dining, and that's exactly what you'll find.
Tippy-Tay
101 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Tippy Tay | Supplied
Tippy-Tay is far from a one-trick pony. The detail on the fit-out, the level to detail, and the menu is something to marvel at. From Cacio e Pepe arancini and pork Cotoletta, a 600g Bistecca Fiorentina (a Tuscan-style T-bone steak) to the now signature Negroni button at your table—press it and a negroni fountain arrives momentarily. It isn't hard to tell why Tippy-Tay lands in the best Italian restaurants Melbourne debate.
Tipo 00
361 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
One of Melbourne’s leading pasta bars and best Italian restaurants, Tipo 00 serves refined, elegant dishes that have made a huge impact on the city’s dining scene. Wedged in Little Bourke Street, the quaint space features dark timber and an intimate communal bench. It's about the pasta here which is meticulously hand-crafted each day and results in signature dishes like the squid-ink Taglioni with squid and bottarga.
Grossi Florentino
80 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Grossi Florentino | Kate Shanasy
Run by legendary Italian Melbourne chef Guy Grossi, Florentino is one that always deserves to be on the 'best Italian restaurants Melbourne' list. The location itself has been running as a restaurant for nearly 100 years,. The perfect spot for any special occasion, order the ‘Gran Tour’—a five-course set menu that can be matched with local and international wines to cap off the perfect evening.
INSIDER INTEL
- Opt for the caviar service, and don't forget the ricotta hot cakes
- $210 will get you a multi-course set menu, with a classic wine pairing an extra $130
- The menu evolves from time to time, but if the vitello is there, order it stat
Umberto Espresso Bar
917 High Street, Thornbury
Image credit: Umberto Espresso Bar | Supplied
Umberto’s is a laid-back Osteria with and a familial-style range of Italian dishes. Named after owner Marco Finanzio’s Calabrian-born father, the welcoming diner on High Street features a reliable selection of favourites from well-executed penne All'Amatriciana to a hearty Osso Buco with fried polenta—there are also rotating specials which are chalked up on the wall-wrapping blackboards each night. As far as Italian restaurants in Melbourne go, this one is up there as one of the best.
Johnny, Vince and Sam’s
306 - 308 Lygon Street, Carlton
Image credit: Johnny, Vince And Sam's | Supplied
We were a touch skeptical when the news broke that comedy trio Sooshi Mango were opening their own restaurant. But when Johnny, Vince And Sam’s came to be on Lygon Street, we were pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is serving up some of the most heart warming—or as the menu states, “farkena fresh”—Italian dishes, true to the core of Carlton.
INSIDER INTEL
- The interiors is a replica of the trio’s Italian family homes
- The best seats are inside to experience the whole show
- The standout has to be the orecchiette, a healthy serving of handmade pasta tossed in with broccoli, basil pesto and potato and topped with parmesan
Bar Carolina
44 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Image credit: Bar Carolina | Supplied
Bar Carolina’s pride and joy is the woodfire Josper oven, imported directly from Spain. Chefs Akela Nevelli and Vincenzo Di Giovanniello are pretty liberal with the old Josper, blazing mains like Negroni salt-crusted barramundi or beastly 700g rib eye steaks. If you’re after less fare meat-leaning dishes, there’s also handmade pasta and delicious vegetarian entrées available at one of Melbourne's best Italian restaurants.
Cicciolina
30 Acland Street, St Kilda
With its casual vibe and contemporary decor, Cicciolina is an obvious choice if you’re looking for one of the best St Kilda restaurants. With chef Virginia Redmond at the helm since its inception in 1993, the Cicciolina menu focuses on using the best of Melbourne's seasonal produce to make inspiring modern Italian dishes. From rich mushroom risotto to chargrilled wagyu scotch fillet, there’s something for every palate at Cicciolina’s.
DOC Gastronomia
Various Locations
Image credit: DOC Group | Supplied
The flaship Italian restaurant Melbourne has on the cards, DOC sets a standard and always reliably delivers. Utilising the Italian-food grading system D.O.C the team uses the highest quality ingredients sourced locally and imported from Italy which are then imbued into their absolutely elite range of pizzas, and hand-made pasta.
Capitano
421 Rathdowne Street, Carlton
Image credit: Capitano | Supplied
Capitano on Rathdowne Street in Carlton takes on the Italian dining label but isn't afraid to stray from traditional formulas. Famed for their Tortiglioni with vodka tomato sauce, the menu offers surprises at every section, from whipped ricotta with a spicy hot honey to their clam pie with scamorza and confit lemon a nod to the New Haven pizzas out of America.
Scopri
191 Nicholson Street, Carlton
A sleeper for best Italian restaurant Melbourne, Scopri doesn't need to make any noise—those who know, know. The restaurant at the city end of Nicholson has long stood as some of the finest representation of Melbourne-based Italian cuisine, from the renowned spaghetti alla vongole with bottarga to the Galletto Alla Grilia—chargrilled spatchcock and field mushrooms. There's also a full set menu that showcases the hits and a few specials.
Totti's
176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne
Image credit: Totti's Lorne | Supplied
Another outsider of the conventional city limits, Totti's earns its way on the best Italian restaurant Melbourne list in more ways than one. The famed Sydney venue has transformed the downstairs of the Lorne Hotel into a bustling trattoria, a destination for the cult-followed flatbread and burrata. The full menu features Italo-centric dishes centred around the produce available to the Great Ocean Road and Otway region, from whole-roasted fresh fish, sirloin, rib-eye steaks and more.
Ronnie’s
525 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Ronnie's | Pete Dillon
Ronnie’s is a classy yet casual joint set in the iconic Rialto building in downtown Melbourne, with charm seeping in from all angles. It’s a breath of fresh air in the Melbourne dining scene, in that Ronnie’s incorporates traditional Italian dishes with the spice of modern American flavours and techniques. Their pasta dishes are flavourful and cooked al dente, and the selection includes their famous Pasta Fusilli with spicy Alla Vodka, served with a dollop of whipped Ricotta and toasted breadcrumbs, which is melt-in-your-mouth decadent.
The Waiters Club
20 Meyers Place, Melbourne CBD
What began as a place for Italian hospitality workers to eat after work in 1947 has burgeoned into one of the city's most beloved restaurants. Ascend the stairs into the atmospheric no frills dining room of Waiters, where tables are scarce but food is plentiful. Above the kitchen, the blackboard indicates what's on offer and what's sold out, be it the classic amatriciana or carbonara or a veal scallopine, any meal at waiters does not miss.
Osteria Illaria
367 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Osteria Illaria | Supplied
The first expansion from Tipo 00 came in the form of Osteria Illaria seven years ago. Located just a few doors down, the focus of Illaria was less on the pasta and to allow the team to explore the wide and varied flavours of Italian cuisine. The restaurant has a casual wine bar feel with a dining flanked by a large open kitchen, the menu although concise packs up a punch with off-beat combinations like Jerusalem artichoke with pickled radicchio and black shallot or stracciatella with mandarin, pistachio and rocket.
Bar Idda
132 Lygon Street, Brunswick East
Image credit: Bar Idda | Supplied
A true Northside gem and one of the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne, Bar Idda on Lygon Street, serves up delicious Sicilian cuisine in a homely, authentic environment. The flavours of the southern-most island of Sicily differ from the mainland and often take on a more Middle-Eastern and even African tinge—dishes like the Purpetti Dolce is a prime example with beef meatballs with an almond, pine nut, currant, and cinnamon mix tossed through a passata.
Cecconi's
Various Locations
A favourite Italian restaurant in Melbourne, Flinders Lane plays host to many great restaurants, and the bustling Italian basement restaurant known as Cecconi's is no exception. Boasting some of the best wait staff in Melbourne, whose charm and knowledge of wine and food is second to none, Cecconi's dishes up elite modern Italian cuisine in a comfortable and elegant dining space.
Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca
15 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Image credit: Rocco's | Annika Kafcaloudis
Now a beloved Italian bistro, Rocco's Bologna Discoteca and ‘Italian Maccas’ aesthetic burst onto the scene, winning hearts and filling stomachs all over town with its hefty meatball sub and accompaniments. Continuing through 2024, Rocco's on Gertrude Street Fitzroy continues to swoon, with their lively date nights featuring pasta and soft serve to their full chef's selection of favourites.
Agostino
297 Lygon Street, Carlton
Image credit: Agostino | Supplied
The 50-seat wine bar, shop and cellar Agostino popped up a few years ago on the Carlton scene and has been delighting us with quality imported drops from Italy and a raft of Italian standards on the menu. The Tagliolini Nero has become a true favourite with an umami-rich mix of Moreton Bay bug and bottarga. The menu is also very diet-restricted friendly with pastas that can also be made gluten-free.
Tiamo
303 Lygon Street, Carlton
A true legend of Lygon Street, Tiamo is an Italian restaurant Melbourne institution that's been serving up top-notch cuisine for over 30 years. When one of the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne arises, Tiamo comes up. Grab a piping hot bowl of fresh pasta, some traditional honest-to-goodness Italian pizza, or even one of their three parmas. From fried chicken livers to a mixed seafood grill, there is plenty to choose from and a lot to love at Tiamo.
A25
Various locations
Image credit: A25 | Supplied
A25 captured Melbourne's heart with its authentic Italian cuisine and the iconic 'Pizza Is Sexy' motto, often boldly illuminated in neon at every location. Embracing an artisanal ethos, A25 leaves little room for culinary missteps. Their menu boasts a huge range of options starting with the antipasti to mouthwatering pizza and meticulously crafted handmade pasta. Notably, A25 proudly offers an accredited selection of completely vegan and gluten-free dishes, certified by the Coeliac accreditation.
Grill Americano
112 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
Image credit: Grill Americano | Supplied
Nestled in Flinders Lane, Grill Americano is Chris Lucas's stylish bar and diner. This top Italian restaurant Melbourne offers, Grill Americano boasts an extensive yet simple menu featuring starters and handmade pasta, like saffron Taglioni with scampi and Bottarga, bursting with flavour. The Manhattan-feeling space is filled with attentive white-jacketed waitstaff ensuring a seamless dining service, leading you to the main attraction the spectacular Bistecca Alla Fiorentina—or perhaps the tiramisu which is served tableside.
48H Pizze e Gnocchi
Various Locations
Image credit: 48 Pizza e Gnocchi | Supplied
48H Pizze e Gnocchi has taken out the gold for Australia at the 50 Top Pizza Awards so the standard here is not to be questioned. Opening just shy of a decade ago, the charming outposts in both Elsternwick and South Yarra have steadily risen as some of the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne. The offering here is simple, with a dialled-in range of pizza and pasta options—all centred around traditional methods and techniques and the highest quality produce.
Shop 225
225 Melville Road, Pascoe Vale South
Shop 225 in Pascoe Vale South exudes a charming no-nonsense vibe, with their wood-fired oven producing perfectly coloured pizzas that steal the spotlight. Here the classic Neapolitan-style pizza is the star featuring bubbling, blistered dough, and premium toppings like artichoke, truffle oil, and stracciatella di bufala. Shop 225 is also incredibly diet-friendly impressive vegan and vegetarian selection, with over half the pizza menu bearing an animal-friendly 'V'.
Pelligrini's Espresso Bar
66 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
A time capsule to yesteryear and an Italian restaurant Melbourne CBD has to offer, Pelligrini's Espresso Bar is a right of passage for any Melburnian or any visitor to the city. The tidily-spaced 80 year-old bar on Bourke Street is still lined with dark wooden veneer where plates of lasagne and bowls of spaghetti bolognese laden with parmesan are placed down alongside chunky buttered bread. The watermelon granita (made in-house) is a mandatory order and when you're finished an espresso and a slice of torta della to cap things off is par de course.
Di Stasio
Various locations
Beginning in St Kilda and expanding to the Melbourne CBD (Di Stasio Citta) and Carlton, Di Stasio is a name that is synonymous with Italian restaurants in Melbourne. Led by restaurateur Rinaldo Di Stasio each venue differs in appearance but is undoubtedly linked with white-jacketed waiters, moody lighting, and of course top-tier-level Italian cuisine and wine.
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