Best Italian restaurants near me
Quick answer
Italian restaurants near you with the top Food Standards Agency hygiene rating of 5, sorted by distance.
How we define best here
We do not rank restaurants by taste, because we have not eaten in them all and online reviews are easy to game. This list shows only sit-down Italian restaurants that hold the Food Standards Agency's top hygiene rating of 5, sorted by distance. It is a useful floor: a kitchen that is clean, well organised and properly managed is more likely to cook well too.
What else to look for
A short menu that changes with the seasons is a good sign. So is a clear regional identity: a Neapolitan pizzeria, a Roman trattoria or a Sicilian kitchen tends to cook its own dishes well rather than everything averagely. Fresh pasta made in house, a proper espresso machine and bread that is baked or bought from a good bakery all say the owners care.
Booking
Small independent Italian restaurants often have few tables and fill up at weekends. Booking directly by phone or on the restaurant's own site is usually easiest, and it avoids booking-platform fees for the owner.
About the rating
The hygiene rating is given to the premises after an inspection, and the date is shown on each listing. A rating can change after the next inspection, so treat an old 5 with a little caution.
Find them near you
Search by postcode or use your location to find results near you.
Where to find them
UK councils with the most matches in our directory.
Related dishes
Risotto is short-grain rice cooked slowly with stock added a ladle at a time, stirred until creamy, and finished with butter and Parmesan. The base is the same everywhere; the flavour changes with what goes in, from saffron risotto alla Milanese to mushroom, seafood or pea. It is a northern Italian dish, and the test of it is texture: creamy but with the grains still firm, poured onto the plate so it spreads, not stiff enough to stand up.
OssobucoOsso buco is a cross-cut veal shin braised slowly with vegetables and wine until the meat is falling from the bone and the marrow can be scooped from the centre. The name means 'bone with a hole'. It is a Milanese dish, traditionally served with saffron risotto and a fresh gremolata of lemon, garlic and parsley. It is one of the great Italian braises and a sign of a serious northern kitchen.
TiramisuTiramisù is layers of coffee-soaked sponge fingers and a whipped mascarpone-egg cream, dusted with cocoa. The name means 'pick me up', for the coffee and the sugar. It is a modern dish, invented in the Veneto in the 1960s or 70s, and it is the default Italian dessert in Britain; the good version is light and boozy, the bad one is a sweet cream trifle.
Panna CottaPanna cotta is a set cream pudding, barely firm, flavoured with vanilla and served with fruit or caramel. The name means 'cooked cream'. It is a Piedmontese dessert and, done well, one of the most elegant: a wobble on the plate, a clean creamy flavour, and just enough gelatine to hold it and no more. Over-set panna cotta is rubbery; that is the commonest fault.