Diners' Choice: Italian restaurants in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Italian cuisine in Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Encore Ristorante

4.9

4.9 (156)

$31 to $50

Italian

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Now Accepting Reservations For July 9th and beyond,
The crew from Northside Bistro are now going to provide some amazing Italian cuisine, Top notch Steaks, and delightful seafood. Expect to see some of the great cooks and friendly staff you expect at Northside along with some great new team members we are excited to introduce to the area.
Chef John and his team are excited to bring you some takes on classic Italian cuisine along with some expected twists and turns to keep things current and we will always hunt for the highest quality ingredients we can find. Service promises to be warm and inviting never taking our focus off the details that matter while still keeping it fun and light hearted.
The decor here at Encore is a polished but comfy, the environment will create great energy and a sense of community but still provide some romantic corners for a Romantic evening with loved ones.
Carol and John are so excited to bring their second offering to the North Raleigh area!

Top review

Troy

Dined 4 days ago

It was a great, wonderful ambience and service. Reminds me of a little elegant nook in Tampa FL

cafe tiramisu

4.9

4.9 (1675)

$30 and under

Italian

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Cafe Tiramisu offers a menu full of authentic Northern Italian cuisine. The family-owned and operated restaurant is decorated sparingly and the dining room is a cozy, relaxing environment. Cafe Tiramisu has a full bar but specializes in wine with an extensive wine selection both by the glass and by the bottle.

Try the ravioli or the shrimp dip to start out your meal at Cafe Tiramisu. Choose from Italian classics like the lasagna or the marsala. The menu includes plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options as well. Choose one of the restaurant's sides for your entree like the fried eggplant or the sauteed spinach.

Top review

Robert

Dined 3 days ago

As usual, our experience with Cafe Tiramisu was outstanding. Excellent wine, food, desert, and staff. Can't say enough good things about them.

Cucciolo Osteria Durham

4.8

4.8 (1723)

$31 to $50

Italian

Durham

About the restaurant

Cousins Jimmy and Julian Kim welcome you to Cucciolo Osteria Durham! A sister restaurant to the original Cucciolo Osteria in Seoul, Korea, offering modern Italian cuisine with a twist.

We are located in the same building as the Amtrak train station, just opposite side, next to West End Wine Bar.

Top review

JenniferVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Excellent, hip, Italian trattoria; outstanding housemade pasta and great atmosphere. Loved it!

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Popular dish

Linguine alla Vongole

Popular dish

Butter Chicken 'Sostanza' Style

Popular dish

Tiramisu

Bella Monica

4.8

4.8 (3691)

$30 and under

Italian

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Bella Monica – A Beloved Italian Trattoria in Raleigh

Since 2000, Bella Monica has been a neighborhood gem, serving authentic Neapolitan cuisine with warm hospitality. Owned by Chef Corbett and Julie Monica, our locally owned trattoria is an extension of Nana’s table, where guests become family.

Our menu features thin-crust flatbreads, housemade pastas, fresh NC seafood, and locally sourced meats, crafted with San Marzano tomatoes and the freshest ingredients. Pair your meal with a selection from our all-Italian, Wine Spectator 2007-2025 award-winning wine list, and don’t leave without trying the best cannoli in Raleigh!

Recognized with Diners’ Choice Awards for being charming, intimate, and perfect for special occasions, Bella Monica is where Raleigh gathers to enjoy great food, local art, and a lively atmosphere. Mangia bene!

Top review

Barry

Dined 3 days ago

Eggplant Rollatini was the best Italian meal my wife says she has ever eaten! She raved about this from the first bite to the last and we've eaten Italian food all over the country and in Rome, Milan, Venice, Sienna and Florence. I was not that hungry and had a small pepperoni pizza which was excellent. We would visit Bella Monica whenever we are near Raleigh again.

Caffe Luna

4.8

4.8 (2593)

$30 and under

Italian

Raleigh

About the restaurant

Situated in a beautiful historic building in downtown Raleigh, Caffé Luna has been bringing authentic Italian cuisine with a Tuscan flair to the Triangle for over two decades.

Top review

Gary

Dined on May 27, 2025

Caffe Luna never disappoints. We celebrated my wife’s 60th birthday dinner with the kids. The service was great and the food was outstanding as always!

Nino’s Cucina Italiana

4.8

4.8 (144)

$31 to $50

Italian

Greenville

About the restaurant

Nino’s Cucina Italiana is a tribute to our father, Nino. He still travels constantly to all the locations to make sure everything is done “Nino’s Way,” with quality food, personality, and love.

Over 75 years of an Italian family tradition in baking and cooking from three generations has culminated in Nino’s Cucina Italiana. Our Italian dishes are centuries old recipes handed down from our family throughout the years. We prepare all our food daily—making fresh dough, sauces, mozzarella cheese, pasta and our delicious meatballs in-house.

Top review

Granitemann

Dined on Jun 4, 2025

My husband and I dined with you over a year ago celebrating my birthday. I tried the pear and cheese sacchetti pasta and had a wonderful experience. We live locally but rarely go to expensive restaurants except for special occasions. My husband wanted to surprise me and made a reservation for a week night. He ordered Rigitoni and I ordered the sacchetti. Both were underwhelming and mine was like balls of dough that were over sauced lacking flavor. I would not order it again and was sad that we ended up paying $80+ for the experience.

Osteria Georgi

4.7

4.7 (1011)

$31 to $50

Italian

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

Giorgios Bakatsias' inspiration behind his newest concept, Osteria Georgi, stems from a deep appreciation for his dear friend- the late, great George Tarantini, an Italian native and beloved soccer coach for NC state University, well-known for his love and respect for hospitality.

Osteria reflects the passion behind Italian cuisine and culture-
a daily celebration of life while gathering around a shared table, of enjoying the beauty in simply prepared hand-made pasta, locally sourced ingredients and vibrant flavors, in having gratitude for the local farmers, fisherman, and artisans from which it all came, and always- a love for great company.

Top review

Kelli

Dined on Jun 4, 2025

We found this gem while traveling for work! We’ve been back every week we are in the area. Incredible food and outstanding service.

Il Palio

4.7

4.7 (1790)

$50 and over

Italian

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

Il Palio is an intimate restaurant in the Siena Hotel. We strive to emulate the best of the great Italian tradition of hospitality and quality at the table and in the glass. Our vision is simple – use the best local and Italian ingredients as purely as possible and serve them with comfort and pride. We cook as an Italian might in North Carolina.

Top review

Karen

Dined on Jun 6, 2025

Lovely dinner. Great way to celebrate our anniversary. Food was excellent, service was top notch.

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Popular dish

Black Truffle Tagliatelle

Bombolo

4.6

4.6 (329)

$31 to $50

Italian

Chapel Hill

About the restaurant

Named 2023 Restaurant of the Year by Eater. Dishes you’ve long loved served alongside dishes you’ve never heard of make our ever-changing menu an adventure you’ll want to embark on often. Our wine list is as varied as our food, and every one of our cocktails has been created just for Bombolo by our mixologist.

Top review

Lynne

Dined on May 30, 2025

Delicious, fresh seasonal food, outstanding attentive service. The duck stuffed pepper was outstanding, the meatballs tender and delicious.

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Experience

The Plump Rabbit

Colletta - Cary, NC

4.7

4.7 (1806)

$30 and under

Italian

Cary

About the restaurant

Seasonal changes, outstanding ingredients and a made-from-scratch philosophy guide Chef 's menu of house-made focaccia and pasta, antipastis, made-to-order wood-fired pizzas, and piatti. The chef curated dinner and dessert menus, pair with the well balanced wine and beverage program. Located at Fenton in Cary, NC, this casual yet polished family-style Italian restaurant features 120 indoor dining seats, 60 seats outdoors on the semi-covered patio, and a 12-seat bar.

Top review

Ravi

Dined 1 day ago

Delicious food, excellent service, and a welcoming ambiance. A location that makes you want to return time and time again

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