Diners' Choice: Italian restaurants in Manhattan

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Italian cuisine in Manhattan? 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!

Portale Restaurant

5.0

5 (222)

$50 and over

Italian

Chelsea

About the restaurant

Portale Restaurant is brought to you by James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author Alfred Portale. Chef Portale brings his heritage and passion for the cuisine and culture of Italy to his namesake, serving a contemporary Italian menu with house-made pasta, market vegetables, and beautifully presented dishes in a relaxed and convivial setting.

Find your excuse to join us!

Top review

Douglas

Dined on Jun 9, 2025

Incredible service and delicious food … the branzino is the best. The wine list is big time. And the beat Ceasar salad in NYC

Donna Margherita

4.9

4.9 (98)

$30 and under

Italian

Upper East Side

About the restaurant

Enjoy a variety of Italian favorites - such as Lasagne Della Nonna (traditional meat lasagna), Penne Arrabbiata O Al Pomodoro (penne in a spicy homemade tomato sauce), and Melanzane Alla Parmigiana (eggplant parmigiana) - made with the highest quality Italian ingredients and with Chef Rosanna's special touch. We also offer 14 different brick oven, thin crust pizzas, including a Rustica (mozzarella, sausage, red peppers, olives and basil), a Vedova Bianca (mozzarella, ricotta, radicchio and walnuts), and our signature Donna Margherita (buffalo mozzarella, tomato "filetto" and pecorino), along with salads, appetizers, homemade desserts and a variety of wine and beer. Our cozy restaurant is a cheerful retreat from the bustle of Second Avenue. Lunch and dinner are served in our downstairs dining room where intimate twosomes as well as families and groups of friends can gather under a photographic mural of an Italian countryside.

Top review

Jacob

Dined on Jun 6, 2025

Best Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy. It’s not cheap but worth every penny

Giardino D'Oro

5.0

5 (361)

$31 to $50

Italian

Financial District

About the restaurant

Nestled away on winding Gold Street in Manhattan's venerable Financial District, Giardino D'Oro is indeed a golden garden as its name translates. All that is charming about Italy comes to life as co-owners Benny Jakupaj and Nick Vuli welcome even newcomers with open arms. At Giardino D'Oro, food is indeed art with the fine Italian cuisine replete with antipasti, fresh rolled pastas, exquisite meat and seafood dishes, mouth-watering desserts, and an extensive wine list. Attentive yet discreet service in an intimate setting with strains of Sinatra softly crooning in the background set the scene for power lunches as well as romance.

Top review

Harry

Dined 4 days ago

Always a pleasure to dine with my friends at Giardino D'Oro - Harry Giannoulis

Numero 28 Pizzeria - West Village

4.8

4.8 (282)

$30 and under

Italian

West Village

About the restaurant

PLEASE NOTE: BYOB Policy is only applicable to party sizes of 6 or more.
We are Cash Only. For parties of 10+ we accept credit cards which are linked to our other locations in the city.
Call us for more info.

Wood-fired ovens:
Our ovens are specifically designed according to the needs of each of our premises. The preparation of our pizza is checked at every stage; from the selection of its ingredients until it is ready to be baked and cooked to perfection.

Flavors and aromas:
It is the ingredients that we carefully choose which make the difference. We select only products of the highest quality so that we can offer to all our customers a pizza which is always prepared according to the Italian tradition.

Certificated Made in Italy:
We only select Italian ingredients which have obtained both the D.o.c. and the D.o.p. certification; In this way we offer our customers a genuine and traditional product worth of its fame.

Parties of 6+ have prix fixe menu.$50p/person Tax/fees not Inc.

Top review

Judy

Dined 6 days ago

Best pizza I ever ate. I will be making another reservation again soon.

Il Melograno

4.9

4.9 (1363)

$30 and under

Italian

Hell's Kitchen

About the restaurant

Il Melograno brings the best of Italy to Hells Kitchen where original receipts, hand crafted pastas and friendly hospitality come together to create a casual and unique dining experience.
All the way from Sicily, Lino and Gregory moved to New York City bringing the best of the Southern Italian culinary tradition. Fourteen years after opening a Sicilian restaurant and concept store in Noto (Sicily), the idea of honouring the Grandmas traditions is what creates the philosophy of their hospitality at Il Melograno. Buon appetito!

Top review

AngeloVIP

Dined on Jun 27, 2025

Delicious authentic dishes with excellent service and ambience

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Popular dish

Spaghetti al Pomodoro

Popular dish

Burrata

Il Postino

4.9

4.9 (1130)

$50 and over

Italian

Midtown East

About the restaurant

Il Postino sets the standard for authentic Italian cuisine. The superior quality of the food and relaxing atmosphere creates a memorable dining experience. Owners Luigi and Maria Russo have built a wonderful dining establishment unrivaled in the neighborhood .

Top review

Shayna

Dined 3 days ago

Delicious meal, staff/service was incredible, would deff recommend

L'Osteria

4.8

4.8 (381)

$31 to $50

Italian

Upper East Side

About the restaurant

At L’Osteria, we strive to constantly come up with plates that will surprise and excite your taste buds. Our dishes are inspired by the beauty of Italy, but also stand-out as something all their own. With the changing of the seasons, our menu will change to match what is at the peak for bringing you the freshest ingredients. Plus, our homemade pasta is unlike anything you’ve had before. Our commitment is to providing the very best food, in a cozy environment. This is the neighborhood spot you’ve been waiting for, to enjoy quality drinks and incredible food with the people you love. Be sure to stop in and see what we’re cooking up each night, as the daily specials are sure to offer something new every time you visit.

Top review

Polly

Dined 1 day ago

Lovely, intimate dining space, delicious food and attentive staff. Will definitely go again when in town as well as recommend to others. Thank you!

Italianissimo

4.8

4.8 (611)

$30 and under

Italian

Upper East Side

About the restaurant

The instant you walk into Italianissimo Ristorante, you are overcome with a feeling of romance. When you arrive, your hosts for the evening sits you at a table adorned with gorgeous fresh flowers that evoke a certain elegance and charm. The maitre d' presents to you the nightly specials that Chef Luigi Campoverde (who is no stranger to the Upper East Side, with stints at Il Nido, Il Monello and Portofino Grill) is about to prepare in the kitchen.

Top review

LisaVIP

Dined on Jun 14, 2025

Wonderful food, excellent service. You could tell a lot if effort has gone into making the food. Excellent!

Giano

4.9

4.9 (1575)

$30 and under

Italian

East Village

About the restaurant

This is the story of Paolo and Matteo, two guys from Milano who had an idea. Let's take the heart of our tradition and fuse it with the exciting innovations happening in Italian cooking, they said. Inspired by the Roman deity Janus who looked to the future as well as the past, Giano respects tradition and embraces the future. We like to think of our little corner in the east village as quite special, and hope you will too.

Please call us if you are running later than 10 minutes after your reservation time. We may contact you about this reservation, so please ensure your email and phone number are up to date.
Please know that we have a grace period (15 min) .
All of our outdoor seating have heaters for your dining comfort but we ask that you dress accordingly for a New York winter.

Top review

JimVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Best Italian in NYC but far. Lovely ambiance. Low noise. IReal Italians:)

Villa Berulia

4.9

4.9 (552)

$31 to $50

Italian

Murray Hill

About the restaurant

Discover a family-owned gem in the heart of Murray Hill, where a warm Mediterranean ambiance meets exceptional Italian and Croatian cuisine. Nestled near the iconic Empire State Building, this charming restaurant has been serving delectable dishes since 1981.
The menu features homemade pastas, classic fare, and authentic delicacies. Delight in the traditional seafood Buzara, a Dalmatian stew with sea bass, shrimp, and clams, or savor Pasticada, a slow-cooked meat dish served with gnocchi.
Throughout the year, indulge in seasonal specialties such as soft shell crabs and lager-infused roast pork. Don't miss the Osso Buco, a tender braised veal shank served over rice or gnocchi, and the Pollo Berulia, a chef's special of chicken sautéed in white wine with wild mushrooms and artichoke hearts. The restaurant also caters to gluten-free and vegetarian preferences.
Complement your meal with a selection from the extensive wine list, featuring exquisite Italian and Croatian wines.

Top review

KellyVIP

Dined on Jun 26, 2025

A wonderful dining experience from start to finish. I was greeted warmly as the first in my party to arrive, and my request to sit outside was enthusiastically granted. Pedro was a wonderful server and made us feel so comfortable throughout the evening. He shared the specials and invited us to order anything we liked - even if it wasn’t on the menu. I asked for Bucatini Cacio e Pepe. It was outstanding. As were our appetizers - zucchini flowers and burrata. The dining room itself was traditional Italian and wonderfully “old school”. It bustled with happy diners - pretty filled for a Thursday night. I will be back as soon as possible to dine there again.

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