Italy is a paradise for foodies with some of the best street food, rustic trattorie, innovative restaurants and fine dining establishments in Europe. If you want to experience the Italian cuisine interpreted by the country’s most talented chefs in the most sophisticated surroundings, there are many Michelin starred restaurants around the Bel Paese, which, according to some, are the best restaurants in Italy.
Italy has eight three-starred restaurants, 40 two-starred restaurants and 281 one-star restaurants. Northern Italy is the leader of fine dining with Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Veneto boasting the highest number of famous Michelin starred establishments. These restaurants are considered as best restaurants in Italy.
Restaurant Piazza Duomo in Alba, Piedmont, has three Michelin stars and never ceases to amaze its demanding customers with the innovative approach to the local traditional cuisine. Chef Enrico Crippa creates unusual flavours and most of the vegetables for his ultra-modern dishes come from the restaurant’s garden. Suckling pig roasted with juniper and wild rose, veal sweetbreads with artichokes, and pumpkin seed with gorgonzola cream, raspberries and radicchio are exquisite.
The three-starred Da Vittorio in Brusaporto, Lombardy, offers the best of the Lombard tradition enhanced with creative genius. It is achingly formal and expensive (some dishes cost a whopping $200) but that does not stop its clientele from enjoying the heavenly menu: duck breast with spices and lavender honey, charcoal grilled langoustine, risotto with creamed courgettes and smoked ricotta cheese are worth every cent spent.
Rome has fifteen Michelin-starred restaurants, with La Pergola in the lead. With three Michelin stars beside its name, the restaurant boasts a wine cellar with 60,000 bottles, a water menu with 29 choices, as well as the best olive oils and vintage balsamic vinegars from producers across the country. Dining here is an experience: the cutlery is gold-plated, the room is full of antique furniture, rare tapestry and imposing candelabra. The views of Rome from the restaurant’s panoramic windows are breathtaking and the menu is mouth-watering. Other famous fine restaurants with Michelin stars to try in the Eternal City are Il Pagliaccio, where seafood and rich cheeses are skilfully mixed, Guida Ballerino that serves fantastic game dishes (guinea-fowl with chocolate polenta, yumm!) and Antonello Colonna for a modern take on Roman classics. You just have to pick one or two restaurants among these best restaurants in Italy !
Photos by: Buauro/Flickr, Pagliaccio Roma.
